Alexander Siddig in the new movie 'Cairo Time'

[Dusty Ayres]

I know that you 'Bashirophiles' (or is it 'Siddigophiles) will love to see your favorite actor in a leading man role alongside Patricia Clarkson-this is the movie in which it happens!

Here's a brief description of the movie:

He who hath not seen Cairo hath not seen the world. Her soil is gold; her Nile is a marvel; her women are like the black-eyed virgins of Paradise; her houses are palaces; and her air is soft, as sweet-smelling as aloe-wood, rejoicing the heart. And how can Cairo be otherwise, when she is the Mother of the World?
--"A Thousand and One Nights"

Juliette (Patricia Clarkson), a magazine editor, travels to Cairo to meet her husband, Mark (Tom McCamus), a UN official working in Gaza, for a three week vacation. When he is unavoidably delayed, he sends his friend Tareq (Alexander Siddig), who had been his security officer for many years, to escort her throughout the beautiful and exotic city. The last thing anyone expects is that they will fall in love.

Cairo Time

The movie is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival , but will be in general release October 8th.

 

[Myasishchev]

I loved Siddig in Syriana. Don't know how interesting this would be, but I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[Bluesteel]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

 

[DevilEyes]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

What is an "ethnic role"? Everybody has an ethnicity.

 

[Harvey]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

Are you kidding? He's had the most work out of any of his co-stars (except Colm Meany) since the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And between his role in Syriana and his guest role in Spooks/MI-5, they've been roles of substance and depth. Far be it from being typecast as a terrorist as many other Arab (or even, in many cases, vaguely Arab-looking), he's actually been able to sink his teeth into important roles, 'ethnic' or otherwise.

 

[Daneel]

Yeah, I saw a giant poster for this on the back of the Queensway Cinema, which is easily visible from the Gardiner Expressway (one of the busiest highways in Toronto); it had Siddig's picture and name splashed on it (as well as Patricia Clarkson's), so that's some nice recognition for him there, I think.

I doubt I'll get to see it at TIFF, but I may check it out at some point.

 

[DevilEyes]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

Are you kidding? He's had the most work out of any of his co-stars (except Colm Meany) since the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And between his role in Syriana and his guest role in Spooks/MI-5, they've been roles of substance and depth. Far be it from being typecast as a terrorist as many other Arab (or even, in many cases, vaguely Arab-looking), he's actually been able to sink his teeth into important roles, 'ethnic' or otherwise.

And he's also played Hannibal Barca, and a British Prime Minister. Typecast indeed.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Yeah, I saw a giant poster for this on the back of the Queensway Cinema, which is easily visible from the Gardiner Expressway (one of the busiest highways in Toronto); it had Siddig's picture and name splashed on it (as well as Patricia Clarkson's), so that's some nice recognition for him there, I think.

Yeah, I was really excited about that. Never thought I'd see a DS9 actor's face and name on a movie poster (especially one that big), but the buzz is that the movie is pretty lame. That's a shame, because I would love for a DS9 actor to break the curse that seems to doom most "Star Trek" TV actors to lackluster or just plain nonexistent movie careers after their time on the show is over.

And I think he's pretty obviously typecast, at least in movies. He always seems to be playing these roles where he puts on some phony accent to be a rather stereotypical Arab. I'd much rather see him able to use his normal speaking voice and play a British guy.

 

[Daneel]

^^^^^
I haven't really heard much buzz about it... it is indeed a shame that it's apparently lame. Ah well. Like I said, I'm not sure if I'll check it out, but I don't think I'll bother trying to see it at TIFF.

(On that note, is anyone here going to the Toronto International Film Festival? I've been considering it, but I'm not sure -- plus, at this point, I don't imagine it would be easy to get tickets for the more interesting movies anyway.)

As for Sid using his normal British voice, I don't think I've actually ever seen him in a film where he uses an Arabic accent (but then, I think the only films of his I've seen are Reign of Fire and Doomsday -- reasonably entertaining, but far from his best work, I'm sure ). I should really watch Syriana one of these days.

