Biography
Who is Fares Fares?
Early life and move to Sweden
Fares Fares was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 29, 1973. His family has Assyrian roots. He has a brother named Josef Fares and four sisters. In 1987, his family moved to Örebro, Sweden, to escape the Lebanese Civil War. They chose this country because they already had relatives living there. Fares learned to speak Swedish within three months of his arrival.
At age 15, he began acting in a local theater group in Örebro. When he turned 19, he attended drama school in Mölnlycke near Gothenburg. He later spent six years working at the Theatre Tamauer.
Film career and collaborations
Fares debuted in the films Jalla! Jalla! In 2000 and Kopps in 2003, both directed by his brother Josef Fares. He starred in the 2010 crime thriller Easy Money. His Hollywood career began in 2012 with the movie Safe House, followed by a role in Zero Dark Thirty. He played Senator Vaspar in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
He also gained attention for his work in the Department Q film series, starting with The Keeper of Lost Causes in 2013, for which he learned Danish. He maintains a long-standing collaborative relationship with director Tarik Saleh, appearing in The Nile Hilton Incident, Boy from Heaven, and Eagles of the Republic. Fares also produced the miniseries Partisan in 2020 and directed the 2023 Netflix film A Day and a Half.
Television and other performances
On television, Fares portrayed Fauzi Nadal in the FX series Tyrant starting in 2014. He appeared in the HBO series Westworld and Chernobyl between 2018 and 2019. He took on the role of the Forsaken Ishamael in the series The Wheel of Time from 2021 to 2025. In 2024, he joined the cast of the Netflix series The Decameron as Ruggiero.
Beyond screen acting, he has done voice work for video games. He voiced Leo Caruso in the 2018 game A Way Out and contributed additional voices to It Takes Two in 2021 and Split Fiction in 2025. He has also appeared in music videos for Lykke Li, including I Follow Rivers and I Never Learn.
Awards and recognition
Throughout his career, Fares has received several awards. He holds a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He also received two Robert Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His other recognitions include a Svend Award and the Litteris et Artibus medal. These accolades recognize his contributions to both Swedish and international film industries.
Birthday and age
Fares Fares was born on April 29, 1973, which makes Fares 53 years old today. That birthday falls under the Taurus sign. Fares shares the date with 54 other famous people.
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