Lewis Alsamari

Lewis Alsamari (born 1976, birth name Sarmed Al-Samarrai) is an Iraqi-born actor now based in England. He was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. He has appeared in episodes of television series such as Spooks and Crossroads. He recently starred in the Universal Pictures film United 93 as the terrorist Saeed Al Ghamdi.

Alsamari was reported to have been denied a visa by US immigration authorities when he applied to visit New York City to attend the premiere of United 93. The reason reportedly given was that he had once been a conscripted member of the Iraqi army - although this was also the grounds for his refugee status after his desertion in 1993.^[1] Other sources say that he applied late for his visa and that it was not denied.^[2]

Alsamari was featured in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe production of "What I Heard About Iraq," based on the Eliot Weinberger article of the same name that originally appeared in the London Review of Books in 2005.^[3] This Fringe First Award winning production was produced by James Seabright Productions and Paul Lucas Productions and later toured the UK for three months.

He is a distant cousin of the legendary Iraqi singer Kathem Al Saher, both real surnames being Al-Samarrai.

• Lewis Alsamari at IMDb
• Official Lewis Alsamari website
• Template:Myspace

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