Bashar Mounzer Rahal ( bg, Башар Мунзер Рахал, ar, بشار رحال; born 20 October 1974) is a Bulgarian actor.

Life and career

Early life

Bashar Rahal was born in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, the son of Lebanese father Mounzer Rahal and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n mother Mariana Rahal. His sister, Carla Rahal, also an actress, is mostly known for her roles in the National Theater of Bulgaria. Carla is also a pop and R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. She is best known for two of Bulgaria's most popular songs, "Lie to Me" and "I Wish U". The family moved from UAE to Bulgaria when Bashar was only six years old. He first started acting in TV sketches when he was 12. At the age of 13 he became a member of Tears and Laughs, a professional theater group, with which he took part in more than 15 performances. He also attended numerous international film and theater festivals, including the ones in

Avignon, France Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a ...

and Thun, Switzerland. His first major film role was in 1989, in the controversial at that time '' Ivan and Alexandra''. The film tells the story of two madly in love students in

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Bulgaria. The movie is also a winner of the 1989

Golden Rose Film Festival The Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival ( bg , Фестивалът на българския игрален филм „Златна роза“) is held in Varna in September or October. Also known as Golden Rose National Film Festival o ...

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

. This role was followed by his part in the 1992 movie ''Bad Boy''.

Early career

His professional acting career began in 1992 when Bashar was accepted at the National Academy of Theater and Film Art (in the class of professor

Stefan Danailov Stefan Lambov Danailov ( bg, Стефан Ламбов Данаилов; 9 December 1942 – 27 November 2019) was a Bulgarian actor who served as Minister of Culture of Bulgaria (August 2005 – July 2009). The first film Danailov took p ...

, Minister of Culture of Bulgaria during 2005–2009), where he got his master's degree in Performing Arts. During that time he took part in numerous TV and film productions as well as several commercials. Shortly after graduation he was accepted as a permanent member of the National Youth Theater.

Professional career

For the next couple of years Bashar appeared in over 25 different TV comedy shows, but his popularity came with the TV show ''It Can't Be'', which was created & directed by Nellie Andreeva - currently an editor for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''. ''It Can't Be'' was on air for 7 seasons and became one of the highest rated comedy shows in Bulgaria. Similar to ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', ''It Can't Be'' was a weekly 40-minute comedy-variety show. Bashar was not only one of the creators of the show, he was also the lead actor, writer, producer and occasionally a director. Bashar Rahal is also dubbed as the creator of the first ever night show in Bulgaria, where he met his co-host and future wife Kalina Rahal. In 1997, only 22 years old, he became part of the Award-winning anchor team of ''It Has Began'' - the highest rated morning show in Bulgaria (executive producer-Mihail Mihailov-after an extensive television career he became the Press Secretary for the Prime Minister of Bulgaria

Ivan Kostov Ivan Yordanov Kostov ( bg, Иван Йорданов Костов ) (born 23 December 1949, in Sofia) was the 47th Prime Minister of Bulgaria in office from May 1997 to July 2001 and leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) between Dec ...

). The same year Bashar Rahal also appeared in two Italian productions, the 1997 TV Movie ''In Fondo Al Cuore'' and in the mini series ''Racket'' alongside Italian actor and director

Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco ...

. In 1999 he was cast by the film director

Egon Günther Egon Günther (30 March 1927 – 31 August 2017)
in:

for the film ''Else - Geschichte einer leidenschaftlichen Frau''.

New beginning

In 1999 he decided to follow his childhood dream, and

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to the United States and settled in California to pursue his acting career. Kalina and Bashar settled in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, where the couple lived for the next six years. During that period Rahal appeared in several US feature films, including the 1999 movie ''Bridge of Dragons'', where he plays alongside

Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...

. In 2001 he starred as Dmitri Minkov in ''Operation Delta Force 4: Deep Fault'' directed by Mark Roper. ''City of Fear'' is Rahal's next feature, where he plays opposite

Gary Daniels Gary Edward Daniels (born 9 May 1963) is an English actor, producer, martial artist, fight coordinator and former world light heavyweight kickboxing champion. Born and raised in London, England, Daniels started to take martial arts lessons at th ...

. In 2006 the family relocated their home to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Shortly afterward, Bashar took part in few major film and TV productions. Some of the projects include a guest role in the critically acclaimed

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

TV series ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'', created by

Mitchell Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom ''Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of ''The Ellen Show''. He is a ...

and two-time

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning American actor, film director, and producer

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

. Bashar attracted broader public attention with a supporting role in the 2006

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Drama/Documentary ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

'', where he played

Hasdrubal Hasdrubal ( grc-gre, Ἀσδρούβας, ''Hasdroúbas'') is the Latinized form of the Carthaginian name ʿAzrubaʿal ( xpu, 𐤏𐤆𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋 , , "Help of Baal"). It may refer to: * Hasdrubal I of Carthage was the Magonid king of Ancient ...

, the brother of

, played by

Alexander Siddig Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi (born 21 November 1965) is a Sudanese-born English actor and director known professionally as Siddig El Fadil and subsequently as Alexander Siddig. Siddig i ...

('' 24'', ''

Syriana ''Syriana'' is a 2005 American political thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, loosely based on Robert Baer's 2003 memoir ''See No Evil (Baer book), See No Evil''. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of George Clooney, Mat ...

'' and ''

Kingdom of Heaven Kingdom of Heaven may refer to: Religious * Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew) **Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels * Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...

''). Bashar Rahal also played in the 2008 movie ''

War, Inc. ''War, Inc.'' is a 2008 American political action comedy film directed by Joshua Seftel and starring John Cusack and Hilary Duff. Cusack also co-wrote and produced the film. Plot The film opens in a bar in Nunavut when hitman Brand Hauser shoot ...

'', directed by Joshua Seftel. Among the star cast are three

winners -

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...

and

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama ''Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997) ...

. The lead roles are played by

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

, who is also a writer and producer of the movie, and

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her act ...

. In 2017 Bashar stars in the fifth season of the Bulgarian TV show ''Kato Dve Kapki Voda''.

Personal life

In 1997, on the set of ''Late Night Show'', Bashar met his co-host and future wife Kalina. After arriving in San Diego, in 1999, Kalina started working as a news producer for

KUSI-TV KUSI-TV (channel 51) is an independent television station in San Diego, California, United States. It is the sole property of locally based McKinnon Broadcasting Company. KUSI-TV's studios are located on Viewridge Avenue (near I-15) in the ...

. In 2002 the couple got married in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. After moving from San Diego to Los Angeles in 2006, Kalina became a producer for '' KTLA Morning Show''. Kalina and Bashar have two daughters, Chloe and India Rahal.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Bashar Rahal
on ManPaper.com * ''(in Bulgarian)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahal, Bashar 1974 births Living people Bulgarian male film actors Bulgarian male stage actors Bulgarian male television actors 21st-century Bulgarian male actors People from Dubai Bulgarian people of Lebanese descent Bulgarian expatriates in the United States American people of Bulgarian descent American people of Lebanese descent 20th-century Bulgarian male actors