Iraqi-Israeli plays Saddam Hussein in BBC drama

It may come as a surprise to learn that Igal Naor, the Israeli actor who plays Saddam in the acclaimed BBC drama 'House of Saddam', is a Jew of Iraqi origin. By assembling the cream of Middle Eastern acting talent, the casting director has set a precedent for cultural collaboration : other Israeli actors include the Iraqi-born Sasson Gabbai, who plays Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Saddam's predecessor. There are also first-rate Egyptian, Palestinian and Iranian actors. Report by The Saudi Gazette:

"The four-part mini-series “House of Saddam”, the first episode of which was screened on BBC TV last week, gives a remarkably vivid and convincing portrayal of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his relationships with his inner circle and his family.

"The series, which runs for a total of four hours, was made jointly by the BBC and HBO of the US. It might seem surprising that Saddam is played by Israeli actor Igal Naor. And yet Naor has an uncanny physical resemblance to Saddam, and conveys his charm and charisma as well as the flaws that would contribute to his downfall. Saddam comes across as an extraordinary mixture of warmth and cruelty, idealism and megalomania. He had ambitions for Iraq on the Arab and world stage, but was sidetracked by family feuds and the threat of conspiracies.

"Naor has strong Iraqi connections of his own. His parents were Iraqi Jews who emigrated from Iraq to Israel in 1951. “In my first five years I grew up as if I was in Baghdad.
I lived in a neighborhood which was inhabited mainly by Iraqis and spoke only Arabic because I grew up with my grandmother who didn’t know a word of Hebrew.” (..)

"The Egyptian actor Amr Waked plays Saddam’s cousin and aide Hussein Kamel. There was a fuss last year when it emerged that he would be performing alongside an Israeli actor. Egypt’s actors’ union criticized him for “normalizing” with Israel, and it was reported he could be banned from filming in Egypt in the future.

"Waked said: “I understand their political statement, but this is not an Israeli movie.”
Jerusalem-born Palestinian actor Makram K Khoury plays urbane Tariq Aziz. Algeria-born Said Amadis, who grew up in France, plays the heavy-set Adnan Khairallah, Sajida’s brother. Hussein’s cousin Ali Hassan Al-Majid (who would later become notorious in the West as “Chemical Ali”) is portrayed by Israeli actor Uri Gavriel as having a coarse vulgarity."

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