Fares Fares (; born 29 April 1973) is a Swedish-Lebanese actor of

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

descent.

Early life

Fares was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. His younger brother is director

Josef Fares Josef Fares (born 19 September 1977) is a Swedish-Lebanese film director and video game designer of Assyrian descent. His brother is the actor Fares Fares, who has appeared in many of his films. He is the founder of Hazelight Studios. Biograph ...

, and he has four sisters. In 1987, when Fares was 14 years old, his family moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, residing in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

. They moved to escape the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

and chose Sweden because they had relatives who had already lived there. Fares says he learned Swedish within three months of living in Sweden. From the age of 15, Fares acted in a local theater group in Örebro. When he was 19, he attended drama school in

Mölnlycke Mölnlycke is a small town nearby Greater Gothenburg, a locality and the seat of Härryda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 17,499 inhabitants in 2019. The urban area stretches over two municipalities. Mölndal Municipality ...

near

Gothenburg, Sweden Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...

. He spent six years working in the Theatre Tamauer.

Career

Film

Fares has played major parts in his brother,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

' films, including his debut acting performance in 2000's '' Jalla! Jalla!'' and 2003's ''

Kopps ''Kopps'' is a 2003 Swedish action comedy film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 7 February 2003, directed by Josef Fares. The name itself is a pun on pronouncing the English word "Cops" with a Swedish accent. Plot The film concerns the ...

.'' He starred in ''

Bang Bang Orangutang ''Bang Bang Orangutang'' is a 2005 Swedish film directed by Danish director Simon Staho starring Mikael Persbrandt, Tuva Novotny, Lena Olin, Fares Fares, Jonas Karlsson, Reine Brynolfsson Reine Claes-Göran Brynolfsson (born 15 January 1953) ...

'' (2005) and '' Kill Your Darlings'' (2006). In 2010, Fares starred in the Swedish crime thriller ''

Easy Money A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that partic ...

'' with

Joel Kinnaman Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman (; born 25 November 1979) is a Swedish-American actor and model who first gained recognition for his roles in the Swedish film '' Easy Money'' and the ''Johan Falk'' crime series. Kinnaman is known international ...

. The film was critically acclaimed and was picked up for American distribution by

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...

. In 2012, Fares made his Hollywood debut in the

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

movie ''

Safe House A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

.'' He played CIA officer Hakim in ''

Zero Dark Thirty ''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of terrorist network Al-Qaeda, after the S ...

.'' Fares had a role in ''

Child 44 ''Child 44'' (published in 2008) is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith. This is the first novel in a trilogy featuring former MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Joseph Stalin's Soviet ...

'' (2014) with Tom Hardy and

Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...

. Fares played Senator Vaspar in the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' franchise movie '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016). For 2013's ''Kvinden i buret'' (English title: ''The Keeper of Lost Causes''), which was set in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, Fares learned to speak

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

. ''Keeper of Lost Causes'' is based on a novel by

Jussi Adler-Olsen Carl Valdemar Jussi Henry Adler-Olsen (born 2 August 1950) is a Danish crime fiction writer, a publisher, editor, and entrepreneur, best known for his '' Department Q'' series. He made his debut as a nonfiction writer in 1984, and as a fiction ...

, the first of four features based on his Department Q novels. Fares and

Nikolaj Lie Kaas Nikolaj Lie Kaas (; born 22 May 1973) is a Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s. Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film ''The Boys from St. Petri'' i ...

will appear in all four films. ''Keeper of Lost Causes'' was Denmark's top film of 2013. ''Fasandræberne'' (English title: ''The Absent One'') is the second film in the series. It also broke Danish film grosses, setting new records. The third film in the series, ''A Conspiracy of Faith (Flaskepost fra P),'' premiered in Denmark in March 2016 and in the United States in June.

Television

In 2014, Fares portrayed Fauzi Nadal in the TV show ''

Tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...

'' on the

FX Network FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX originally launc ...

. ''Tyrant'' was renewed for a second season, which began airing in the summer of 2015, and a third season in summer 2016. In 2018-2019 Fares appeared in the two

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

blockbuster series ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...

'' and ''

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

''. In 2021, he portrayed the Forsaken Ishamael in ''

The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...

''.

Theater

* 1996: Samuel Beckett's ''I väntan på Godot (Waiting for Godot)'' at Teater Tamauer, Sweden * 2000: ''Dom'', directed by Jasenko Selimovic, with Torkel Petersson, at the

Gothenburg City Theatre Gothenburg City Theatre ( sv, Göteborgs stadsteater) opened in 1934 at Götaplatsen square in Gothenburg, Sweden. The theatre was designed by Swedish architect Carl Bergsten who gave the exterior a Neo-Classical look with a touch of Streamline M ...

(Göteborgs Stadsteater),

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden * 2000: ''Natten före skogarna'' at Teater Tamauer, Sweden * 2001: ''Tillbaka till öknen'' at the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The the ...

, Stockholm, Sweden * 2002: ''Köket'' at the Gothenburg City Theatre, Gothenburg, Sweden * 2003: ''Brott, hemtjänst, straffpengar, pensionärsmord'' at Backstage, Sweden * 2003: ''Den arabiska natten'' at Backstage, Sweden

Other work

* Fares appears in two music videos for

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008, and has been fol ...

; 2011 single, "

I Follow Rivers "I Follow Rivers" is a song by Swedish recording artist Lykke Li from her second studio album, '' Wounded Rhymes'' (2011). Produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, it was released on 21January 2011 as the album's second single. The tr ...

", directed by

Tarik Saleh Tarik Saleh ( ar, طارق صالح; born 28 January 1972) is a Swedish television producer, animator, publisher, journalist and film director. He was born in Högalids församling, Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an Egyptian father. In th ...

and 2014 album teaser, "I Never Learn" * Appeared in Daniel Lemma's music video "If I Used To Love You" with Torkel Pettterson * 2011: TV commercial for

Tanqueray Tanqueray is an English brand of gin produced by Diageo plc. It originated in London. In 2016 it displaced Beefeater as the number one global seller. While it does not command a sizable market share in its native market, its largest market i ...

"Tonight We Tanqueray" - Actor - the bartender * 2012: Short film, sponsored by Maiyet called
Sleepwalking In the Rift
'' directed by

Cary Fukunaga Cary Joji Fukunaga (born July 10, 1977) is an American filmmaker. He first gained recognition for writing and directing the 2009 film '' Sin nombre'' and the 2011 adaptation of ''Jane Eyre''. He was the first director of partial East Asian des ...

* 2018: Plays Leo in the video game '' A Way Out'' * 2021: Did additional voices for ''It Takes Two''.

Personal life

Fares says he spends his time in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and

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' ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fares, Fares 1973 births Living people Assyrian emigrants to Sweden Swedish male film actors Swedish people of Assyrian/Syriac descent Lebanese emigrants to Sweden 20th-century Swedish male actors 21st-century Swedish male actors Swedish male television actors Male actors from Beirut Assyrian actors Best Actor Guldbagge Award winners