 

[Myasishchev]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

Are you kidding? He's had the most work out of any of his co-stars (except Colm Meany) since the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And between his role in Syriana and his guest role in Spooks/MI-5, they've been roles of substance and depth. Far be it from being typecast as a terrorist as many other Arab (or even, in many cases, vaguely Arab-looking), he's actually been able to sink his teeth into important roles, 'ethnic' or otherwise.

And he's also played Hannibal Barca, and a British Prime Minister. Typecast indeed.

Playing pure devil's advocate here, a role as Hannibal Barca, the Carthaginian Phoenician that terrorized the cradle of Western civilization for twenty years, isn't much of an argument against being ethnically typecast.

(This assumes that "ethnically typecast" means anything in the first place, which it probably doesn't. Was Omar Sharif typecast because he played an Arab in Lawrence? Is it coincidence that he was a lot more believable than Obi-Wan's turn as Faisal al Saud? Is there something wrong with an Arab playing an Arab? All things being equal, I'd much rather see an Arab actor get an Arab part than some white British guy.)

When did Siddig play Hannibal, though? Now that sounds like something to watch.

I should really watch Syriana one of these days.

A phenomenal film. Some find it boring, but they are very wrong. Clooney and Siddig have the best performances, for my money.

 

[Avengers Unlimited]

I should really watch Syriana one of these days.

Be sure to check out Kingdom of Heaven, as well. (The director's cut is MUCH better than the theatrical version, btw)

 

[T'Girl]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

What is an "ethnic role"? Everybody has an ethnicity.

Ethnic means different than ninety-one percent of the american population, most probably. For instance I'm portuguese, if I played a portuguese charactor in a american film that would be an "ethnic role".

Siddig should be more worried about being type cast as "the sauve man". Those good looking lady killers never get work.

 

[Bluesteel]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

What is an "ethnic role"? Everybody has an ethnicity.

A character that can't be played by a white actor without looking obviously out of place.

 

[DevilEyes]

Siddig better to stop playing these ethnic roles before he gets typecasted.

Oh and his fake arab accent is annoying.

What is an "ethnic role"? Everybody has an ethnicity.

A character that can't be played by a white actor without looking obviously out of place.

So let me get this straight: playing roles of people who are not white is being "typecast"? So... does that mean that a black actor playing black people makes him typecast or is he not typecast only if there is absolutely nothing in the dialogue to point out to the fact that he's black?

And if a "white" actor plays "white" people all the time, that should mean he/she is typecast?

Say...Chris Pine played James T. Kirk, a guy who seems to be an American of English descent. I guess his next role really must be a character with a different ethnicity, or he may find himself typecast as an Anglo-Saxon?

 

[Bluesteel]

What is an "ethnic role"? Everybody has an ethnicity.

A character that can't be played by a white actor without looking obviously out of place.

So let me get this straight: playing roles of people who are not white is being "typecast"? So... does that mean that a black actor playing black people makes him typecast or is he not typecast only if there is absolutely nothing in the dialogue to point out to the fact that he's black?

And if a "white" actor plays "white" people all the time, that should mean he/she is typecast?

Say...Chris Pine played James T. Kirk, a guy who seems to be an American of English descent. I guess his next role really must be a character with a different ethnicity, or he may find himself typecast as an Anglo-Saxon?

If a black actor keeps playing character that are black then I would say he's typecasted. Now If he played a character that was only black because HE was black but nothing in the dialogue or the setting would suggest otherwise then he's not typecast.

Was there anything to suggest other then where he lives that he was English-American? Not from what I remember. In fact looking at Wikipedia at Kirks place of birth. He would most likely be German-American.

 

[T'Girl]

Ethnicity most usually refers to a culture or group, NOT race or (automatically) origin.

If a black actor play only 'black charactors', then yes type-casted. If she plays just folks, then no.

I didn't realize Alexander Siddig was arab-middle eastern until I read this thread. The origin of the name escaped me. From his manor of speach the assumption was he was british, does he have a european parent?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Was there anything to suggest other then where he lives that he was English-American? Not from what I remember. In fact looking at Wikipedia at Kirks place of birth. He would most likely be German-American.

