After moving to Hollywood in 2012, star Omar Sy returned to Paris and gave an interview to the British newspaper, The Guardian, last month.

In it, he spoke wistfully about his experience with racism, which taught him to "keep his head down when dealing with white Parisians", and made him write a scathing letter to the French press in 2016, expressing his "fear of the future".

He also spoke proudly of his boyhood colleague, Nicholas Anelka, the Arsenal star, who inspired him to make the start, and who is keen to watch all his matches.

And other exciting things worth sailing with C.

French cinema icon

Omar Sy, 43, of Senegalese origin, was born on the outskirts of Paris, to working parents of African descent.

He became the "icon of black French cinema" and made a name for himself all over the world.

When he lit up the box office, he starred in the 2011 French comedy Intouchables, which won nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

And the highest profit ever, with total revenue of $427 million, earned in 83 weeks.

He entered history as the first black star to win the César Award for Best Actor, in 2012. For the first time in the history of the award, which is the French version of the Academy Award, 37 years ago.

ahead of the famous French star, Jean Dujardin.

Now he stars in the role of a brilliantly confident and charming French Senegalese thief, Assani Diop.

In a television drama adapted from a French novel written by Maurice Le Pen in 1970, about a thief who steals the jewels of the rich, it became very popular, as one of the most watched shows of 2021. The second part of it will be shown from June 11.

Lupine vs James Bond

Omar Sy returned to the world early this year, through the “Netflix” platform, and the suspense and excitement series “Lupin”, which was watched by 70 million people around the world, in the first 28 days of its presentation.

setting the highest record for a French series;

Which made Sy express his surprise on Twitter, saying, "70 million, this is crazy. Very proud that Lupine is the first French series to achieve this global success."

Lupine was also included in the list of the top 10 shows in most countries of Europe and the world.

And it became the first French series to rank number one on the weekend in America, according to Forbes.

Last March, Deadline's Nancy Tartaleni asked Omar Sy if Lupine could make him the French equivalent of James Bond?

"If I were English, I'd do Bond," he replied with a laugh. "But apparently the rule is for him to be English, so I'm completely out of the ratings."

Asani Diop, a victim of neglect

Tom Lamont, editor of the Guardian, began his interview with Omar Sy, from the clip that came out of the French series "Le Pins", in which Sy appeared as a worker sticking ads in the Paris metro, without anyone noticing.

He seemed surprised, saying, "She saw me, but she did not look at me," commenting on the reaction of a woman who asked her for help, and she did not notice that he was the international French star.

Lamont said, "I've never heard of an actor picking up a bucket and a brush, to spend a day posting ads for his series in the Paris metro."

C to Tom explains the idea behind this unconventional marketing ploy. "The clip talks about something very serious, which is that some people in France simply don't see you," he says.

Also in the series, "The hero suffered from neglect, and this neglect was the motive to enjoy robbing the city's rich."

I'm tall.. I'm black

When Si was a boy in the suburbs, he had a complicated relationship with the French police, says Lamont. He preferred to run to escape them. "I remember running as a teenager, and after 20 years nothing has changed," he says.

Since the death of a French-Senegalese in police custody in 2016, Sy has been involved in campaigns against racism and police violence.

And when the killing of George Floyd sparked a global outcry, Sy addressed a scathing speech to the French press, in which he compared the two cases, saying, "Both are black and tall, and their lives turned into horror within a few hours, for nothing."

Expressing his fear of the future, he said, "I'm also tall, I'm black, I look like them. Could the same thing happen to me tomorrow? Could it happen to my children?"

Comedy to counter suspicious looks

C adds that the ad experience revealed that the smiles were gone, and most people seemed rude, "which brought me back to my experience as a kid coming to Paris, when I struggled with a certain kind of people's gaze."

Lamont asked him, "What kind of looks?" asked Lamont. "It's like a barrier of ice, when you have the same skin tone as me, you know that this barrier doesn't actually break easily. Since I was 14 years old and 6 feet tall, I've learned that humor can comfort strangers. The conservatives, and I found nothing but comedy to counter the suspicious looks.”

Inspiring Anelka

In his interview with Lamont, Sy recounted how the experience of his colleague and close friend, Nicholas Anelka, inspired him to believe that breaking out of suburban poverty and working in a competitive profession was not impossible.

Anelka was the best football player in C school.

He always slept early before training, while Si and the others were having fun.

Until Anelka left for London to play for the Arsenal team, and become famous in the world. Reinforcing Sy, who is still proud of Anelka and watches his matches, the ambition of success and international fame.