Add/Update Information: Adel Adham - Actor

An Egyptian actor, born in Alexandria in 1928, and tried to become an actor at the beginning of his life, but abandoned the idea for years because of Anwar Wagdy's opinion of him, as he believed he wasn't suitable for that, so he turned to dancing, and then appeared on the silver screen only a few times during that time. Instead of emigrating abroad, he decided to return to acting after meeting director Ahmed Diaa in 1964, who gave him a role in Am I Crazy?, after which Adel Adham appeared in many films, including Gossip Over the Nile, The Unknown, and The Quail and Autumn. He died in 1996 of severe pneumonia at the age of 67.

Adel Adham was born in the El Gemarek area of Alexandria. His father had a high-up position in the government, and his mother was originally from Turkey who inherited two chalets in Sidi Bashr from her relatives so she’d moved there to reside permanently. As a child, Adham was into athletics and then he started doing and excelling in gymnastics. He also boxed, wrestled, and swam, and became well-known in Alexandria and by the nick-name “The Prince.” He stopped playing sports and started acting. Yet Anwar Wagdy saw him and told him that he wasn’t a suitable actor, and that he could only act in front of the mirror. So Adham turned to dancing. He started to learn dance from Aly Rida. Adel Adham’s cinematic start was in 1945 in the film “Layli Bint El Fuqara’” (Layli Daughter of the Poor), in which he had a small role. Afterwards, he was in the film “El Bayt El Kabeer” (The Big House). In 1950 he was a dancer in the film “Ma Kansh Ala Bal” (It Wasn’t on My Mind). Afterwards, he kept away from cinema and started working in the cotton trade, in which he became a well-known expert. After nationalization under Nasser, Adel Adham left the cotton trade and considered leaving Egypt, yet while he was in the process of arranging his travel documents, he met the director Ahmed Diaa El Din, who gave him a role in the film “Hal Ana Magnouna” (Am I Crazy). He received awards from the General Authority for Cinema and the Egyptian Association for Film Writers and Critics. In 1996, he received an award from the Alexandria International Film Festival. Adel Adham is considered one of the most prominent actors who completely took on the roles they’re cast in; he was able to really take on the majority of his roles and he appeared realistic and believable in his performances, no matter what kind of role he played. This can be seen in films like El “Mouznebon” (The Guilty), “El Salakhana” (The Slaughterhouse), “El Maghoul” (The Unknown), “Elhaqouna,” (Help Us!) and others.