Omar Sy (French pronunciation: [ɔmaʁ si], Fula: 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, romanized: Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the Service après-vente des émissions television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gained wider recognition for his role in the 2011 comedy-drama film Intouchables, which earned him the César Award for Best Actor, making him the first Black recipient of the award. He later appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Jurassic World (2015), Two Is a Family (2016), Chocolat (2016), Inferno (2016), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), the Netflix-produced series Lupin (2021–present), Jurassic World Dominion and The Takedown (2022).[2]

Omar Sy
Born (1978-01-20) 20 January 1978 (age 46)
Trappes, France
OccupationActor
Years active2000–present
Spouse
Hélène Sy
(m. 2007)
[1]
Children5

Early life

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The fourth of eight children,[3] Sy was born on 20 January 1978 in Trappes in the Yvelines department of the Île-de-France region.[2] Both his parents are immigrants from West Africa.[3] His Mauritanian mother, Diaratou, worked as a house cleaner, and his Senegalese father, Demba, worked in an auto parts factory[3] after moving from Bakel to France in 1962. Sy is of Fulani origin.[4] He was raised in a habitation à loyer modéré[3][4] in Trappes. The family visited Senegal every other summer, and spoke Pulaar at home.[5]

Career

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Omar Sy winning the César Award for Best Actor in 2012 at the 37th César Awards for The Intouchables

Sy began his career after high school in 1996,[4] working at Radio Nova, where he met his comedy partner Fred Testot.[2] Afterwards, he appeared in the TV show Le Cinéma de Jamel on Canal+, with Jamel Debbouze. He then created a TV show called Le Visiophon.[2] Following these roles, he appeared in various TV and stage shows such as Je ne fais pas mon âge and Omar et Fred: le spectacle. Most notably, Sy co-hosted Service après-vente des émissions, a French short comedy television series, with Testot from 2005 to 2012 on Canal+ until it was cancelled.

He appeared in the television game show Fort Boyard in 2006.

Sy then went to Los Angeles, where he lent his voice to Zip in the French version of the Tomb Raider Legend video game. He previously had also voiced a sheep in Disney's Brother Bear.[2]

In 2008, he appeared in "Bienvenue chez les Bylkas", a video clip by Sinik. In 2009, he voiced some of the characters of Logorama with his partner Fred Testot.

In 2011, Sy starred in The Intouchables, playing a streetwise young man who becomes the personal care assistant to a wealthy quadriplegic (played by François Cluzet). The film enjoyed tremendous success, topping the French box office in 2011 and becoming the best selling French film of all time in its native country, with more than 19 million tickets sold. As a result, Sy was voted third favourite French personality behind Yannick Noah and Zinedine Zidane. The role earned him the 2012 Globe de Cristal for Best Actor. He also received a nomination for a Satellite Award for Best Actor.[6] He and co-star François Cluzet were jointly bestowed the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Additionally, he won the César Award for Best Actor in 2012 for the same film.

On 30 December 2012, Sy was voted the favourite personality in France, based on a poll run by Le Journal du Dimanche, ahead of fellow actor Gad Elmaleh.

In 2014, Sy appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past, playing the character Bishop. He also starred in Samba, directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. He co-starred in the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World,[2] which was released in June 2015.[7] In 2015, alongside Bradley Cooper, he played a compromised chef in Burnt. In 2017, he voiced the character Hot Rod in the film Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment in the Transformers series. In 2021, he starred in Netflix's hit series Lupin, a modern day retelling of Arsène Lupin novels.[8][9] Lupin has become one of the most-watched non-English series on Netflix. More recently, Sy has signed a multi-year feature film deal with Netflix.[10] In 2021, he was included on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the most influential people in the world.[11] Most recently, Sy signed a first-look deal with HBO Max to develop series for multiple markets, especially those that are French-speaking.[12]

Personal life

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On 5 July 2007, Sy married Hélène, the mother of his five children,[4][13] in Tremblay-sur-Mauldre. They had been together for ten years before they got married.[13] Hélène runs CéKeDuBonheur, a nonprofit supporting children’s wards at French hospitals, and Siyah Organics, a Sénégalo-American organic-food-supplements company.[14] The family resided in Montfort-l'Amaury, a commune of Île-de-France,[13] before moving to Los Angeles in 2012. After moving to Los Angeles, Sy met with a language tutor daily and watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians to improve his English.[15]

Sy is Muslim.[3][16]

Sy is a supporter of Olympique de Marseille.[17]

