Syrian ‘The Cello’ Actor Samer Ismail Signs With MAD Celebrity

Melanie Goodfellow
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Syrian actor Samer Ismail, whose international roles include Darren Lynn Bousman’s Saudi shot horror movie The Cello, has signed with talent management and promotional agency MAD Celebrity.

Ismail first achieved fame in the Middle East and North Africa as the title character in 2012 MBC hit series Omar and made his big screen debut in Emirati director Ali F. Mustafa’s 2016 sci-fi thriller The worthy.

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MAD Celebrity — a division of the Cairo-based MAD Solutions — will be exclusively responsible for representing Ismail in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in contracts with production companies and advertising agencies, as well as in dealings with media outlets.

Ismail joins another 60 Arab world talents represented by the burgeoning agency including Egyptian superstar Yousra and buzzy rising actor Ahmed Malek, who enjoys fame at home in Egypt and is also building a buzzy international career with recent credits including Swimmers, Finchley Lane and Boiling Point.

A graduate of the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, Ismail also starred in the award-winning film The day I Lost My Shadow by Soudade Kaadan, as well as numerous high-profile Ramadan TV series, including the Syrian social drama series Wlad Badeea and Jordanian Ramadan drama Oboor opposite Saba Mubarak and Tara Abboud. He also had roles in The Platform, Breaking Bones, Tuesday 12, Downtown, In Paradox, Salasel Zahab, Born From The Flank, and Once Again.

MAD Celebrity parent company MAD Solutions is out in force at Cannes this year at it celebrates the 15th anniversary of its creation and the 10th anniversary of the launch of its spin-off initiative, the Arab Cinema Centre.

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