I'm an actor, full stop. Not an Arab actor. Not an actor of Algerian origin. Just an actor.

Some kids go walking in the mountains, but I just went to the cinema. So when I told my parents I wanted to be an actor, even though this wasn't normal for Arab kids or anyone in the town, they were sort of expecting it and were very supportive.

I like films to be pure cinema, but I also like them to provide a snapshot of a family, a society or a character - something that can nourish you as a human being as well as an actor.

I knew I'd have to go to Paris eventually, and I didn't want to be the provincial kid who just turns up and says, 'I want to act.'

When you agree to work with a filmmaker, it's important that you accept their world. It's an adventure. I like that. I throw myself into the director's arms, into their universe.

Movies don't have borders.