The French comedy-drama “1 + 1” has become very popular both in its homeland and throughout the world. The story of a wheelchair-bound millionaire and his unusual assistant won the hearts of many viewers. After the stunning success of the film, new fans became interested in any information about the film’s actors - personal life, interests, filmography. Omar Sy literally woke up famous after the release of the film “1 + 1”. But his path to fame was not as easy as it seems. How did an ordinary black guy from a large family manage to achieve such heights in his acting career?
Childhood and youth
Omar Sy was born and raised in the Paris region in a poor family. His mother worked as a cleaner and his father as a laborer. His parents are from West Africa (Senegal and Mauritania). The future screen star was the 4th child in the family, there were 8 children in total.
As a child, Omar was a very active and creative child. School teachers and classmates were the first spectators of the funny boy's performances. When he became a teenager, he decided to use his talent to earn some money - Omar worked as a radio DJ.
After he graduated from school, a production company invited him to host an original comedy show on television. For some time the program had one presenter, and then it was decided to find a co-host, who became Fred Testo. For several years, TV show participants delighted viewers with their jokes and skits.
Biography
Omar Sy is a French film actor, star of the popular films “1+1 (The Intouchables)”, “Samba”, “Chocolate” and “Inferno”. For the role of Driss in the first of these films, he received the main French film award “Cesar” for the best performance of a male role.
Omar Sy was born in the town of Trappe, in the historical area of Ile-de-France. The boy’s mother, who worked as a cleaner, is from Mauritania, and his father is a laborer from Senegal. At the time of Omar’s birth, the family already had three children, and after him four more were born.
Actor Omar Sy
Omar Sy grew up as a sociable child; teachers noted that he had a “well-spoken tongue.” Using this innate gift, Omar Sy went to work on the radio, where as a teenager he was a DJ and entertained listeners with monologues. When the guy received his matriculation certificate, one of the production centers invited him to create his own show. Omar Sy appears on television with his own program “Videophone”.
At the same time, the parents sent their son to get a “normal” profession. He trained as an air conditioner repair specialist.
Omar Sy
Subsequently, actor Fred Testo joined the young man in the program, and the project was transformed into the comedy television show “Omar and Fred,” which was very popular throughout the country for several years. When the ratings of the project fell and the show was closed, Omar Sy decided to make a career as an actor, because by that time he already had experience filming in small roles.
Actor Omar Sy: filmography and early career
At 23, Omar decided to become an actor. Like many of his colleagues, his film career began with a tiny cameo role (in the comedy “Hell's Skyscraper”). In the same year, he managed to take part in one of the parts of the film “Asterix and Obelix”, where he got the role of an artist.
The actor mainly chose films of the comedy genre to expand his filmography. Omar Sy gradually began to master the world of cinema. From 2001 to 2010, he starred in such films as “Samurai”, “Full Drive”, “Losers”, “Safari” and others.
Few people know that Omar Sy did not audition for the role of Driss in the film “The Untouchables” (in the Russian box office “1 + 1”). Even before the final version of the script for the future hit movie was written and approved, the actor was approved for one of the key roles in the film. As a result, it turned out that one of the most commercially successful French films was added to his filmography. Omar Sy was simply perfect for the role of the cheerful direct assistant to the prim aristocrat.
His partner on the set was the famous French film director Francois Cluzet. The film “1 + 1” was extremely liked by both critics and viewers. Omar was awarded the Cesar Award.
Omar Sy. Filmography, all main roles
After the release of the film “1 + 1”, actor Omar Sy became known throughout the world. His talent and charisma helped him achieve such incredible success. Now directors invited him mainly to prominent roles. He played in several French films: “Foam of Days”, “Dream Team”, “Jokes aside”. In addition, after the worldwide success of the film “1 + 1”, Hollywood producers became interested in him. The super successful films “X-Men” and “Jurassic World” added to his filmography. Omar Sy has now become a frequent visitor to Hollywood.
2016 was a very productive year for the actor; 3 films with his participation were released. In the French drama "Chocolate" Omar got the main role. In the American action-thriller with detective elements "Inferno" he played Christoph Bruder.
In the comedy “It All Starts Tomorrow” or “2 + 1” (as our domestic distributors dubbed it), the actor played the role of Samuel. The film tells the story of the difficult life of a single father who is trying to somehow cope with his little daughter, abandoned by one of the protagonist’s lovers.
Omar Sy was born on January 20, 1978 in the suburbs of Paris, in the city of Trappes. The mother is a housekeeper from Mauritania, the father is a worker from Senegal, both come from the Fulani people (a people living in a vast area in West Africa). Omar Sy said that he owes a lot to his parents, because they raised modesty and love of work in their children. As a young man, Omar traveled frequently between Senegal and France. And at one time I even thought about living and working in Senegal. However, fate decreed otherwise.
After graduating from the lyceum, Omar got a job at the Radio Nova radio station. There, the future actor met his classmate Jamel Debbouze and met Fred Dough. Jamel helped Omar get on television. Omar took part in the program “Le cinéma de Jamel” on Canal+, and then, together with Fred Testo, created the duet “le Visiophone”. The duo "Omar and Fred" commented on the news in a humorous manner, and although their humor was simple, it was colored by Omar's inimitable laughter - sincere and infectious. Since 2005, on Canal+, this program has been quite popular, but not enough to make its presenters famous.
