Jihad Abdo, or the story of a Syrian actor who fled his country and made a new life in Los Angeles.
The name of Jihad Abdo may not mean much for non-Arabic speakers yet, this 54-year-old Syrian is a very famous actor across the whole Arab world, with more than 40 feature films to his credit. He also starred in the Syrian TV series Bab al-Hara, watched by nearly 50 million viewers in the Middle East.
Photography : Beverly Hills Magazine
While travelling in the Lebanon in August 2011 he talked to a journalist from the Los Angeles Times about conditions in his home country. When he returned to Syria he received threats from people connected to Assad’s regime, even though in the interview he hadn’t mentioned any specific acts of violence by the police or the army. Finally he was forced to leave his country.
He decided to escape via Egypt and rejoin his wife, already exiled in Minneapolis (United States). Nothing remained of his fame in Syria. He lived two very difficult years surviving only by taking various odd jobs. But he didn’t give up his ambition to work again as an actor. A few months after his arrival in Minneapolis, the couple moved to Los Angeles. Jihad went to many auditions, without ever getting noticed. He even went as far as westernising his first name from Jihad to Jay – the original being too evocative.
The summer of 2013 marked the turning point: he posted a video-CV on the internet which was seen by the German director Werner Herzog. Herzog offered him a role in Queen of the Desert alongside such internationally known actors as Nicole Kidman and James Franco. Then the doors of Hollywood opened, he became financially secure and well-known as an actor.
Jay Abdo doesn’t want to return to his native country yet. He hopes perhaps to return one day, to resume his former life, but only when the country shows a real desire for “peace, democracy and freedom”.
Sources : France24, Le Point, The National
