Nadine Mustafa Well, if you’re Eyad Hourani, one of the Middle East’s biggest acting talents who played one of the lead roles in the 2013 Oscar-nominated film Omar, you take on another high-stakes role in a new post-apocalyptic drama.
The Pact is a Qatar-funded Sci-Fi series that follows a band of survivors as they struggle to make it to safety and escape the Miasma, a mysterious fog that drives victims insane. And once more, Eyad plays “a good guy trying to survive in a team.”
The intense shoot took place across stunning locations in Bulgaria and Romania in freezing conditions. And says Eyad, those conditions helped the team and actors bond, creating a TV show that’s already garnered rave reviews. “It was like a family on the shoot and you can see in the show that it’s made from real love, there were real tears on the show.”
The Pact has been signed by Roku TV and has just started showing across North America, with a Middle East debut in mid 2023. Alongside that, Eyad recently starred in الغياب لموكب حضور ,a true-life historical drama based around the creation of the state of Israel during the 30s and 40s and the resulting war. The series was shown nightly during Ramadan and, says Eyad, taking part in the three-month shoot in Jordan was a deeply personal work.
“This was our story,” says Eyad, “so it was important to get it right. It’s a very personal story for me as my grandfather was kicked out of our village in ‘48 when it was converted to Hebrew, so I know my family will all be watching.”
Eyad grew long hair and a moustache for the role a a freedom fighter, and after so many American films and shows, he relished the opportunity to work on a full-scale Arabic TV production.
“Acting in your own language is very different and I really enjoyed it. It really meant a lot to act in Arabic with a great Syrian cast and a really strong Arab story,” says Eyad.
These two shows come soon after his 2020 film Vanguard, where Eyad starred opposite martial arts and Hollywood legend Jackie Chan. Eyad was cast as Omar, a Middle Eastern prince and the lead bad guy in a $50 million film partly shot across the Middle East and India. “
I loved working with Jackie Chan,” says Omar. “We had great chemistry together during long days on a very professional shoot. It was also a great chance to experiment with different Middle East accents.”
Whether you’re tuning into his end-of-the-world thriller or you caught his important historical TV series, it’ll be hard to miss Eyad Hourani on the small screen this year as he continues his rise as one of the Middle East’s brightest acting talents.