Omar began acting in films in 2001, mainly playing minor roles. So, in 2001, he starred in two films - “Hell's Skyscraper” directed by Charles Nemes as a taxi driver and “Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra” directed by Alain Chabat as an artist. In 2002, he participated in the filming of four films: “Race” directed by Djamel Bensal in the role of a sergeant, “Four Drive” directed by Alain Berberian and Frédéric Forestier, in “Samurai” by Giordano Gederlini and in the comedy “Cool Peppers” by Frazzoa Desagni. In 2006, the young actor met directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano and took part in their comedy “Summer Camp” in the role of Joseph. In 2009, the same directors invited the charming Omar to star in the comedy “So Close” in the role of Bruno.
In 2011, the tandem created by directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano shot the film “1+1” with the original title “The Untouchables”. The plot is based on the true story of a real friendship between the aristocrat Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, suffering from paralysis, and a young man named Abdel, just released from prison, caring for him. To better understand the character of his character, Omar Sy met the real Philip Pozzo di Borgo and heard first-hand the amazing story about Abdel, the prototype of his hero. The meeting made an indelible impression on Omar. After the release of the film, the real Abdel wrote a letter to the actor, in which he admitted that it was as if he was looking in the mirror - Omar showed him so well. The film “1+1” became one of the highest-grossing films in the history of French cinema. Both actors - Omar Sy, who played Driss, and François Cluzet for his role as the aristocrat Philippe - were nominated for best actor, but Omar won the 2012 Cesar Award for Best Actor.
The enormous success of the film “1+1” turned Omar Sy into a favorite of France and one of the most popular people along with singer Yannick Noah and former football player Zinedine Zidane. Naturally, after such a triumph, Xi found himself inundated with tempting offers. Omar was invited by both French and foreign film studios. The actor tried to please everyone, and he succeeded. In 2012, the comedy “Jokes Aside” was released, in which Sy formed a duet of hapless detectives with Laurent Lafitte, and a year later, Omar starred in the famous director Michel Gondry, known for the outstanding production “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2003). The fantasy film “Foam of Days” (2013) was unable to repeat the success of its predecessor, but the image of Omar is traditionally colorful and memorable. In 2014, Omar Sy joined the cast of the Hollywood blockbuster “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” in which he played Bishop, a mutant from the future capable of absorbing and redirecting other people’s energy. The film turned out to be one of the most successful and profitable in the “mutant franchise”. In the same 2014, Sy again starred with his good friends Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano in the comedy “Samba”, where Omar was lucky enough to work with the famous British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.
A year later, Omar took part in the creation of Jurassic World (2015), a half-remake and half-sequel of the famous film by Steven Spielberg. The year 2016 became a new triumph for the French actor. Omar starred in the comedies "Chef Adam Jones" and "Chocolate", the latter being based on real events. In the thriller “Inferno” (2016), Omar crossed paths with the famous Tom Hanks in the film adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel. Finally, in the same year, the family comedy “It All Starts Tomorrow”, also known as “2+1”, was released. The title, naturally, referred to Omar Sy's most famous work, but in terms of plot it was a completely different movie, and it did not receive even a tenth of the glory of its predecessor.
Omar Sy not only actively acts in films. He is regularly busy voicing animated characters. In particular, the characters in the films “Arthur and the Revenge of Urdalak” (2009) and “Guardian of the Moon” (2015) speak in Omar’s voice. Later, Xi began to try himself more often in dramatic roles, as well as tragicomic ones. In 2017, the film “The Scam of Doctor Knock” was released, in which Omar played a former gambler who decided to start a new life and become a doctor. Two years later, Xi had a prominent role in The Call of the Wolf, a science-fiction drama about the mission of the French submarine Titan. In 2020, Omar appeared in the adventure film “The Call of the Wild,” an adaptation of Jack London’s story, as well as in the police drama “Night Convoy,” directed by female director Anne Fontaine.
Omar Sy has been married to Helen Sy since 2007. The couple are raising five children.
Personal life
Thousands of fans around the world dream of just meeting an actor named Omar Sy. Filmography, main roles, wife, children, place of residence - all this is very interesting to learn about for fans of his work. The famous actor's wife's name is Helen. She is French by nationality. Before their wedding, Helen and Omar lived for almost 10 years. In the summer of 2007, the couple got married in the city of Tremblay-sur-Moldre. Now they are raising 5 children together. Omar Sy protects his family from unnecessary press attention; he does not publish photos of his loved ones on social networks.
Professional career
Omar Sy in the film “Samba”
After this, Omar went to Los Angeles, where he provided his services in translating a computer video game into French. This was not his first experience with this type of service. He previously voiced a sheep in the Disney animated film “Brother Bear.” In 2008, he appeared in the video clip Sinik, and starred in a couple of comedy programs with his partner Fred Dough.
2011 became a year of discovery for him. Omar played the main role in the film “1+1 The Untouchables.” Playing a young man named Dries with a criminal past, he becomes the personal assistant to the care of a wealthy quadriplegic (played by François Cluzet).
This film was a huge success. About 20 million tickets sold worldwide are proof of this. The film exceeded the total gross of French cinema in 2011, and became the best-selling film in its entire history. As a result of this, Omar Sy became the third favorite French personality, ahead of Yannick Noah and Zinedine Zidane.
