Omar Sy
He later appeared in larger productions such as X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Jurassic World (2015), Two Is a Family (2016), Chocolat (2016), Inferno (2016), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Arctic Dogs (2019), the Netflix-produced series Lupin (2021–present), Jurassic World Dominion, and The Takedown (2022).
Early life and family
The fourth of eight children, Omar Sy was born on 20 January 1978 in Trappes in the Yvelines department of the Île-de-France region. Both his parents are immigrants from West Africa. His Mauritanian mother, Diaratou, worked as a house cleaner, and his Senegalese father, Demba, worked in an auto parts factory after moving from Bakel to France in 1962.
Sy is of Fulani origin. He was raised in a habitation à loyer modéré in Trappes. The family visited Senegal every other summer and spoke Pulaar at home. Sy is the uncle of actor Alassane Diong.
Career
Sy began his career after high school in 1996, working at Radio Nova, where he met his comedy partner Fred Testot. Afterwards, he appeared in the TV show Le Cinéma de Jamel on Canal+ with Jamel Debbouze. He then created a TV show called Le Visiophon. Following these roles, he appeared in various TV and stage shows such as Je ne fais pas mon âge and Omar et Fred: le spectacle.
Most notably, Sy co-hosted Service après-vente des émissions, a French short comedy television series, with Testot from 2005 to 2012 on Canal+ until it was cancelled.
He appeared in the television game show Fort Boyard in 2006.
Sy then went to Los Angeles, where he lent his voice to Zip in the French version of the Tomb Raider Legend video game. He previously had also voiced a sheep in Disney's Brother Bear.
In 2008, he appeared in "Bienvenue chez les Bylkas," a video clip by Sinik. In 2009, he voiced some of the characters of Logorama with his partner Fred Testot.
In 2011, Sy starred in The Intouchables, playing a streetwise young man who becomes the personal care assistant to a wealthy quadriplegic (played by François Cluzet). The film enjoyed tremendous success, topping the French box office in 2011 and becoming the bestselling French film of all time in its native country, with more than 19 million tickets sold.
As a result, Sy was voted third favourite French personality behind Yannick Noah and Zinedine Zidane. The role earned him the 2012 Globe de Cristal for Best Actor. He also received a nomination for a Satellite Award for Best Actor. He and co-star François Cluzet were jointly bestowed the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Additionally, he won the César Award for Best Actor in 2012 for the same film.
On 30 December 2012, Sy was voted the favourite personality in France, based on a poll by Le Journal du Dimanche, ahead of fellow actor Gad Elmaleh.
In 2014, Sy appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past, playing the character Bishop. He also starred in Samba, directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. He co-starred in the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World, released in June 2015. In 2015, alongside Bradley Cooper, he played a compromised chef in Burnt.
In 2017, he voiced the character Hot Rod in the film Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment in the Transformers series. In 2021, he starred in Netflix's hit series Lupin, a modern day retelling of Arsène Lupin novels. Lupin has become one of the most-watched non-English series on Netflix.
More recently, Sy has signed a multi-year feature film deal with Netflix. In 2021, he was included on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the most influential people in the world. Most recently, Sy signed a first-look deal with HBO Max to develop a series for multiple markets, especially French-speaking ones.
Personal life
Growing up in Trappes, Sy became friends with fellow actor Jamel Debbouze and professional footballer Nicolas Anelka.
On 5 July 2007, Sy married Hélène, the mother of his five children, in Tremblay-sur-Mauldre. They had been together for ten years before they got married. Hélène runs CéKeDuBonheur, a nonprofit supporting children’s wards at French hospitals, and Siyah Organics, a Sénégalo-American organic-food-supplements company.
The family resided in Montfort-l'Amaury, a commune of Île-de-France, before moving to Los Angeles in 2012. After moving to Los Angeles, Sy met with a language tutor daily and watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians to improve his English.
Sy is a Muslim.
Sy is a supporter of Olympique de Marseille.
He signed an October 2023 open letter of Artists4Ceasefire during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
He is an ambassador for the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal.
Business ventures
In June 2025, Sy became a co-owner of French basketball club Paris Basketball of LNB Élite, alongside David Kahn.
Filmography
Television
- 2000 — La cape et l'épée — Minstrel — TV series (1 episode)
- 2000 — Omarius et Fred — Various Characters — TV series
- 2002 — Si j'étais lui — Gabriel — TV movie
- 2003 — 7 jours au Groland — Samba Bongo — TV series (1 episode)
- 2003-2008 — Les Guignols de l'Info — Additional voices
- 2006 — Les multiples — Jimmy (voice) — TV series
- 2007 — Moot-Moot — Isidore, Various Characters (voice) — TV series
- 2010 — Le pas Petit Poucet — Big Thumbling — TV movie
- 2010 — Histoires de vies — Mo — TV series (1 episode)
- 2010–2012 — SAV des émissions — Various — TV series (4 episodes)
- 2011 — Fish'n Chips — Fish (voice) — TV series (52 episodes)
- 2012 — Bref — Party Guest on Phone — TV series (1 episode)
- 2012 — Zak — Himself — TV series
- 2019 — ForesTiVi — TV series short (1 episode)
- 2021–present — Lupin — Assane Diop — Netflix series
Video games
- 2022 — Jurassic World Evolution 2 — Barry
Awards and nominations
- 2006 — Raimu de la Comédie — Actor in a Supporting Role — Nos jours heureux — Nominated
- 2007 — NRJ Ciné Awards — Best Young Talent in a Debut Film — Nos jours heureux — Won
- 2011 — Tokyo International Film Festival — Best Actor (shared with François Cluzet) — Intouchables — Won
- 2012 — Lumière Awards — Best Actor — Intouchables — Won
- 2012 — Globe de Cristal Awards — Best Actor — Intouchables — Won
- 2012 — César Awards — Best Actor — Intouchables — Won
- 2012 — Étoiles d'Or — Best Male Newcomer — Intouchables — Won
- 2012 — Prix Patrick Dewaere — —.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap}N/a — —N/a — Nominated
- 2012 — European Film Awards — Best Actor — Intouchables — Nominated
- 2012 — Satellite Awards — Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Intouchables — Nominated
- 2013 — Santa Barbara International Film Festival — Virtuoso Award — Intouchables — Won
- 2013 — Black Reel Awards — Best Actor — Intouchables — Nominated
- 2013 — Black Reel Awards — Best Breakthrough Performance — Intouchables — Nominated
- 2017 — Lumière Awards — Best Actor — Chocolat — Nominated
- 2017 — Globe de Cristal Awards — Best Actor — Chocolat — Won
- 2017 — César Awards — Best Actor — Chocolat — Nominated
- 2021 — TCA Awards — Individual Achievement in Drama — Lupin — Nominated
- 2021 — Montreal International Black Film Festival — Career Achievement Award — —N/a — Won
- 2021 — Gotham Awards — Outstanding Performance in a New Series — Lupin — Nominated
- 2021 — Rose d'Or — Performance of the Year — Lupin — Won
- 2022 — Satellite Awards — Best Actor in a Drama / Genre Series — Lupin — Won
- 2022 — Golden Globe Awards — Best Actor – Television Series Drama — Lupin — Nominated
📚 Source: Wikipedia
