He gained wider recognition for his role in the 2011 comedy-drama film Intouchables, which earned him the César Award for Best Actor, making him the first Black recipient.

[5] Sy began his career after high school in 1996,[4] working at Radio Nova, where he met his comedy partner Fred Testot.

[2] Following these roles, he appeared in various TV and stage shows such as Je ne fais pas mon âge and Omar et Fred: le spectacle.

Most notably, Sy co-hosted Service après-vente des émissions, a French short comedy television series, with Testot from 2005 to 2012 on Canal+ until it was cancelled.

Sy then went to Los Angeles, where he lent his voice to Zip in the French version of the Tomb Raider Legend video game.

On 30 December 2012, Sy was voted the favourite personality in France, based on a poll by Le Journal du Dimanche, ahead of fellow actor Gad Elmaleh.

[11] Most recently, Sy signed a first-look deal with HBO Max to develop a series for multiple markets, especially French-speaking ones.

[13] Hélène runs CéKeDuBonheur, a nonprofit supporting children’s wards at French hospitals, and Siyah Organics, a Sénégalo-American organic-food-supplements company.

After moving to Los Angeles, Sy met with a language tutor daily and watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians to improve his English.