U’mar El Shereef: International Fame is a “big illusion” Pursued by Many Who Do Not Know that it is Nothing More than a Stroke of Good Luck

Following a spectacularly successful career and his attainment of international fame performer U’mar El Shereef has stated: “International fame in my opinion is attained through involvement in your own country, that is to say one must first achieve fame and significance at home. Writer “Naguib Mahfouz” achieved international recognition despite the fact that he did not pursue it consciously and never left his homeland. The same could be said for director Youssif Chahine and other Egyptians that contributed to various fields that include intellectualism, culture and art.”U’mar further added: “However, following a long career in acting I do not consider international fame to be a worthy goal that deserve all of this attention. International fame is merely a big illusion pursued by many who do not know that it is really just a stroke of good luck.” U’mar El Shereef’s statement was published in the “Al Wattan” newspaper.U’mar El Shereef also talked about how he wishes he could turn the clock black and further elaborated on that by saying: “Thus I could devote my career to a different cause and live a normal life that is far removed from the hocus pocus and romance that I have presented to people and in particular to the Egyptian people which remain in a stagnant state preoccupied with film, song and romance. I believe that we have inadvertently contributed to the idiocy of our people and allowed our societies to reach a state of ignorance and stagnation.”However U’mar has affirmed that he does not regret the past and thus added “I do not feel regret but I nonetheless wish I had invested myself in an effort that is more beneficial to humanity so that I am remembered for something worthwhile. As an example I consider my friend the renowned Egyptian physician Magdy Ya’coub as a model of a worthy life. Whenever I fall ill I seek treatment from him and he offers me advice and counsel and I see then how important his contribution is to humanity. I try to avoid comparisons but nonetheless when faced with reality I find myself facing many important questions: what have I contributed to humanity and what can I contribute now.”