Saïd "Samy" Naceri (born 2 July 1961 in Paris) is a French actor of French and Algerian descent.
He was born from a Kabyle Algerian father and a French mother. He started his career as extra in films such as The French Revolution (1989) and The Professional. He is most famous in France for playing the role of badass Marseille-based taxi driver Daniel Morales in the Luc Besson-produced and written action comedy film series Taxi.
His most acclaimed roles are gangster Yanis in The Code (La Mentale) and soldier Yassir in the World War II drama Indigènes (Days of Glory). He shared the prize for Best Actor with the rest of the latter's main cast at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
He is also quite infamous for his various criminal offenses that have prevented him from getting significant roles since the late 2000s.
Selected filmography:
- The Professional (1994) as a SWAT team member
- P.J. (1997) as Rachid
- Taxi series (1998-2007) as Daniel Morales
- L'Aîné des Ferchaux (2001) as Mike Maudet
- Nid de guêpes (2002) as Nasser
- Finding Nemo (2003) as Crush (French dub)
- Days of Glory (2006) as Yassir
- Redemption Day (2021) as Jaafar El Hadi
Tropes & Trivia in his works:
- Promoted Fanboy: He is a lifelong fan of Jean-Paul Belmondo, and got to play with the man himself in the Made-for-TV Movie remake of L'Aîné des Ferchaux.
