Captain Hesham: how Karim prepared for “El Ekhteyar”
In “El Ekhteyar” Karim Elemary played Captain Hesham, a special-forces officer who appears in the opening episodes. In several interviews he stressed that the character is real, not a screenwriter’s invention, and that the real officer received the late Ahmed Mansi when he arrived in Sinai.
How he got the part
He was proposed by line producer Khairy Salem, who handled casting, and the choice rested on performance level and physical profile. Karim met the real officer before filming and drew on his own background as a former pilot to find the spirit of the role.
The preparation
- A healthy diet and a strict training routine to stay in shape.
- Rope-descent training from a third-floor level for the raid scenes, led by a retired officer.
- He performed the hard scenes himself — no stunt double.
A scene he won’t forget
The hardest moment for him was the scene where Ahmed Mansi is promoted to lieutenant colonel; it moved him deeply and he reshot it more than once. Karim believes the series succeeded thanks to the public’s respect for the armed forces and the fallen, not performance alone.
A work “for history” — that is how Karim describes it.
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