Said, I know you have been a working actor for some 21 years now
doing television, working as a recognized DJ and in so many ways a
role model for our community, especially the youth so I would like
to pose a few questions to you about this fabulous new film , GREEN
ZONE premiering on March 12th.
My first question to you Said is, how does it feel to work opposite
one of the biggest box office stars in the world today, Matt Damon?
Said: I actually have been watching Matt as an actor for many years.
He is an amazing actor and I have always admired his intellectual
process, the level of speed that he transitions to character in &
out.The chemistry between our two characters is tremendous and Matt
is very generous on camera, a very cool and approachable person to
work with. Matt plays a warrant officer in the film and I can truly
say I have learned so much through years watching him and now this
great experience working with him.
.What was you reaction when you heard you got the role and who did
you tell first? This is such a funny story, I tell you, I was in the
middle of having a haircut when I received the phone call, and I
immediately stood up went outside and screamed to God ,Al Hamdullah!
Now imagine an actor like myself ,having done a lot of television
wanting to be taken seriously by Hollywood for the big screen, and
my interview by the way was filmed and sent to director Paul
Greengrass. It was viewed in London and sent back again, It was
Greengrass who said "This is the Guy", he is the only actor who can
play this character." When I heard the news , it had so many
meanings for me, I was completely overwhelmed by the reality so I
called my acting coach first. Then I waited to go home and see my
wife face in person as she was working as a teacher and not
available. I will never forget the silent tears streaming down her
face as we both knew this was a dream come true for us, for our
family. My son Amir was jumping up & down on the bed screaming and
Abrahim my other son was running around the house with his arms open
like wings as if he was soaring with happiness.
How significant is this role for you Said?
It is to date the most significant role of my life for many reasons.
First, I play an Iraqi General and as you know being Middle Eastern,
this is very sensitive to our community and I took it as an
opportunity to bring every emotion and strength to the screen with
honor and integrity for the character which meant more to me than
just a role. Second , this man is a father and a husband, his fight
to protect his family at all costs runs very deep in our culture as
you know, but what happened to me on the set would become a defining
marker for the biggest fight of my personal life as well.
Can you tell me what occurred to bring the film into a pivotal
moment that caused this to be so critical for you?
Yes, of course, I want to share this as it may inspire and help
another family someday. I was on location filming for four and a
half months away from my family we were in Tunisia, France, all over
when I received some news that my 9 year old son Abaham was very
sick, but we didn't have any answers at the time so I left thew
location and took my son to Dr. Rima Gibran of CHLA ( Childrens
Hospital of Los Angeles). After testing, we learned the horrible
news that he was diagnosed with a very aggressive bone cancer called
Neuro Blastoma and what was even more devastating was the prognosis
as he was at stage 4, a level from which it is rare to survive.
Imagine this all coming down as we were to celebrate his Birthday
January 6th so my whole world came to an end at this moment. If it
wasn't for President Obama stem cell research allowing us options
for treatment, I don't really know what would have happened. It was
at this time that my co stars on the film, the director, all my
friends and family pulled together to pray and support us. My faith
in God was telling me that the role I was playing was playing itself
out in real life, a father fighting for the survival of his family,
yes, this is when the two realities became one for me and everything
else did not matter, Abrahim's survival was all I could think of, my
wife was devastated, she still had to maintain, had to take care of
herself and my other son. I lost so much weight because I couldn't
eat or sleep, spending weeks in the hospital by my son, wanting to
give him courage and my love. It was the complete surrender to God
that saved my son, the decision to move quickly for treatments. I
had no prior knowledge of the doctors capabilities but I had to
trust their diagnosis , they hit me at lightening speed, the outcome
of it with the God's protective hands went very well, I was so
amazed and forever grateful that God's pure hands were on my child
and had given knowledge to these wonderful doctor to heal him, as he
underwent many procedures and finally became cancer free on his
following birthday January 6, 2010. At this time in my life, the
film, the victory for Abraham is why I believe in the significance
of what is important to us all. I truly hope to see you all at the
premiere of GREEN ZONE for every father who understands why this
role was so important as to how far the love of family takes you and
what you will do to protect & honor it.
I want to Thank you Said, so very much for sharing this with us and
your support for the wonderful doctors at Children Hospital Los
Angeles CHLA www.chla.org www.greenzoone.com
Behind the Red Carpet, Joanne Abu Qartoumy
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