International star Omar Sy gets acclimated with Hollywood
If you live in the United States, you probably don’t know Omar Sy by name. But chances are, you’ve seen him.The tall, handsome French actor has popped up in a few small roles in major blockbusters over the past few years. He played the energy-wielding, dreadlocked mutant Bishop in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and Chris Pratt‘s fellow velociraptor trainer in this summer’s box office smash “Jurassic World.”But this isn’t just any international transplant working his way up the Hollywood ranks; he’s already one of France’s biggest stars.In 2012, Sy became the first African to win a best actor Cesar – France’s equivalent of an Oscar – for “The Intouchables,” a comedy-drama about a quadriplegic and his caretaker (Sy). It became one of France’s highest grossing films and earned over $426 million worldwide.His latest, the immigrant drama “Samba,” out Friday in limited release and expanding in coming weeks, takes him back to his home country and his “Intouchables” directors, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano.Despite his recent foray into international stardom, a career in the movies was never a given for Sy, who gained fame in France as one half of the sketch comedy duo Omar and Fred.
Source: News from The Associated Press
