By Hanan Sabra and Salonaz Sami Athar El-Hakim, actress Burst into sobs as Al-Ahram Weekly interviewed her, saying only, through her tears: This is Ahmed Zaki we have lost. What more can I say? Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, actor We've lost a beloved brother, a great colleague and the last genius of Egyptian cinema. Ahmed was an amazing person and he's left us a great cinematic legacy. Nabila Ebeid, actress We've lost a great artist, someone who devoted his entire life to art. He'll never be replaced because no one else will have his amazing powers of impersonation. Nour El-Sherif, actor Ahmed Zaki is not a phenomenon, a phenomenon appears and disappears quickly. I would describe him rather as an actor with the ability to take on any role under the sun. The late Atef El-Tayeb, director of Al- Hobb Fawqa Hadabit Al-Ahram (Love Atop the Pyramid Hill), Al-Barii (The Innocent), Al-Huroub (The Escape) and Deidd Al-Hukouma (Against the Government) used to say that Zaki is like the genie in the lamp -- when we worked together, El-Tayeb said, what I dreamed of accomplishing, Zaki turned into reality. Osama Anwar Okasha, scriptwriter Ahmed Zaki was an actor who surpassed all expectations, he deserves to be regarded as a legend. At the very start of his career, he made the decision to occupy a unique place among his colleagues, and he created his own school of acting. Rafiq El-Sabban, film critic I like to call him the impossible dream; although he was not endowed with much physical attraction by conventional Egyptian standards, he still managed to become a star. I wouldn't describe him as an artistic phenomenon, but I consider him one of the best 10 actors in the history of Egyptian cinema. Salma El- Shammaa, TV presenter Ahmed Zaki was a real value, a real artist who loved acting for the sake of acting. He garnered few benefits from his art, he didn't even think about making money out of it. Instead, he focussed on the art itself; he thought about it constantly, while sleeping, eating, giving an interview, even in his gait and manner of speech. To him, there was no room for calculations. That's why he died without any money to his name. Art was his sole investment. Sherihan, actress Ahmed Zaki is a real artist who will never be seen again in cinema. He did not resemble any of those who came before him, nor will there be another Ahmed Zaki in the future. He is a unique phenomenon in Egyptian cinema. Wahid Hamed, scriptwriter No, Ahmed Zaki is not a phenomenon. He was a real artist who loved his art and the characters he portrayed. He used to live the character from the moment he read the script and did not slip out of it until he saw it on screen. Ahmed Zaki was so talented as an actor he made it possible to write a script without paying too much attention to character details -- he took care of them himself. His departure means that I can't create many characters, they would have been suitable only for him. Yehia El-Fakharani, actor He was different, and this is why he was so brilliant. Ahmed Zaki loved acting for its own sake, whether he was the one acting or watching other actors. He was known for accepting only those roles that he would enjoy performing, never letting money be a decisive factor. Once he asked me to play the role of Salah Jahine in a film that he intended to produce, only because he wanted to see his friend Jahine on the screen; and his own features made it impossible for him to play the role; he was ready to borrow money to produce the movie. Youssef Shaaban, actor He was a true human being in every sense of the word. Youssra, actress Ahmed Zaki is a legend: he was capable not only of portraying any character, but also of bringing the best out of the actor playing opposite him. He does his best in any role, and helps his colleagues on the film, showing their talent at its best. His intelligence was discernible in his ability to find the key of every character. This was most obvious in his penultimate film, Maali Al-Wazir (His Excellency the Minister), in which he focussed on the human side of the character, not the post he occupied. Interviews by Hanan Sabra and Salonaz Sami
