Youssef Kerkour is a Moroccan-British actor. He is best known for portraying Syrian refugee Sami in the comedy-drama series Home, a role for which he was nominated at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards.
Kerkour grew up in Rabat, Morocco.[1] His father was a Moroccan mathematics professor and his mother an English schoolteacher; they had met in France in the 1960s and moved together to Morocco.
As a child, Kerkour loved to sing and dance, and idolised Bruce Lee after his father took him to a screening of the film Enter the Dragon. In his early teens, Kerkour took a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the home town of William Shakespeare, and attended a production of Henry V; he credits this experience with inspiring his love of acting.
Kerkour moved to the United States to study psychology at Bard College, but spent much of his time taking dance and acting classes instead. He began pursuing an acting career at the encouragement of a university professor.[2]
In 2001, Kerkour played The Visitor in a production of the Steve Martin play Picasso at the Lapin Agile.[3]
Unable to obtain a visa to remain in the United States, Kerkour moved to England and continued his acting career. He spent two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Kerkour starred in the comedy-drama TV series Home, which debuted in March 2019 and lasted for two series. In the series, he played Sami Ibrahim, a Syrian asylum seeker who moves in with a middle-class English family. The role was based on the experiences of real-ife Syrian refugee Hassan Akkad. Kerkour had not expected to be cast as Sami, since it was such a departure from the typecast violent characters he would usually play. In 2020, he said:
"I spent my life playing terrorists. That's my USP, that's why I grew my beard. I'm a very big guy. I speak Arabic, so a big bearded Arabic man, there's really one kind of part, traditionally. [Playing] Sami is the first time somebody has taken the chance and given me something more."For his role as Sami, Kerkour was nominated for Best Male Comedy Performance at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards, losing the award to Jamie Demetriou (for Stath Lets Flats).[4]
In 2021, Kerkour starred in Ridley Scott film House of Gucci, playing the role of Iraqi Turkmen financier Nemir Kirdar.[5] He also appears in Scott's 2023 historical drama Napoleon, alongside Joaquin Phoenix.[6]
Kerkour is slated to appear in a film adaptation of The Alchemist, alongside Sebastian de Souza and Tom Hollander. In August 2024, it was announced that Kerkour had been cast as Steely Pate in the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.[7]
, Kerkour was married, with a two-year-old daughter. He described himself as a "notorious coffee drinker" in the cafes of Soho.[8]
| 2004 | American Tale | Nate Collins | Short film | |
| 2006 | Cross Eyed | Ernie | ||
| Infinite Justice | Drunk G.I. | |||
| The Discipline of D.E. | Bartender / Drunkard / Cop | Short film | ||
| 2010 | Idle-Hands | Achilles | Short film | |
| 2011 | 360 | Policeman Phoenix (Morgue) | ||
| The Lighter | Boris | Short film | ||
| 2013 | Hummingbird | Bouzanis | ||
| Side by Side | Dark Knight | |||
| 2017 | Lost in London | Winston the Bouncer | ||
| 2018 | Another Day of Life | Farrusco | ||
| 2019 | Close | Mr. Kabila | ||
| Hamsbury Book Club | George | Short film | ||
| 2021 | Ron's Gone Wrong | Additional voice | ||
| House of Gucci | Nemir Kirdar | |||
| Pirates | Uncle Ibbs | |||
| 2022 | A Bit of Light | Joseph | ||
| 2023 | Matar | Jameel | ||
| Napoleon | Marshal Davout | |||
| 2024 | A Bit of Light | Joseph | ||
| The Actor | Black Jack / Ed / Defense Attorney / Bus driver | Post-production[9] [10] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Path to 9/11 | Red / Abouhalima | 2 episodes | |
| 2007 | Holby City | Jalil Amara | Episode: "Someone to Watch Over Me" | |
| 2013 | Royal Shakespeare Company: Richard II | Lord Willoughby | Television film | |
| 2014 | Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part I | Westmoreland | ||
| Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part II | ||||
| Royal Shakespeare Company: The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Eglamour, Sir | |||
| 2016 | Marcella | Hassan El-Sayed | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Doctors | Jamahl Habib | Episode: "It's Strange" | |
| Strike Back | Sabil Adiz | Episode: "Retribution: Part 1" | ||
| Bounty Hunters | Youssef | 3 episodes | ||
| 2018 | Jack Ryan | Mr. Sadik | Episode: "End of Honor" | |
| Nightflyers | Hartley Suczek | 3 episodes | ||
| 2019 | Jay Muthassin | Episode: "Jay" | ||
| Gavin & Stacey | Emlyn | Episode: "A Special Christmas" | ||
| 2019–2020 | Home | Sami | 12 episodes | |
| 2020 | Dracula | Olgaren | Episode: "Blood Vessel" | |
| Sex Education | Nathan | Episode #2.5 | ||
| Baghdad Central | Karl | 6 episodes | ||
| Cursed | Pellam | 3 episodes | ||
| Worzel Gummidge | Farmer Brawn | Episode: "Saucy Nancy" | ||
| 2021 | 0121 | Mr. Simmons | Miniseries | |
| Domina | Maecenas | 3 episodes | ||
| Stay Close | Fester | 6 episodes | ||
| 2022 | Murder, They Hope | Bob | Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Scream" | |
| Agrandir (voice) | Episode: "London Orbital" | |||
| 2023 | Man Like Mobeen | Megalodon | 4 episodes | |
| Significant Other | Sam | 6 episodes[11] | ||
| Death in Paradise | Dave Chadwick | Episode: "Christmas Special" | ||
| 2025 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Steely Pate | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | US Foley, US Sgt. Arnold | ||
| 2004 | Street Racing Syndicate | Voice | |
| 2020 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla | French Militant | |
| 2021 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla – The Siege of Paris | Voice | |
| 2023 | Saltsea Chronicles | Jayantha / Miquel / QA (voice) | |
| 2024 | Orod / Deserter / Erlik (voice) |