Omar Sy (; ; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor. Sy was initially best known in France for his comedy sketches with Fred Testot on the Service après-vente des émissions television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gained wider international recognition for his role in the 2011 comedy-drama film The Intouchables, which earned him the César Award for Best Actor, making him the first black recipient.
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).Biography on Première.fr
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, Times 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.Collins, Lauren (June 13, 2021). "The formidable charm of Omar Sy." The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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 Film + Year Title Role Director Notes 2000 Granturismo Voice Denis Thybaud Short 2001 La Tour Montparnasse Infernale Taxi Charles Nemes La concierge est dans l'ascenseur Omar Olivier Coussemacq Short 2002 Le Boulet Malian No. 3 Alain Berberian & Frédéric Forestier Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra Painter Alain Chabat Deleted scene Samourais Tyson Giordano Gederlini The Race UN Sergeant Djamel Bensalah Ces jours heureux Brice Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache Short2003 La Beuze Michel Dembélé François Desagnat & Thomas Sorriaux 2004 Le Carton Lorenzo Charles Nemes Coming-out Max Olivier Ayache-Vidal Short 2006 Nos jours heureux Joseph Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache 2007 Garage Babes Hamidou Julien Pelgrand Video 2008 2 Alone in Paris Sammy Bouglioni Éric Judor & Ramzy Bedia 2009 Micmacs Remington Jean-Pierre Jeunet Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard Snow (voice) Luc Besson French dub Lascars Narbé (voice) Emmanuel Klotz & Albert Pereira-Lazaro Tellement proches Bruno Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache King Guillaume Jean-Peter Pierre-François Martin-Laval Safari Youssouf Hammal Olivier Baroux Envoyés très spéciaux Jimmy Frédéric Auburtin La Loi de Murphy Father Joachim Ortega Christophe Campos Logorama Michelin Man, Yellow M&Ms, Mr. Clean (voice) François Alaux French version 2010 Allez raconte! Momo (voice) Jean-Christophe Roger Florence Foresti: Mother Fucker Taxi Driver Nicolas Benamou Video 2011Les Tuche Bouzolles VicarOlivier Baroux The Intouchables Bakary "Driss" Bassari Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache 2012 De l'autre côté du périph Ousmane Diakhaté David Charhon Les seigneurs Wéké N'Dogo Olivier Dahan Mais qui a re-tué Pamela Rose? Mosby Olivier Baroux & Kad Merad Crazy Pink Limo The Philosopher Joséphine de Meaux Short 2013 Mood Indigo Nicolas Michel GondryAux Armes: AIDES Narrator (voice) Camille DelamarreShort 2014Good PeopleKhanHenrik Ruben GenzX-Men: Days of Future PastBishopBryan Singer Samba Samba Cissé Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache Mune: Guardian of the Moon Sohone (voice) Benoît Philippon & Alexandre Heboyan 2015Jurassic WorldBarryColin TrevorrowBurnt Michel John Wells 2016 Chocolat Clown Chocolat Roschdy Zem The Angry Birds Movie Red (voice) Fergal Reilly & Clay Kaytis French dub Norm of the North Norm (voice) Trevor Wall French dub Inferno Christoph Bouchard Ron Howard Demain tout commence Samuel Hugo Gélin 2017SaharaAjar (voice)Pierre CoréFrench dubKnock KnockLorraine Lévy Transformers: The Last KnightHot Rod (voice)Michael Bay 2018Le flic de Belleville Sebastian Bouchard Rachid Bouchareb YaoSeydou TallPhilippe Godeau 2019Le Chant du loup D'Orsi Antonin Baudry Arctic Dogs Leopold (voice) Aaron Woodley 2020 The Call of the Wild Perrault Chris Sanders Le prince oublié The Dad/The Prince Michel Hazanavicius Night Shift Aristide Anne Fontaine Refugee Marwan Brandt Andersen Short Tout simplement noir Omarius John Wax & Jean-Pascal Zadi Soul Joe Gardner Pete Docter and Kemp Powers French dub 2022 The Takedown Ousmane Diakhité Louis Leterrier Father & Soldier Bakary Diallo Mathieu Vadepied Jurassic World Dominion Barry Colin Trevorrow 2023 The Book of Clarence Barabbas Jeymes Samuel 2024 The Killer Sey John Woo 2025 Shadow Force Isaac Joe Carnahan Post-production2025French LoverAbel CamaraLisa Nina-Rives 2027 Untitled Ocean's Eleven prequel Bradley Cooper Filming
Television + Year Title Role Notes 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 movie20037 jours au GrolandSamba BongoTV series (1 episode)2003-2008Les Guignols de l'InfoAdditional 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 Histoires de vies Mo TV series (1 episode)2010–2012SAV des émissionsVariousTV series (4 episodes) 2011 Fish'n Chips Fish (voice) TV series (52 episodes) 2012 Bref Party Guest on Phone TV series (1 episode) Zak Himself TV series 2019 ForesTiVi TV series short (1 episode) 2021–present Lupin Assane Diop Netflix series
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2022Jurassic World Evolution 2 Barry
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref 2006 Raimu de la Comédie Actor in a Supporting Role Nos jours heureux 2007 NRJ Ciné Awards Best Young Talent in a Debut Film 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival Best Actor (shared with François Cluzet) Intouchables 2012 Lumière Awards Best Actor Globe de Cristal Awards Best Actor César Awards Best Actor Étoiles d'Or Best Male Newcomer Prix Patrick Dewaere European Film Awards Best Actor Intouchables Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture 2013 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Black Reel Awards Best Actor Best Breakthrough Performance 2017 Lumière Awards Best Actor Chocolat Globe de Cristal Awards Best Actor César Awards Best Actor 2021 TCA Awards Individual Achievement in Drama Lupin Montreal International Black Film Festival Career Achievement Award Gotham Awards Outstanding Performance in a New Series Lupin Rose d'Or Performance of the Year 2022 Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Drama / Genre Series Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama
References
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