Haitham Ahmed Zaki: I'm not just Ahmed Zaki's son

Many have accused him of mimicing his father’s persona in his roles, saying that he would be a carbon copy, lacking innovation. He was judged for the roles he played, in view of him beingthe son of a genius actor. However, he sooned emerged from his father's shadow with a distinguished performance in the series “Dawran Shubra” (Shubra Square) and the movie “Kaf El Amar” (The Moon’s Palm). Young actor Haitham Ahmed Zaki talks about this and more with ‘Arabstoday’: AT: What is the reason behind your sudden disappearance after appearing in both films “Halim” and “El-Beliacho” (The Clown)? HAZ: The most basic reason is that people judge me for being Ahmed Zaki’s son… not as a novice actor who could fail or succeed… I felt great responsibility and was harshly judged, which was too much to handle, so I preferred to keep my distance. People expect a level of performance equal to Ahmed Zaki’s, which is impossible. So I made a plan, which was to finish my studies till I got my BA in commerce, and I started to gradually prepare myself for acting. Thus, I attended acting workshops, and trained come more until director Khaled El-Hagarr offered me the role of Nasser, and by then, I had already shot some of my scenes in the movie “Kaf El Amar” with director Khaled Youssef. AT: Some have praised you for your performance in the series “Dawran Shubra”, saying you’re a good actor with Ahmed Zaki’s spirit, especially in the Movie “El-Horoub” (The Escape)... HAZ: It pleases me when people say that I have Ahmed Zaki’s spirit, for he always used to advise me saying “find yourself, and do not try to be a copy of anyone, not even myself”. I learn from him and watch his movies, I love his school of acting, but I do not imitate him or try to be a carbon copy; he is too great to be imitated by anyone, even by his own son. AT: Moving to cinema… How did you prepare for “Kaf El Amar”? HAZ: I started preparing by looking into the details of my character in order to be able to present it decently. The truth is the preparation was difficult and exhausting, especially since I had to practice the Tanoura dance, which I perform in the film, so I practiced with a number of Tanoura dancers. The same thing happened with the Southern accent. AT: Why did you not use a professional dancer to perform it instead of you? HAZ: Khaled Youssef actually suggested that, but I refused... because counting on someone else to do it would have required his face not to appear from any angle, which would have affected the credibility of the character, so I insisted on doing the dance myself. AT: What did “Kaf El Amar” add to Haitham Zaki? HAZ: I personally believe that this work is the birth certificate of my artistic career, which marks my true beginning, especially since it was with a genius director like Khaled Youssef. I am convinced by his thinking and the style with which he presents his work, his experience allows him to employ each actor the right way in the right place. So, once again, I’m very happy to cooperate with him in this experience, and I wish I get lucky again and work with him in the future. AT: Some might understand from your description of this work as your ‘true beginning’ that you regret the two previous works you participated in? HAZ: No.. I have no regrets; each experience had its own circumstances. My participation in “Halim” took place upon my father’s will (may he rest in peace) to finish it. As for “Beliatcho”, I admit that I rushed into it because I wanted, at the time, to be involved in the art scene, so I didn’t take my time to think about the decision of presenting it. AT: There are rumors of many arguments behind the scenes, while filming, between the stars involved. Can you tell us more about that? HAZ: This is completely untrue, we work as one team, and each of us advises the other to come out with their best, and this was done under the guidance of the director. There were no arguments, but we are used to these kinds of rumours while shooting. And despite the number of female stars in the film, like Wafaa Amer, Ghada Abdel Razek, Houreya Farghali, and Jumana Murad, all were very enthusiastic and did their roles perfectly. AT: Speaking of Houreya Farghali, what’s the secret of the chemistry between the two of you? HAZ: I do feel comfortable working with her, as she played the role of my lover in the film, and I wish to work with her again in future roles, or to become an acting duo, but there are sure plans at the moment. AT: The news of your engagement to her has been heard more than once. What do you have to say about that? HAZ: I was very irritated by these rumours. My ties with Houreya are business-related in addition to an honest friendship, and there are no intentions of us getting involved romantically or married. These are all rumours, and neither I nor Houreya know where such absurd news, which could affect our friendship, comes from.