I'd always assumed that he was at least partly Scots - "Kirk" means "church" in Scotland. However, being from Iowa, there's a strong chance that he is also partially German. Hah, this is a Trek topic I don't think I've ever discussed. Always something new around here.

 

[Skywalker]

Kirk was probably a typical American mutt with at least Scots-Irish ancestry on his father's side.

 

[DevilEyes]

Ethnicity most usually refers to a culture or group, NOT race or (automatically) origin.

That depends on how one defines "ethnicity" or "race". (Personally, I think "race", when it refers to humans, is an outdated and disproved concept anyway.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(classification_of_human_beings)

I didn't realize Alexander Siddig was arab-middle eastern until I read this thread. The origin of the name escaped me. From his manor of speach the assumption was he was british, does he have a european parent?

His father is Sudanese. His mother is British (Malcolm McDowell is his uncle).

Alexander Siddig might not sound Arab, but Siddig El Fadil (as he was billed in the first 2 seasons od DS9) does. (The full version of his birth name is Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi.)

Was there anything to suggest other then where he lives that he was English-American? Not from what I remember. In fact looking at Wikipedia at Kirks place of birth. He would most likely be German-American.

If you're going to make a distinction between Americans of English and Americans of German origin (two Western European nations of Germanic extraction) than it makes far less sense to lump all Arabs throughout the world together!

Let's see, according to IMDB/Wikipedia the roles that Siddig has played include:

- an Algerian ("Spooks") (at least that's what it says here, I don't remember the episode that well)
- a prince of one of the Arab Emirates ("Syriana")
- a Lebanese ("Un Homme perdu")
- a Persian (Iranian) from the 12th century ("Kingdom of Heaven") - he wasn't an Arab at all in this one!
- British Prime Minister, called Hatcher ("Doomsday") - well, he might be of Arab origin (I didn't see the movie), but I wouldn't bet on it.
- Hannibal Barca, historical figure, Carthagenian from the 3rd/2nd century BC. Again, not an Arab.
- someone called Theodoros Andronikus ("Last Legion") - I don't know who he was, but it sure doesn't sound like an Arab name!
- Angel Gabriel ("The Nativity Story") - erm, if I was to hazard a guess, I'd say he wasn't even human.

So there. Not typecast. Not even if you think that playing people of the same ethnicity or nationality is being "typecast". Now if the only way you'll consider him "NOT typecast" would be if he plays a WASP, well...

I guess Chris Pine will be typecast if he doesn't play a Mexican, or maybe an Iranian in his next movie.

Playing pure devil's advocate here, a role as Hannibal Barca, the Carthaginian Phoenician that terrorized the cradle of Western civilization for twenty years, isn't much of an argument against being ethnically typecast.

Sure, you could day that. Just like you could say that James Purefoy was ethnically typecast by playing a rough and rowdy English (i.e. Western European) soldier on "Vanity Fair", and a rough and rowdy Roman (i.e. Western European) soldier/leader who terrorized people all over, as Mark Anthony on "Rome". Or that Ciaran Hinds was ethnically typecast as a shady English (i.e. Western European) authority figure/community leader willing to sacrifice anything for power in the TV adaptation of "Mayor of Casterbridge", and a shady power-hungry authority figure/Roman republic leader on "Rome".

When did Siddig play Hannibal, though? Now that sounds like something to watch.

2006 BBC drama "Hannibal" (aka "Hannibal - Rome's Worst Nightmare").

 

[T'Girl]

Ethnicity most usually refers to a culture or group, NOT race or (automatically) origin.

That depends on how one defines "ethnicity" or "race". (Personally, I think "race", when it refers to humans, is an outdated and disproved concept anyway.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(classification_of_human_beings)

Coming from the actual scientific define, it really is Human species not Human race. Species are sub-divided in to races. Races - as it pertains to people - are from being divided from others by natural barrers and choke points into large 'super groups'.

Sorry, but what do you mean disproven and you should be careful using wiki, anybody can change it as they see fit. and yes I use it too.