spotlight
Omar Sharif, Jr. A LEGACY OF LOVE AND ACTIVISM
by joel martens Fame can be a truly fickle thing...And when you’re the relative and namesake of one of the world’s
most well-known and beloved actors, it can be a difficult shadow from which to emerge. There are many beneath such canopies, who never quite manage to disentangle themselves from those legacies and discover what gives them personal meaning in their own right. Omar Sharif, Jr. is certainly one of the people whose namesake is known the world over...And I
mean literally the world over. His grandfather gave us some of Hollywood’s greatest film classics, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago and one of my personal favorites,Funny Girl. The junior Sharif however, only speaks with deep love and gratitude about that familial heritage and even more generously, discusses the legacy of activism passed down by both his grandfather and grandmother [Egyptian actress Faten Hamama]. He is deeply proud of how each used their public personas and their notoriety, as platforms in each of their courageous fights for human rights. A favorite quote from Mark Twain says, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear,” and it’s something that fits Sharif, Jr. to a tee. Jewish, gay and Muslim, he chose to come out in a world that was fast becoming hostile. It was Egypt in 2012 at a time whenthe powerful Islamist religious, political and social movement, theMuslim Brotherhood was taking over. It was no surprise that his coming out revelation the same year, was met with negative reactions. Though Sharif admits he was unprepared for so deleterious a result, which including fatwas and death threats delivered almost daily. Though experience of such things may have slowed him down for a time, he rediscovered his
legacy and the power of activism, as well as the importance of using his success as a stage in the fight for those who might not have one. His public work continued as GLAAD’s National Ambassador, and more recently representing the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and speaking on the world stage about LGBT issues and the ongoing struggle to educate about HIV/AIDS. Sharif’s other work in film and on television is flourishing as well: Two films have recently been released,The Secret Scripture, with Rooney Mara, Vanessa Redgrave and Eric Bana, and then,The Eleventh Hour directed by Jim Sheridan with Salma Hayek. The third, a documentary about the little-known LGBT community in China called China Queer: The Naked Truth is now out on the world stage and just recently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Things are good in his
world..Very good.
30
RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
