Sayed Badreya

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 creation of his own production company, Zoom In Focus. Under this banner, he directed and produced the documentary, Saving Egyptian Film Classics as well as The Interrogation, which won Best Creative Short Film at New York International Film Festival. He also produced and starred in Hesham Issawi's short, T for Terrorist, which was awarded Best Short Film at the Boston International Film Festival and the San Francisco World Film Festival. In 2007, he played his first leading role in the English language motion picture American East, a film that he also co-wrote. 2008 was Sayed Badreya's breakout year. He captivated audiences as Abu Bakaar, the villainous arms dealer who kidnaps Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the summer's blockbuster Iron Man. Also that year, Sayed played the comedic Palestinian cab driver opposite Adam Sandler in You Don't Mess with the Zohan. This summer, Sayed can be seen in Paramount Pictures' feature film El traspatio aka Backyard, directed by Oscar-nominated Carlos Carrera in which he plays a serial killer opposite Ana de la Reguera. Sayed can also be seen this summer in Movie 43, where he plays opposite Halle Berry. Additional forthcoming films include The Three Stooges, his fifth film with the Farrelly brothers; The Dictator, playing Sascha Baron Cohen's father as the original Dictator, and Just Like a Woman, with Oscar nominated director Rachid Bouchareb. Also, Sayed is going to a new frontier in the new video game Uncharted 3, playing Ramses the Great Pirate Captain. Most recently he completed his second leading role in the New York independent feature, Cargo, about human traffickers, directed by Yan Vizinberg. And he just finished co-starring opposite Oscar-nominated actress Melissa Leo in film The Space Between, directed by Travis Fine. Sayed has also worked as an actor, Arabic dialect coach, and Islamic technical advisor on Path to 9/11, a $40 million mini-series about the events leading up to 9/11 produced by ABC/Touchstone. Sayed's efforts to bring attention to Arab-Americans in the motion picture industry have received much coverage over the years on radio, television, and in major publications around the world, such as The New York Times, GQ, NPR, ABC's "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher, BBC's "Panorama," CNN, "Fox Report with Shepard Smith", The Hollywood Reporter and Egypt Today.

  • Title: Sayed Badreya
  • Popularity: 4.501
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1957-05-01
  • Place of Birth: Port Said, Egypt
  • Homepage: http://www.sayedbadreya.com/
  • Also Known As: سيد بدرية
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Sayed Badreya Movies

  • 1996
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    Independence Day

    Independence Day

    6.9 1996 HD

    Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it...

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  • 1970
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    Dandelion Season

    Dandelion Season

    1 1970 HD

    Defiant young director Hanna seems to be forced into an arranged marriage in America. Arranging anything for this talented, head-strong woman was...

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  • 2008
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    Iron Man

    Iron Man

    7.6 2008 HD

    After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.

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  • 1995
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    Mirage

    Mirage

    3.7 1995 HD

    Matteo Juarez is a retired detective hired by a local businessman to follow his wife Jennifer. She has a split personality and seems to be putting...

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  • 2008
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    You Don't Mess with the Zohan

    You Don't Mess with the Zohan

    5.7 2008 HD

    An Israeli counterterrorism soldier with a secretly fabulous ambition to become a Manhattan hairstylist. Zohan's desire runs so deep that he'll do...

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  • 2009
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    Backyard

    Backyard

    6.4 2009 HD

    An astonishing fictional account of the unending series of murders of young women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which began in 1996. Most of the victims...

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  • 2011
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    This Narrow Place

    This Narrow Place

    1 2011 HD

    A Palestinian sneaks into the U.S. to reconnect with his sister, and he plans to have a company, which built a bomb that killed his brother in Gaza,...

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  • 2019
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    I Am That Man

    I Am That Man

    10 2019 HD

    Struggling to come to terms with the break-up of his marriage and his reintegration into civilian life, former Navy SEAL John Beckett contemplates...

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  • 2008
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    AmericanEast

    AmericanEast

    5.6 2008 HD

    Summer in L.A., it's hot. Homeland Security has set the threat level at red; they're searching for several Arabs alleged to be terrorists. Mustafa,...

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  • 2012
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    The Dictator

    The Dictator

    6.196 2012 HD

    The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

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  • 2013
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    Movie 43

    Movie 43

    4.602 2013 HD

    A series of interconnected short films are the backdrop for a maniac screenwriter who pitches insane storylines featuring some of Hollywood's biggest...

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  • 2011
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    Cargo

    Cargo

    5.5 2011 HD

    A young Russian woman, smuggled into America by human traffickers, and a notorious Egyptian transporter hired to drive her from the Mexican border to...

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  • 2013
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    Just Like a Woman

    Just Like a Woman

    5.438 2013 HD

    Two women get on the highway heading to Santa Fe. Marilyn dreams of winning a contest held by a famous belly dancing company, while her friend, Mona,...

