Youssef Boulos

Youssef Boulos
Born (1994-12-22) December 22, 1994 (age 30)
Chekka, Lebanon
Occupation
  • Actor
Years active2017–present
WorksFarah, Hold my hand

Youssef Boulos (Arabic: يوسف بولس ; born 22 December 1994) is a Lebanese stage and film actor.[1] He received critical acclaim for his performance opposite Lebanese-French actress Stephanie Atala in the 2022 Lebanese film Farah.[2] Boulos' good looks, and his resemblance to popular Turkish actor Berker Guven, made him a heartthrob among Lebanese women.[3]

Early life and education

Youssef was born in Chekka in North Lebanon on 22 December 1994 to Jean Boulos and Najat Semaan.[1] Boulos showed interest in acting at a young age, performing sketches with his family and friends, and in school, where his talent was recognized and encouraged.[4][5] The actor cites Youssef Chahine's 2004 French-Egyptian drama Alexandria... New York as the main film that influenced him to pursue an acting education and career.[4] He would later work alongside one of his idols from that movie, Egyptian actress Nelly Karim, in a film directed by Tunisian filmmaker Majdi Smiri.[4]

Boulos moved between Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and France. In France, he attended Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and graduated in Cinematography and Event Production, and Drama therapy. He completed further studies, and obtained a master’s degree in Film Production.[4]

Career

Boulos' first leading role was in Father Fady Tabet's play ʿAfwaki Ya Ummi (Sorry Mother). The company toured in various countries, including Jordan and Australia.[4][5] In 2017, he played the lead role of aspiring actor Nadim in Serge Majdalani's Take my hand.[6] Boulos appeared in the 2018 Lebanese series Habibi al-Ladoud (My sworn ennemy lover), and in the 2019 production Akher el-Layl (Night's end).[7][8] In 2020, he appeared in the Syrian-Lebanese comedy series Mayyada wa Wlada (Mayyada and her children), along with Syrian star actress Shukran Murtaja.[9][10]

In 2021, he played the role of a drug dealer in all seven episodes of the true crime Saudi thriller miniseries Rashash (Machine gun).[6] The series, which is set in ultra-conservative 1990s Saudi Arabia, was described as a groundbreaking, and a benchmark for the local film industry.[11][12]

In 2022, Boulos starred in the Emirati-Lebanese psychological thriller Farah (Joy),[13][14] where he plays The Reporter, an unnamed personage who appears to be the product of the protagonist's confabulations.[2] Farah garnered favorable reviews and won the Special 10th Anniversary Award for Best Feature Film at the 2022 New York’s Chelsea Film Festival,[15][16] Best Feature Film award at the Lebanese Independent Film Festival.[17][18] At the Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival, the movie won the Best Arabic Film award and the Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Best Art Direction prize.[19] The film also won the Best Feature Film Award at the Lebanese Film Festival Canada.[15] Critics also praised the performances of actors Boulos and Atala.[13][20][5]

Views

Boulos stated that he was heavily influenced by the careers of Youssef Chahine and Ewan McGregor. He is a mental health activist and a gender equality supporter;[5][4] in a 2022 interview however, he voiced his concerns over the adverse and detrimental consequences of militant feminism on the support of women's rights in developing countries.[4][2]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Merheb 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Pak 2022.
  3. ^ El-Fann editorial 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Ad-Diyar editorial staff 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Farid 2022.
  6. ^ a b IMDb 2022.
  7. ^ El Cinema 2018.
  8. ^ El Cinema 2019.
  9. ^ Baqbouq 2019.
  10. ^ Arab Big Centric Data 2021.
  11. ^ Vivarelli 2022.
  12. ^ Obaid 2021.
  13. ^ a b Haddad 2022.
  14. ^ Molana-Allen 2020.
  15. ^ a b BroadcastPro ME editorial staff 2022b.
  16. ^ Newbould 2022.
  17. ^ Sinha 2022.
  18. ^ BroadcastPro ME editorial staff 2022a.
  19. ^ Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International 2022.
  20. ^ Salloum 2022.

Sources