- Born
- Nicknames
- Joe
- Yous
- Josey
- J
- Joseph Al Ahmad is a multilingual and biracial actor and director. His mother, a journalist, is of mixed Sudanese and Bulgarian origin, and his father, a university professor, is from Syria. Joseph grew up speaking four languages and is fluent in English, Bulgarian, Russian, and Levantine Arabic. He is the youngest grandson of internationally acclaimed poet and author Vanya Petkova.
After graduating from the National High School of Applied Arts in 2015 where he specialized in fine arts, he was admitted to the Gerasimov University of Cinematic Arts, the oldest film school in the world, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing with 'Excellence in the Performing Arts' in 2020.
While in college, he landed his first supporting speaking role as Bassam in the popular Egyptian TV series Above the Clouds (2018), which required performing in fluent Arabic and Russian. As a director, his short film 'Motives' was awarded 'Best Narrative Short' at the Los Angeles Film Awards in 2019, along with a second 'Honorable Mention: Director' award.
After moving to Los Angeles in 2021, he continued practicing his craft at Anthony Meindl's Actor Workshop and was granted 'Alien of Extraordinary Ability' status in the US as both an actor and director, with the support of the SAG-AFTRA union.
In 2022 he booked the critical role as the narrator on the set of A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), working closely with director Clay Kaytis and Peter Billingsley during production.
Today he is based in Los Angeles, often traveling to his hometown Sofia, Bulgaria, for projects and to spend time with his family, and is represented by his agent Myreon Arslan of MJB Talent, and his manager Irvin Gelb. Known for A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), Above the Clouds (2018), and for directing Motives (2018), Chase (2022).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- Gender / Gender identityMale
- Pronounshe/him
- Race / EthnicityIndigenous, Middle Eastern / North African
- Nationality / Religious or Ethnic identityAssyrian, Bulgarian, Sudanese
- He played the role of the Narrator on the set of 'A Christmas Story Christmas' (2022), the sequel to the 1983 classic 'A Christmas Story', working closely with Peter Billingsley and director Clay Kaytis.
The role was originally played by the late author of the story Jean Shepherd. - His mixed name is because his father is Muslim and his mother is Christian. His maternal great-grandmother was Jewish, from Poltava, Ukraine.
- Speaks fluent English, Russian, Bulgarian and Levantine Arabic.
- Syrian actress Jafra Younes is his cousin.
- He is one-quarter Black, of Sudanese-Nubian ancestry.
- When I was 12, my Syrian father, being the cook in the house, once told me something while teaching me how to make my favorite dish called 'Maklubeh'. I asked him: "Baba (Dad), what is the essential ingredient needed for this dish?". He replied: "Son, the essential ingredient for anything you do in life is love." I live by these words to this day and remember them before creating anything.
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