He signed an October 2023 open letter of Artists4Ceasefire during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.[18]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Director Notes
2000 Granturismo Voice Denis Thybaud Short
2001 La Tour Montparnasse Infernale Taxi Charles Nemes
La concierge est dans l'ascenseur Olivier Coussemacq Short
2002 Le Boulet Malian No. 3 Alain Berberian & Frédéric Forestier
Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra Painter Alain Chabat Deleted scene
Samourais Tyson Giordano Gederlini
The Race UN Sergeant Djamel Bensalah
Ces jours heureux Brice Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache Short
2003 La Beuze Michel Dembélé François Desagnat & Thomas Sorriaux
2004 Le Carton Lorenzo Charles Nemes
Coming-out Max Olivier Ayache-Vidal Short
2006 Nos jours heureux Joseph Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache
2007 Garage Babes Hamidou Julien Pelgrand Video
2008 Seuls two Sammy Bouglioni Éric Judor & Ramzy Bedia
2009 Micmacs Remington Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard Snow (voice) Luc Besson French dub
Lascars Narbé (voice) Emmanuel Klotz & Albert Pereira-Lazaro
Tellement proches Bruno Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache
King Guillaume Jean-Peter Pierre-François Martin-Laval
Safari Youssouf Hammal Olivier Baroux
Envoyés très spéciaux Jimmy Frédéric Auburtin
La Loi de Murphy Father Joachim Ortega Christophe Campos
Logorama Michelin Man, Yellow M&Ms, Mr. Clean (voice) François Alaux French version
2010 Allez raconte! Momo (voice) Jean-Christophe Roger
Florence Foresti: Mother Fucker Taxi Driver Nicolas Benamou Video
2011 Les Tuche Bouzolles Vicar Olivier Baroux
Intouchables Bakary "Driss" Bassari Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache
Captain America: The First Avenger Bucky's Team Soldier Joe Johnston
2012 De l'autre côté du périph Ousmane Diakhaté David Charhon
Les seigneurs Wéké N'Dogo Olivier Dahan
Mais qui a re-tué Pamela Rose? Mosby Olivier Baroux & Kad Merad
Crazy Pink Limo The Philosopher Joséphine de Meaux Short
2013 Mood Indigo Nicolas Michel Gondry
Aux Armes: AIDES Narrator (voice) Short
2014 Good People Khan Henrik Ruben Genz
X-Men: Days of Future Past Bishop Bryan Singer
Samba Samba Cissé Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache
Mune: Guardian of the Moon Sohone (voice) Benoît Philippon & Alexandre Heboyan
2015 Jurassic World Barry Colin Trevorrow
Burnt Michel John Wells
2016 Chocolat Clown Chocolat Roschdy Zem
The Angry Birds Movie Red (voice) Fergal Reilly & Clay Kaytis French dub
Norm of the North Norm (voice)[19] Trevor Wall French dub
Inferno Christoph Bouchard Ron Howard
Demain tout commence Samuel Hugo Gélin
2017 Sahara Ajar (voice) Pierre Coré French dub
Knock Knock Lorraine Lévy
Transformers: The Last Knight Hot Rod (voice) Michael Bay
2018 Le flic de Belleville Sebastian Bouchard Rachid Bouchareb
Yao Seydou Tall Philippe Godeau
2019 Le Chant du loup D'Orsi Antonin Baudry
Arctic Dogs Leopold (voice) Aaron Woodley
2020 The Call of the Wild Perrault Chris Sanders
Le prince oublié The Dad/The Prince Michel Hazanavicius
Night Shift Aristide
Refugee Marwan Brandt Andersen Short
Tout simplement noir Omarius John Wax & Jean-Pascal Zadi
Soul Joe Gardner Pete Docter and Kemp Powers French dub
2022 The Takedown Ousmane Diakhité Louis Leterrier
Father & Soldier Bakary Diallo Mathieu Vadepied
Jurassic World Dominion Barry Colin Trevorrow
2023 The Book of Clarence Barabbas Jeymes Samuel
2024 The Killer TBA Post-production
TBA Shadow Force Isaac Post-production
Le Chat du Rabbin[citation needed] The Cat (voice) Joann Sfar Pre-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 La cape et l'épée Minstrel TV series (1 episode)
2000 Omarius et Fred Various Characters TV series
2002 Si j'étais lui Gabriel TV movie
2003 7 jours au Groland Samba Bongo TV series (1 episode)
2003-2008 Les Guignols de l'Info Additional voices
2006 Les multiples Jimmy (voice) TV series
2007 Moot-Moot Isidore, Various Characters (voice) TV series
2010 Le pas Petit Poucet Big Thumbling TV movie
Histoires de vies Mo TV series (1 episode)
2010–2012 SAV des émissions Various TV series (4 episodes)
2011 Fish'n Chips Fish (voice) TV series (52 episodes)
2012 Bref Party Guest on Phone TV series (1 episode)
Zak Himself TV series
2019 ForesTiVi TV series short (1 episode)
2021-present Lupin Assane Diop Netflix series[20]

