Soufiane El Khalidy (born July 22, 1987) is a French-Moroccan actor, filmmaker, and writer. Born in Agadir, Morocco, he has acted in films and television series such as Ghosts of Beirut (2023), NCIS: Los Angeles (2017), Shockwave: Countdown to Disaster (2017), and the upcoming Netflix biopic Mary. He also played the role of Ridwan in the film Riley Parra (2017) and its sequel Riley Parra: Better Angels (2019).
Furthermore, Soufiane El Khalidy has starred alongside Lambert Wilson in the German film, Klandestin (2024) directed by Angelina Maccarone and the five times César Awards winner, Benoît Magimel in the upcoming big budget French diptych, De Gaulle, directed by Antonin Baudry. He starred as The Father in the commercial Heroic Girl (2017) directed by Aaron Weldon, the head of Layout at Blur Studios and the second unit director for David Fincher on the third season of Love, Death and Robots (2022). He played the character Youssef in the Shahid action series The Eight.
Soufiane El Khalidy is also a writer and filmmaker. He wrote the book Les Riffs d'un Moroccan Rebel (2022), and has received accolades for his short film Flags and Masks Down (2014) and his screenplays, Just Like You Imagined and Jukebox Zero.
Early life and education El Khalidy was born in Agadir, Morocco to the general practitioner and former lieutenant in the Royal Moroccan Army, Larbi El Khalidy and nurse Malika El Kaddouri. As a child, he was involved in amateur theatre at his primary school, Al Hanane. El Khalidy is a 2005 French College in Agadir graduate in mathematics, and later attended Bordeaux Segalen University in France, where he majored in medical education.In 2008, he abruptly stopped his medical studies, as he decided to come back to Morocco, where he studied business and later earned his bachelor degree in Marketing from Al Akhawayn University. According to the newspaper Libération, El Khalidy was during his studies at Al Akhawayn, the reporter for the Moroccan web magazine Fashion Maroc and its partner Elite Model Look for three consecutive years.
Soon after his graduation, El Khalidy moved to the United States thanks to a "Global Achievement Scholarship" offered by Full Sail University in Winterpark,Florida, where he'd graduate with a Master of Fine Arts in film production.
Acting career
In 2016, El Khalidy started his movie career in Los Angeles after a recommendation from his professor at Full Sail University, Bill W. Benton. In 2017, The Actors Studio in New York invited Soufiane El Khalidy for its preliminary auditions in order to become a lifetime member.
El Khalidy has been described by Medi 1 as "the new face of Moroccan cinema". Like Youssef Kerkour and Said Taghmaoui, El Khalidy is one of the few Moroccan actors who have succeeded in international film productions and Hollywood.
During his career, El Khalidy appeared in various music videos by rock bands like Train, One Ok Rock and BRMC. In 2024, he is the lead in the music video Tatooine/ Maintenance by the French rapper, JXSH.
He is slated to play the lead alongside Sveva Alviti in the Italian movie Le Chemin du Retour by Fabio Zito.
Personal life
On 15 October 2022, El Khalidy married the Moroccan-French actress Nadia Benzakour ( Seneca: On The Creation of Earthquakes, Zodi & Tehu: Princes of The Desert, Killing Jesus, Deep State) in Tangier. The couple is often referred by the media as the Moroccan Brangelina.
Soufiane El Khalidy identifies himself as a liberal in a political and spiritual sense.
Artistry
Selective filmography
As an actor 2017: NCIS: Los Angeles (TV series), as Sayid Lajani 2017: Shockwave: Countdown To Disaster (Film), as the Young Militant 2017: Riley Parra (TV series), as Ridwan 2017: Gulag Magadan(Movie), as Commissar Yagoda 2017: Heroic Girl (TV commercial), as The Father 2019: Riley Parra: Better Angels (Movie), as Ridwan 2022: The Eight(TV series), as Youssef 2022: Colosseum (TV series), as Centurion 2023: Ghosts of Beirut(TV series), as Kerem 2024: Klandestin (Movie), as the Coast Guard 2024: JXSH-Tatooine/Maintenance (Music video), as Alfred 2025: Mary (Movie), as Frustrated Pilgrim 2025: De Gaulle: Part 1 (Movie), as Koenig Soldier
As a director /writer 2014: Flags and Masks Down(Short Movie) 2015: Colonized Mind (Short Movie)
Bibliography Soufiane El Khalidy has authored one book: Les Riffs d'un Moroccan Rebel (Editions Amalthée. ). Its preserved at the National Library of France in Paris and at the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Human Sciences and Islamic Studies in Casablanca.
Les Riffs d'un Moroccan Rebel includes modern poems with both personal and political themes. His poetry depicts his childhood in Agadir, his life as a student in Al Akhawayn, in the United States, France and Spain, filming in Hollywood as an actor, racism in the film industry, his view of Moroccan and American societies as well as the rest of the world, as well as personal details.
Awards and nominations +YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult2015Los Angeles CinefestBest Short FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2015Mac Horror Film FestivalBest Student FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2015Miami Independent Film FestivalBest Student FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2015InterShort Online Film AwardsBest Short NarrativeFlags and Masks DownNominated2015All Seas Film FestivalBest First Time FilmmakerFlags and Masks DownNominated2015VisionariaInternational Competition - Short Film with Theme "Borders"Flags and Masks DownNominated2015Black Bird Film FestivalNon- CompetitiveFlags and Masks DownSelected2015Broken Knuckle Film FestivalSlamin ShortFlags an Masks DownNominated2015The Monthly Film FestivalBest TrailerFlags and Masks DownNominated2015Barcelona Planet Film FestivalBest Trailer/TeaserFlags and Masks DownNominated2015Wiper Film FestivalAll Categories are WelcomedFlags and Masks DownNominated2015Westscape Film FestivalBest Comedy Short FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2015Rock 'n' Roll Film Festival, KenyaRock 'n' roll themed short film or screenplayFlags and Masks DownNominated2016Grand IndieWise ConventionBest Short Narrative FilmsFlags and Masks DownFinalist2016International Open Film FestivalBest Screenplay (Short Film)JukeBox ZeroSemi-Finalist2016International Open Film FestivalBest Short FilmFlags and Masks DownSemi-Finalist2016Eppfilms Indie TheaterBest Short FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2016Golden Sun Short Film FestivalBest Short FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2016Ozark ShortsBest Short FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2016Los Angeles CinefestBest Screenplay JukeBox ZeroNominated2016NewLife Film Festival & Screenplay ContestBest Student FilmFlags and Masks DownNominated2016StarBest Film FestivalNo competition New Film MakersJukeBox ZeroSelected2016STEPS International Film FestivalBest ScriptJukeBox ZeroNominated2017Los Angeles CinefestBest Short ScreenplayJust Like You ImaginedSemi-Finalist2017Los Angeles CinefestBest Film/Video PosterFlags and Masks DownSemi-Finalist2017Cyprus International Film Festival "Golden Aphrodite Awards"Photo/Still contest - Poster ContestFlags and Masks DownNominated2017US Hollywood Int'l Golden Film AwardBest ScreenplayJukeBox ZeroNominated2018Chicago Horror Film FestivalBest ScreenplayJuke Box ZeroSemi-Finalist2024WideScreen Film & Music Video FestivalBest Short ScreenplayJust Like You ImaginedNominated
References
External links
Soufiane El Khalidy on WorldCat (libraries)