Yacout Info: How did you start as an actor?
Hatim Abdelghafour: When I was in High School I used to do sketches with a friend of mine called Walid Lagnaoui. We were amateurs and I wasn’t taking art seriously as I used to tell my friend that I was only helping and assisting him to become a professional actor.

After High School, I worked in the theatre in Rabat and specialised in English Literature at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech. During my university studies I started to take part in artistic clubs just for a hobby and I performed in various plays such as “The Tragedy of Death and Love” by Hassan el Mashnaoui and “Air of Time” by Amin Azadi. Later I used to go to the Institut Français and I joined the Association of Young Artists. I benefited from various acting techniques on how to monitor the body, looks, voice, gestures, and presence on stage. That was the beginning of my professional life as an actor.

Q-You performed in Theatre, Cinema, TV and Radio. Which is most important to you?
A-For an actor each one of these has its own attractions. I see myself more in Cinema because it gives artists fame and more opportunities to develop in their career. It also gives a respectable income as opposed to theatre which has many financial difficulties, especially in Morocco. But again theatre is the first school for any actor. Without an experience in theatre, an artist, be it actor or director, can never achieve success elsewhere.

Q- “Saoulni n’Jaobek” by Walid Lagnaoui was the first play in which you performed, how important was this for you?
A-We took part in this play in the Arab Festival of Youth and Creativity. The play was about family planning and we tried via this artistic work to raise awareness of society on this issue. We cannot deny the role of art in raising people’s awareness about social issues like family planning especially when the work is a comedy. Messages transmitted in a light and comical manner about social issues has proved to be successful in encouraging positive behavioural changes. That has always been my vision of art, and especially theatre.

Q-Ten years later you performed in the Canadian movie “Section 753.2” by Richard Condo. Tell us about this experience.
A-While in Canada, in which I took part in the 4th World Youth Congress, I contacted the director of this movie. The director appreciated my acting skills and I was successful and was given the role of a Mexican drug dealer. It was a good experience and an adventure for me. I wasn’t in Canada for acting, but I gained a role to play in a movie among well known Canadian artists. That’s why I always believe that nothing is impossible and one can achieve success as long as one believes in one's talent. I always urge people to dream, because dreams are the bridge between imagination and reality.

Q- How did you achieve success internationally and do you think it is difficult for Moroccan actors to make it in the world stage?
A-That’s a very good question indeed. For a Moroccan artist to be recognised internationally is not that easy . The artist has first to distinguish themselves in their country and then achieve the same success in a foreign country. But this does not necessaily mean that actors have to make a success in Moroccan movies before acting in foreign ones. I, for example apart from the Moroccan short movie “The Insurance”, have never acted in a Moroccan feature film. Since many international movies are being shot in Morocco, I don’t miss the opportunity to take part in them. My talents and my mastery of foreign languages have always wetted the appetite of foreign movie directors. And since most Moroccan actors do not speak foreign languages and some of them have not had the advantage of higher education, it is very difficult for them to make it in the world stage.

Q- Apart from acting, you are also active in social work and you received the Award for Human Development from the UNDP. How did you receive this award?
A-I was a Moroccan delegate in the 2nd Pan-African Summit of Youth Leadership which was held in 2005 at Al Alkhawayn University. I received the Award for my human development project which I presented at the event. I developed this project with the Grand Atlas Association of which I am a member. The project was the idea of the Association, but I was given the opportunity to develop it. It’s about bee keeping and raising rabbits and it targets women in rural areas and has as an aim to help these women become independent with a personal income. This is also the same project with which I took part in the 4th World Youth Congress in Canada. However, up till now I haven’t found the necessary funds to help me realise this initiative and make it a reality.

Q-What are your present and future plans?
A-I have just acted in the French TV series "L'ete ou tout a bascule" and an English documentary about Jesus Christ. Now I am enrolled in a Master's programme in Communication Studies and in parallel I am looking for more opportunities to grow as an artist.