Age: 67
male
Ghassan Massoud (Arabic: غسّان مسعود / Ghassān Masʻūd; born September 20, 1958) is a Syrian actor and filmmaker born on September 20, 1958, in Damascus, Syria. He achieved global recognition for his roles in both Arabic and worldwide films. Massoud has been active in the industry for several decades, earning a distinguished reputation as one of the most highly regarded actors in the Middle East. Massoud is known for writing and directing the theater play "Diplomasiyyoun," as well as his appearances in many Syrian-made films. He has appeared in the Syrian television series "The Chant of Rain," but most recently, he starred as Abu Bakr in MBC's series "Omar." He's most well-known internationally for his role as Saladin in Ridley Scott's 2005 film "Kingdom of Heaven," alongside playing Ammand the Corsair in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Throughout his career, Massoud has been recognized for the commitment he has to his craft. He continues to be an influential figure in the world of Arab cinema, teaching drama at both the Damascus Music and Drama School and the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts.
Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV has come to fear House Atreides, partly due to the growing popularity of Duke Leto Atreides and also because the talent of Leto's fighting force is beginning to rival the effectiveness of the Emperor's own dreaded Imperial Sardaukar guard. Shaddam decides that House Atreides must be destroyed, but cannot risk an attack on a single House, which would by necessity unite the other Houses against him. The Emperor instead uses the centuries-old feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen to disguise his assault, enlisting the brilliant and power-hungry Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in his plan to trap and eliminate the Atreides. Shaddam forces Leto to accept the lucrative fief of the desert planet Arrakis, the only known source of the spice melange, previously controlled by the Harkonnens. Enter into this conflict the Bene Gesserit. Their ancient breeding program, now only one generation from completion, has suddenly become horribly jeopardized: They had planned to breed an Atreides daughter with a Harkonnen son to unite the two bloodlines and produce their long-awaited superbeing, the Kwisatz Haderach. However fate would decide otherwise and instead of bearing a daughter, the Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica (the Duke’s Concubine) fulfilled her beloved Duke's wishes for a son and bore Paul.
