Latter-day knight of the stage does Saladin justice in film

16 May 2005

Interview

DAMASCUS: Ghassan Massoud is a slight man with sharp features and piercing brown eyes. Dressed in a white button-down linen shirt that falls loosely over blue jeans, Massoud looks more like a poet than the famous Muslim war hero Saladin who rescues Muslims from the hands of crusaders in the new Ridley Scott film "Kingdom of Heaven."

"He [Scott] wanted Saladin to appear more like a statesman, more like a gentleman than a fighter with muscles," says Massoud, seated alone in a cafe in Damascus's Cham Palace, taking an occasional glace out the window onto the busy street.

That is precisely the air that Massoud exudes - that of a gentleman. A newcomer to Hollywood, Massoud has long been known in Syria and the Arab world as a renowned actor. Described as a Syrian Al Pacino by one critic, Massoud made his name on the Syrian stage as a director and actor in the late 1980s. His portfolio is wide. He has acted in Iranian films, has directed King Lear for a Syrian audience and played the role of the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda in one of his student's productions.

Most recently, he directed a play called The Diplomats, a farcical depiction of a family from the countryside which has been given the task of traveling to the city to inform a young man that his wife has died. He has also molded many famous Syrian directors and actors as a drama professor at the Damascus Music and Drama School.

But, according to his fans, his real forte is acting. In fact, in Syria, he stands out amongst other Arab actors as a man of integrity, who has shunned big-budget productions during even the most difficult of times because of his belief in quality drama and acting.

"I thought that if this film came just a little later for Ghassan, he would have fallen," said Imad Houriye, a good friend of Massoud from his times at the theater school. "Many actors go to the Gulf to work to make a living. Ghassan could not do such a thing."

It is that honor that Massoud allows to shine in his role as Saladin, the legendary Muslim leader who led the fight against the crusaders and liberated Jerusalem in the Battle of Hattin in 1187. In preparation for the part, Massoud read hundreds and hundreds of pages on the Muslim leader from different historical accounts - although he added that Saladin had been a role-model for him and for many other Muslims and Arabs since childhood. For that reason, the part was almost intrinsic for Massoud.

"Everything in Saladin's own life is also my philosophy," says Massoud. "My culture is that of Saladin. My religion is the same religion and I speak the same language, have the same geography and the same history. It is in my nature to understand Saladin more than anyone in the West. He has been a role-model for us since our youth. From the philosophy of the people, Saladin was an example for the Muslim hero who returned to Arabs and Muslims their pride and their dignity."

He describes Saladin as a cool, noble dignitary and leader who understood the value of human life and who elicited respect from even his enemies. For Massoud, playing Saladin was an honor and an important opportunity to demystify the religion of Islam for a Western audience.

"I was there to give the West a good image about Islam, about the Arabs, about Saladin - this huge leader," he explains. "They need to make revisions about their information about Arabs and Islam."

Scott's decision to cast an Arab and Muslim as the great Islamic hero, although rare in Hollywood, came as no surprise to Massoud. (Scott also cast Egyptian actor Khaled El Nabaoui to play Saladin's more extreme Islamic spiritual adviser in the film.) For Massoud, the opportunity to play one of the Muslim world's most respected leaders under Scott - who has made such classic films as "Gladiator," "Bladerunner" and "Thelma and Louise" - was a dream.

"Discussions with Ridley were always very interesting," Massoud says. "He is a very educated man and was able to understand me easily. I was surprised about how much he knew about Saladin - he is a man with very rich information. And he has good knowledge about Islam, and the Arabs as well. So, the discussions we had on how to portray the role of Saladin was always easy."

Dialogue between the West and the Muslim world is just what Massoud hopes "Kingdom of Heaven" will provide. According to Massoud, the West has developed a deep misunderstanding of Islam and the Arab world, especially since the September 11, 2001 attacks. He believes his portrayal of Saladin could very well set an example for both the West and the Muslim world on how to mend those differences.

"He is an example for our people, our leaders, our society because he connected between statesmen and religious men and the open-minded men in the West," says Massoud. "I think he was a very educated man. He was also a very huge Islamic and Arab hero. The sensitive point here is about Jerusalem. He was able to return Jerusalem to Arab Muslims and Christians because Jerusalem has places for Muslims and Christians. For this reason, he has become an example."

Today, according to Massoud, there is no present-day alternative to Saladin. Arabs and Muslims have been humiliated and the pride that Saladin once brought to the Muslim world is long-gone. He says the days of Arab nationalism and unity are over; Arab and Muslim leaders are divided, have been bought out and have squandered their riches on cabarets, rather than investing in the arts and production companies.

While hoping for dialogue, Massoud blames much of the problems between the Muslim world and the West on current U.S. policies and the leadership of George W. Bush, who he says is trying to divide and weaken an already divided and weak Muslim world. He does not trust Bush's promises of democratic change in the region and hopes that the American public will understand that Syrians want to reform their country on their own, separate from U.S. interference. A typically mild-mannered man, Massoud is almost out of his seat when he speaks of Bush.

"George Bush is stupid and he loves blood more than the people and the music," says Massoud. "We loved Bill Clinton here. Why? Because he was a musical man. He was an educated man leading the world. He was a peaceful man. He did not like war and fighting and the clashes between states and civilizations. But, this man, I wonder if he reads the newspapers. If Saladin were here he would have at least not allowed Bush to destroy the world, especially the feeling of humanity between people."