Kal Naga

Kal Naga, is an Egyptian actor, director and producer.

He is recognized primarily for his work in Egypt and the Middle East, but has increasingly ventured into American and British film and television roles.

He started acting and directing (English and Arabic language) plays and musicals in Egypt while studying theatre at The American University in Cairo.

His father, the late Egyptian army major General Mohamed-Sami Aboul-Naga (اللواء أ.ح / محمد-سامي السيد أبو النجا), came from a traditional family of major landowners in ad-Daqahliyah, Aga, Egypt that was mostly confiscated during the Nasser revolution of 1952 and its Land reform in Egypt.

Naga's acting career began in 1977 when he was still a child with a part in Egyptian film Madness of Love (Arabic: جنون الحب) (aka: Genoun El Hob) (aka: La Folie De L'amore).

Since then he has appeared in a variety of films including psychological thrillers, romances and musical comedies.

He played water polo for his varsity team while based in Europe (1986–9), worked part-time as a fashion model (1993–6), and was a late-night talk show host and radio presenter in the late 1990s.

He joined the theatre department at The American University in Cairo, where he had the opportunity to discover his acting talent in the university's drama productions.

The first phase of Naga's acting career (1989–2002) was largely on stage (in the theatre), although he began hosting TV talk shows in 1998, which contributed to his popularity as a media personality in Egypt and Arabic speaking states.

His television and film work has included a variety of different genres.

He has also been successful across many Arab TV networks as a host for prime-time shows from 1997 until 2005.

Naga was born in Heliopolis, a cosmopolitan neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt.

In 1997 he left to the United States for more independent studies of his passion, filmmaking.

There he studied film acting, cinematography and directing.

He cited his acting teacher Dr Mahmoud Al Lozy as his mentor who has influenced him the most.

Beginning his professional acting career in 2000, Naga starred in several movies through the next decade with roles encompassing several genres, from musicals None but that! (2007), action Agamista (2007), 'Eyes Of A Thief' (2014), thrillers Kashf Hesab (2007), art-house Heliopolis (2009), Villa 69 (2013), Decor (2014), and slapstick comedy Habibi Naêman (Sleeping Habibi) (2008).

Additionally, he has participated in several European film festivals, where he received a range of awards as an actor and producer.

In 2001 his film career gained momentum when he was chosen by director Daoud Abdel Sayed for the lead in A Citizen, An Informant And A Thief (Mowaten we Mokhber we Haramy) (Arabic: مواطن و مخبر و حرامي).

In 2002 he demonstrated his talent for singing in the musical comedy Wust El-Balad ("Downtown").

He was then offered a part in "Sleepless Nights" (aka: "Sahar El Layali") which became a box office hit in 2003–2004.

Later in the same year Abol Naga was awarded Best Actor at the Damascus International Film Festival and the Best Actor Award from the Paris Arab Cinema Biennale of the Institute du Monde Arabe IMA Film Festival.

After "Sleepless Nights" aka: Sahar El Layali, Abol Naga acted in more films in a short period of time.

In 2004 he played naval officer Lt Hasan Hosny in Yom El Karama (Dignity Day), followed by his character Kimo in a popular romantic comedy Hob El Banat (Girl's Love).

In 2005–2006 he appeared in several more films: Harb Italia (Italian War), Malek wa Ketaba (Heads and Tails), and the romantic comedy Banat West El Balad (Downtown Girls).

He is often tagged in western media as "Egypt's Brad Pitt", and he has also been described as "the next Omar Sharif" especially after his American debut movie Civic Duty in 2007.

Chosen as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 2007, Naga played a pivotal role in child rights awareness, as well as the very first HIV awareness campaigns in Egypt and the Arab world, and participated in several international causes, including advocating for democracy in his home country Egypt.

After co-producing and acting in 2009 independent film Heliopolis by first time director Ahmad Abdalla, he starred in a second film Microphone which he also co-produced with Mohamed Hefzy in 2010.

From 2010 onwards Abol Naga mostly played the lead of much more diverse and complex roles, continued to win numerous awards as an actor and as a producer from regional and international prestigious film festivals.

appointed as a jury member and sometimes jury head of regional and international film festivals.

he is considered one of the top actors in the world today out of the Arab region.

He is one of the most recognizable celebrity faces of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, taking part in mass demonstrations in Cairo that led to the removal of President Mubarak.

He faced defamation campaigns against him by the state-owned media during the Mubarak era before the January 25th, 2011 revolution in Egypt, and several times again from the 2013 "coup d'etat" General Sisi government in Egypt in retaliation for his advocacy about the deterioration of human rights situation in Egypt.

His mother revealed in 2013 that he is a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Fatima Az-Zahraa and Imam Husayn ibn Ali son of Ali ibn Abi Talib.

He is the younger brother of American-based Egyptian architect Tarek Naga, and architect Seif Abol Naga, who appeared in the classic film Empire M.

During his childhood, Khaled Abol Naga spent much time with his elder brother Tarek, who lives in the US, whom he has said served as a major influence on his character growing up.

Khaled was naturally interested in acting at an early age and appeared in a film (Madness of Love) starring Naglaa Fathi.

He attended St. George's College school for his primary education, graduated as an engineer of electrical telecommunications from the renowned Ain Shams University Faculty of Engineering (ASUFE) and American University in Cairo.

He studied Computer Science with a minor in Theater and Drama.

Since 2016, he has acted in several English-speaking roles, such as Tyrant on FX, History Channel's Vikings, and the BBC's TV mini-series The Last Post, and announced to appear in the upcoming Netflix Show Messiah 2019.

In a film festival in 2016 that celebrated Arab film submissions to the Oscars, he was noted as being the most submitted actor in Arabic films submissions to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (The Oscars).