There's enough of a willingness in the West to do sympathetic movies about Arab roles.

The future of Arab films is absolutely up to Arabs and no one else. They've got the equipment, they've got the will, they've got the talent, now they just need a little bit of history behind them and a bit of cultural relaxation.

Something most people don't know about me is that I never grew up.

For me, it's painful to make a movie. It's not my normal rhythm.

I think if you're good and you can persuade people you're going to be able to do that role and ultimately the audience buys it, then it doesn't matter whether you were really a chimpanzee in disguise! You've done it.

I'm kind of stupid.