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2022 Jurassic World Evolution 2 Barry

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2006 Raimu de la Comédie Actor in a Supporting Role Nos jours heureux Nominated
2007 NRJ Ciné Awards Best Young Talent in a Debut Film Won
2011 Tokyo International Film Festival Best Actor (shared with François Cluzet) Intouchables Won
2012 Lumières Awards Best Actor Won
Globe de Cristal Awards Best Actor Won
César Awards Best Actor Won
Étoiles d'Or Best Male Newcomer Won
Prix Patrick Dewaere Nominated
European Film Awards Best Actor Intouchables Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated
2013 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Won
Black Reel Awards Best Actor Nominated
Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated
2017 Lumières Awards Best Actor Chocolat Nominated
Globe de Cristal Awards Best Actor Won
César Awards Best Actor Nominated
2021 TCA Awards Individual Achievement in Drama Lupin Nominated
Montreal International Black Film Festival Career Achievement Award Won
Gotham Awards Outstanding Performance in a New Series Lupin Nominated
Rose d'Or Performance of the Year Won
2022 Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Drama / Genre Series Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Watson, Fay (12 January 2021). "Omar Sy wife: Is Lupin-star Omar Sy married?". Express.co.uk.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Biography Archived 24 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine on Première.fr
  3. ^ a b c d e Beardsley, Eleanor (28 June 2012). "In France, A Star Rises From An Oft-Neglected Place". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d "Omar Sy, den orörbara!" [Omar Sy, the untouchable!]. AzurCultures.com (in Swedish). 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  5. ^ Collins, Lauren (21 June 2021). "L'homme du jour: Omar Sy's Breakout Moment". The New Yorker. pp. 42–49. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. ^ Lodge, Guy (3 December 2012). "Satellite Award noms run the gamut from 'Silver Linings Playbook' to 'Skyfall'". Uproxx. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  7. ^ Fritz, Ben (22 May 2014). "'X-Men: Days of Future Past': A Guide to the Mutants". Speakeasy blog. Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  8. ^ Ouellette, Jennifer (3 December 2020). "Lupin trailer offers a fresh retelling of classic French gentleman thief". Ars Technica. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  9. ^ Elisabeth Vincentelli (14 January 2021). "In 'Lupin,' Omar Sy Puts a New Twist on a Classic French Tale". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  10. ^ Kaslassy, Elsa; Ravindran, Manori (12 October 2021). "'Lupin' Star Omar Sy, Netflix Ink Multi-Year Feature Film Deal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  11. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (26 October 2021). "'Lupin' Star Omar Sy Reteams With Gaumont on War-Action Drama 'Father & Soldier'". Variety. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  12. ^ White, Peter (26 May 2022). "'Lupin' Star Omar Sy Strikes First-Look TV Deal With HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood.
  13. ^ a b c "Omar Sy Et Sa Femme Helene : Un Couple Amoureux En 5 Infos" [Omar Sy and His Wife Helene: A Loving Couple — 5 Facts]. PureTrend.com (in French). 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  14. ^ Marshall, Alexandra (11 June 2021). "How Lupin's Omar Sy Became An International TV Sensation". Vogue. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  15. ^ Collins, Lauren (June 13, 2021). "The formidable charm of Omar Sy." The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Sy on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Team Duga: Pourquoi Omar Sy est devenu supporter de l'OM" [Team Duga: Why Omar Sy became a supporter of OM]. RMC Sport (in French). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Artists4Ceasefire". Artists4Ceasefire. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  19. ^ AlloCine (28 June 2016). "Teaser Norm : Omar Sy prête sa voix à un ours polaire qui veut sauver sa banquise". allocine.fr. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  20. ^ Han, Karen (29 September 2020). "The trailer for Netflix's Lupin introduces a new gentleman thief - Omar Sy stars in the upcoming live-action series". Polygon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
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