Biography
A graduate of the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, Samer Ismail is a Syrian actor who was chosen by Screendaily as one of the Arab Stars of Tomorrow in 2016. He began his career with a bang by taking on the lead role in Hatem Ali’s OMAR — one of the most successful and highly produced Arab TV series. With this role, Samer positioned himself among the most successful Arab stars whose series are viewed by millions.
Shortly after, Samer nailed his first cinematic lead role in the thriller, suspense, and sci-fi film THE WORTHY, which was the first Arab film to be screened in 4D technology. Directed by Emirati-British filmmaker Ali F. Mustafa and penned by Vikram Weet, the film world premiered at the London Film Festival in 2016 and subsequently screened at the Dubai International Film Festival before being commercially released in Egyptian and Emirati theaters, as well as on Netflix.
Samer's latest film CELLO is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who has won international awards for his films ABATTOIR, REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA, and TALES OF HALLOWEEN. The film is written by Turki Al-Sheikh and stars Samer alongside Jeremy Irons, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the film REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, and Tobin Bell — best-known for the TV series DAYS OF OUR LIVES and the film SAW — in addition to Arab stars Mila Al-Zahrani, Mohannad Al-Hamdi, and Elham Ali.
Before that, Samer starred in the film THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW directed by Soudade Kaadan, for which she won the Best Debut Work Award at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival, the Special Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the Best Film award at the Vancouver Women in Film Festival.
As for Samer's latest work on the smaller screen, he headlined the TV series EL AMEEL—the Arabic adaptation of the famous Turkish series INSIDER—which aired on MBC and streamed on Shahid, ranking as the most viewed TV series for an entire week in Arab countries like Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
He also appeared in the Syrian social drama series WLAD BADEEA, which aired last Ramadan season to widespread success. With over 14 popular shows under his belt, Samer also starred in the Jordanian Ramadan drama OBOOR, which aired a few years back during Ramadan 2019 and starred Saba Mubarak and Tara Abboud.
Viewers may have also seen him in THE PLATFORM, BREAKING BONES, TUESDAY 12, DOWNTOWN, IN PARADOX, SALASEL ZAHAB, BORN FROM THE FLANK, and ONCE AGAIN.
In terms of Samer’s future projects, he is currently busy shooting the TV series LADIES NIGHT, produced by Eagle Films, and the upcoming Ramadan series MATBKAH AL MADINA, by Rasha Sharbatji.
