He is most notable for his role in the Egyptian Cinema's film adaptations of the Cairo Trilogy, a trilogy written by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz.

He received a diploma in performing arts and started acting in theatre.

His first performance was in the play Murtafa`t wa Darag (Heights and Stairs).

He starred in film director Youssef Chahine's Ibn al-Nile (Son of the Nile) along with Faten Hamama in 1951.

He played a leading role in the 1954 film Gaalouni Mujriman (I Have Been Made a Murderer), which was based on a novel by Naguib Mahfouz.