Dhafer L’Abidine is the talk of every Egyptian woman right now, due to his eye-catching role in the insanely successful Ramadan TV series “Taht El Saytara.” The Tunisian actor’s leap to fame in Egypt has everyone thankful he switched careers from professionally playing football to starring in front of the camera. 

 

You made a career switch from a football player, at the peak of your career, and decided to become an actor.  What made you make this huge decision?

I quit my football career at the age of 23 after I had an injury and problems with the team. I first started modelling, then decided to move to London to study acting at Birmingham School of Acting and switched careers then. I graduated in 2002, and as soon as I graduated I started working in a British show called “Dream Team,” which was about footballers. For me as a former football player, it was the perfect role. I worked on the show for 2 years, then I started getting more offers. The idea of getting back to Tunisia and working in Egypt was always in the back of my head, but I was waiting for the best opportunity. My first role in the Middle East was “Vertigo,” and I started my career here after it.

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Did you expect the huge success for Hatem’s character in Taht el Saytara?

It’s hard for an actor to expect the success of their characters, you never know. Thankfully, people loved the show and Hatem’s character, who got people questioning whether his actions were realistic or not. But as the show went on, people started changing their opinions about him, and not everyone liked the character’s development, which still helped in the character’s success.

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Many people criticized the show for various reasons. Some said it’s promoting addiction, and others said the character’s reactions aren’t realistic. What do you say about that?

Many said the show is about promoting addiction, but if they actually spent time to watch the show they’d know that it shows nothing but the negativity of addiction. Even the ones who recovered, it shows how they still suffer and how their past still haunts them. So it’s by no way promoting addiction, but it shows us the other side of addiction. It shows people how to deal with addicts, and made us understand their lives more. It’s important to raise awareness of the issue, know addiction’s symptoms, and more importantly, to teach people how to deal with it.

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Was it easy to cope with working in Egypt, or did you take time to adjust?

My first work in Egypt was with Hend Sabry at Vertigo. Hend is a personal friend of mine, and we already worked together in Tunisia, so it made things a lot easier for me. I got along with all the team of the show easily and it was an overall good experience. I already worked on five shows so far, and they’ve all been great. Surely, it was a new experience, and a lot of things were different from what I was used to, but like any other career, I had to adapt.

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Should we be expecting to see you in a movie soon, or you’re content with being on TV?

I’ve had a few offers for movie roles, but I haven’t found a suitable role yet. I am, however, very happy with my work on TV. The television industry is becoming huge now, and even the cinema makers are heading to TV – from directors to actors to producers. Maybe I’d have a movie out soon, but only if I found a fitting role for me.

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Some people criticized you for playing the role of the Arab terrorist in most of your international roles. What’s your opinion on that?

Terrorism is happening, and it’ll obviously be shown on the screens. So of course, when they get to cast an Arab, they’ll pick an Arab actor. We can’t run away from reality and say that terrorism isn’t happening, and that it’s not an issue that drama should be covering. Like any other issue in the world, it has to be played. That being said, I’ve played other roles as well, like my Dream Team role, I was a French football player.

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How did fame affect you and did you ever wish you weren’t famous and could go back to being unknown?

Fame has its pros and cons. For any actor, the response of the audience and people’s acceptance is everything. So when people stop me at the streets or anything similar, it means a lot. The cons have to be the lack of privacy, but it’s something I was willing to live with when I decided to pick this career.

Did you ever feel like giving up on acting, and maybe have a third career switch?

Not at all. Acting is a passion for me, even though the acting career is tough. It’s an unstable job and it’s hard to expect how much work you’ll get, or even if you’re getting any. But at the end of the day, it’s all worth it. I love my job as an actor, and I’ll never think of leaving it and hopefully I won’t.