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  • 2023
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    Jellyfish and Lobster

    Jellyfish and Lobster

    8.5 2023 HD

    Brought together serendipitously in a moment of mischief, two elderly care home residents form an unlikely relationship when they make an enchanted...

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  • 2010
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    Family Prayers

    Family Prayers

    1 2010 HD

    When a young Egyptian married couple runs into serious issues the family steps in.

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  • 1994
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    True Lies

    True Lies

    7.1 1994 HD

    A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with...

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  • 1970
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    perforated calabash

    perforated calabash

    1 1970 HD

    documentary about egyptian cinema

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  • 1970
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    Hello Beautiful

    Hello Beautiful

    1 1970 HD

    Hello Beautiful is a multi layered tale of courage, friendship and love set against the backdrop of the tragic events that the character endures. It...

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  • 1999
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    The Insider

    The Insider

    7.451 1999 HD

    A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.

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  • 2003
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    Stuck on You

    Stuck on You

    5.3 2003 HD

    In Martha's Vineyard, Mass., conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor make the best of their handicap by being the fastest grill cooks in town. While...

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  • 1999
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    Three Kings

    Three Kings

    6.7 1999 HD

    A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti...

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  • 1988
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    The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story

    The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story

    6.3 1988 HD

    This made-for-television film documents the takeover of the TWA airliner in flight from Athens to Rome in 1985. The focus is on the flight attendant,...

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  • 1996
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    Kingpin

    Kingpin

    6.5 1996 HD

    After bowler Roy Munson swindles the wrong crowd and is left with a hook for a hand, he settles into impoverished obscurity. That is, until he...

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  • 2012
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    The Three Stooges

    The Three Stooges

    5.8 2012 HD

    While trying to save their childhood orphanage, Moe, Larry and Curly inadvertently stumble into a murder plot and wind up starring in a reality TV...

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  • 2001
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    Shallow Hal

    Shallow Hal

    6.2 2001 HD

    After taking his dying father's advice, Hal dates only the embodiments of female physical perfection. But that all changes after Hal has an...

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  • 1994
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    Stargate

    Stargate

    7 1994 HD

    An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.

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  • 2001
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    The Princess & the Marine

    The Princess & the Marine

    6.6 2001 HD

    Based on a true story, American Marine Jason Johnson (Goselaar) is sent on assignment to the Emirate of Bahrain. While there, he meets and falls in...

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  • 2020
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    Vanguard

    Vanguard

    6.3 2020 HD

    Covert security company Vanguard is the last hope of survival for an accountant after he is targeted by the world's deadliest mercenary organization.

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  • 1987
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    Hotshot

    Hotshot

    2.7 1987 HD

    The story of an American soccer player trying to make it big who turns to Pele, the greatest soccer player of all time, for guidance.

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  • 2020
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    Witness to a Rape

    Witness to a Rape

    2 2020 HD

    The full story of the crime of losing Egyptian cinema heritage Neglected by the Minister of Culture (Farouk Hosni). Sold by (Asaad Yunus). The Saudi...

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  • 2015
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    Boiling Pot

    Boiling Pot

    5.8 2015 HD

    On a college campus in modern America, ideas that have long been neglected as "issues of the past" emerge as racial tensions and frictions grow...

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  • 2011
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    The Space Between

    The Space Between

    7.2 2011 HD

    Montine McLeod, a world-weary flight attendant, and Omar Hassan, a prematurely wise 10-year-old Pakastani-American boy connect with one another...

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  • 2008
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    AmericanEast

    AmericanEast

    5.6 2008 HD

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  • 1970
    imgMovies

    perforated calabash

    perforated calabash

    1 1970 HD

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  • 1996
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    Executive Decision

    Executive Decision

    6.282 1996 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Witness to a Rape

    Witness to a Rape

    2 2020 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Witness to a Rape

    Witness to a Rape

    2 2020 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Witness to a Rape

    Witness to a Rape

    2 2020 HD

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  • 1989
    imgS9 E24

    Seinfeld

    Seinfeld

    8.281 1989 HD

    A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.

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  • 2005
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    Numb3rs

    Numb3rs

    7.046 2005 HD

    Inspired by actual cases and experiences, Numb3rs depicts the confluence of police work and mathematics in solving crime as an FBI agent recruits his...

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  • 2006
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    The Unit

    The Unit

    7.276 2006 HD

    A covert team of special forces operatives risk their lives on undercover missions around the globe, while their wives maintain the homefront,...

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  • 1997
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    The Practice

    The Practice

    7.7 1997 HD

    A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its...

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  • 2018
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    Apple & Onion

    Apple & Onion

    6.468 2018 HD

    In a world of talking food, best mates Apple and Onion fumble through city life, tackling ordinary problems by extraordinary means.

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  • 1999
    imgS7 E22

    The West Wing

    The West Wing

    8.265 1999 HD

    The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional...

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  • 2024
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    WondLa

    WondLa

    7.534 2024 HD

    Forced to flee her underground sanctuary for Earth’s surface, Eva discovers a world unlike anything she expected. As she journeys across...

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