about Egyptian movies being sold to the Saudis . What drives me is having a voice for the voiceless . Being someone who grew up in the ghetto ; having dyslexia and using my liability as a weapon for success – I sold to Hollywood what they were looking for - my story will inspire some kid from the ghettos of Zimbabwe , Kenya or Egypt . EO : Did you ever feel like you were in the wrong profession ? SB : There is no door at the back ; it ’ s always in front . I ’ m like Mohammed Ali . When I get knocked down I get up – it ’ s 12 rounds . If my mother was alive , I would have called her and cry when things were bad with me – it cleans me up . EO : Which do you enjoy doing more these days , acting or producing ? SB : Acting – with producing you have to babysit almost everybody on set . You have to compliment everyone to get the job done – it ’ s just too much trouble , producing . Now I ’ m into voice overs for cartoons , I did something for Unchartered 3 and now I ’ m doing a project with Cartoon Network called Apples & Onions – I enjoy doing these things . EO : What ’ s the difference between acting in real life and doing a voice over for a cartoon character ? SB : With video games , you have to wear the motion capture suit so they capture your acts – fan fact – I ’ m the first Egyptian actor to do this . It ’ s quite different doing motion captures or voice over as compared to acting in real life . I have two kids and I used to watch cartoons with them when they were growing up so doing a kid ’ s project with Unchartered and Cartoon Network came naturally to
39 | Colossium . Ocotber 2020
Listen , if the king of death comes for me now – I ’ m happy . My mother said before she died that there ’ s no scale of measure to see God . I have done well . me – I enjoy every aspect of it . EO : How long are you anticipating you will be working with Cartoon Network ? SB : As long as I ’ m here , I ’ m doing it – my show is no . 3 now so we have a long way to go . EO : What ’ s your relationship with Egypt currently ? SB : I have been blacklisted in Egypt for a show I did in Turkey . I ’ m not traveling to Egypt anytime soon – I don ’ t want to take a chance . EO : What instigated the blacklisting ? SB : I think it has to do with something I said about the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or something I said in Turkey . Right now the political atmosphere in Egypt is one sided – it ’ s either you ’ re with the government or you ’ re an enemy of the state which is wrong . We have our freedom of speech which the government of the day is suppressing . Look , I ’ m an actor who works with so many people – ok – you can ’ t restrict me , I tell stories – true stories so if I have expressed myself or opinion on a social subject , that shouldn ’ t be the grounds for blacklisting – I have my rights . EO : What ’ s your take on governance in Egypt ? SB : To be honest with you , it ’ s not what one will expect . The youth lost the revolution to the Muslim Brotherhood who in turn lost to the Mediterranean . Right now if you ’ re not with the government then you ’ re against it but I don ’ t really care about that . With Egypt I don ’ t choose to involve myself with the politics going on there but if you ask me a question about Egypt , I will give you an answer .