Samy Naceri

Biography: life and films

Samy Naceri (real name: Saïd Naceri) is a French film actor and film producer. He was born in Paris, France on 2 July 1961. Having turned his back on a life of crime in his youth, Naceri began his film career as an extra in the late 1980s. His big break came when director Thomas Gilou offered him the role of Nordine in his film Raï (1995), a role that drew praise from the critics and won him a special prize at the Locarno Film Festival. Naceri's career took off when Luc Besson cast him as the likeable taxi driver Daniel Morales in his film Taxi (1998), which proved to be massive box office success. Nacerci reprised the role in the film's three sequels and showed that he could take on more demanding, dramatic roles in such films as Florent-Emilio Siri's Nid de guêpes (2002) and Rachid Bouchareb's Indigènes (2006).

Filmography