- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- May 1, 1957
- Place of Birth
- Port Said, Egypt
Sayed Badreya
Egyptian-born film-maker and actor Sayed Badreya realized a childhood dream by winning roles in major Hollywood films such as The Insider, Three Kings, and Independence Day. Growing up in poverty in Port Said, Sayed Badreya's dreams of movie stardom looked as bleak as the prospect of peace in the Middle East. From the Six Day War in '67 through the Yom Kippur War in '73, his only escape from the world he knew was the movie theater, where films transported him to a magical land. But it was here that he determined he was destined to be a part of that magic. After attending New York University film school, and then moving to Hollywood, Sayed first worked in the film industry as an assistant to actor/director Anthony Perkins, and then with director James Cameron on True Lies. His mission - to make movies that told the Arabic- American story, since it had yet to be told - led to the creati…
Filmography
movieRise of the Conqueror
2026 · Kay Khusrau
movieHello Beautiful
2025
tvWondLa
2024 · Bartender (voice)
movieJellyfish and Lobster
2023 · Mido
movieWitness to a Rape
2020 · himself, Director, Producer, Author
movieVanguard
2020 · Abati
movieI Am That Man
2019 · Harry
tvApple & Onion
2018 · Falafel (voice)
movieBoiling Pot
2015 · Anwar Seif
movieJust Like a Woman
2013 · Tarek
movieMovie 43
2013 · Large Man (segment "Truth or Dare")
movieThe Dictator
2012 · Omar
movieThe Three Stooges
2012 · Orderly
movieThis Narrow Place
2011 · Aziz
movieCargo
2011 · Sayed
movieThe Space Between
2011 · Imam
Family Prayers
movieFamily Prayers
2010 · Hussein
movieBackyard
2009 · El Sultán
movieAmericanEast
2008 · Mustafa Marzouke, Writer
movieYou Don't Mess with the Zohan
2008 · Hamdi
movieIron Man
2008 · Abu Bakaar
tvThe Unit
2006 · Afghan Commander
tvNumb3rs
2005 · Sayed Malik
tvLost
2004 · Mr. Jarrah
movieSoul Plane
2004 · Middle Eastern Passenger
movieStuck on You
2003 · Assisting Surgeon
movieShallow Hal
2001 · Doctor Sayed
tvAlias
2001 · Vendor
movieThe Princess & the Marine
2001 · Chauffeur
movieThe Insider
1999 · Hezbollah Head Gunman
movieThree Kings
1999 · Iraqi Tank Major
tvThe West Wing
1999 · Fatah Official
tvThe Practice
1997 · Adman Fajiz
movieKingpin
1996 · Fatima
movieIndependence Day
1996 · Arab Pilot
movieExecutive Decision
1996 · Technical Advisor
movieMirage
1995 · Sayed
movieStargate
1994 · Arabic Interpreter
movieTrue Lies
1994 · Arab Terrorist (uncredited)
tvThe Nanny
1993 · Guard
movieIntimate Stranger
1991 · Clerk
tvSeinfeld
1989 · Foreign Man
The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story
movieThe Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story
1988 · Skull & Crossbones
movieHotshot
1987 · Mohamed
movieDandelion Season
— · Omar
perforated calabash
movieperforated calabash
— · himself, Producer