--- name: "El Hedi ben Salem" canonical: "https://film.one/person/el-hedi-ben-salem" fi1m_id: "el-hedi-ben-salem" imdb_id: "nm0373289" tmdb_id: 2727 wikidata_id: "Q337137" roles: ["Actor"] born: "1 January 1936" died: "1 January 1976" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-26T17:54:18.215731+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # El Hedi ben Salem ## Identity El Hedi ben Salem - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/el-hedi-ben-salem - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** el-hedi-ben-salem - **IMDb ID:** nm0373289 - **TMDB ID:** 2727 - **Wikidata ID:** Q337137 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Hedi_ben_Salem, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q337137, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0373289/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2727 Actor. Born 1 January 1936 in Morocco. Died 1 January 1976. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 1 January 1936, Morocco - **Died:** 1 January 1976 - **Also known as:** Elhedi Ben Salem, El Hedi Ben Salem, Salem El Heïdi, Salem El Hedi - **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Hedi_ben_Salem, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q337137, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0373289/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2727 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Ali: Fear Eats the Soul*](https://film.one/film/ali-fear-eats-the-soul.md) (88) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on El Hedi ben Salem > El Hedi ben Salem gives Ali a quiet gravity that makes the romance in *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* credible despite its emphatic staging. His small filmography offers little else on that scale; this performance is enough to recommend him. In *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974), El Hedi ben Salem gives the younger man a seriousness that matters as much as the tenderness. Brigitte Mira’s Emmi wants companionship, and he makes Ali seem more than someone brought in to provide it. We were moved by how credible their attraction remains when the spare framing keeps insisting on their isolation. This is quiet acting, and it gives the romance much of its force. Most of his screen work consisted of small parts for Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In *The Merchant of Four Seasons* (1972), his character is identified simply as the Arab; in the television series *World on a Wire* (1973), he plays a bodyguard. The lead in *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* was the exception, rather than the beginning of a succession of larger roles. By *Fox and His Friends* (1975), he was again making a small appearance. What works is the lack of fuss in his acting. Ali is a Moroccan mechanic facing prejudice, but ben Salem gives him enough weight that we do not watch him merely as an example of mistreatment. Mira’s directness about Emmi’s need for affection helps: there is no need for either actor to make the desire for company seem exceptional. Their restraint lets the cruelty around them register without asking us to admire how much acting it takes. There is a practical qualification when discussing his performances: Wolfgang Hess frequently dubbed his dialogue. We should not attribute every vocal effect to ben Salem, or pretend that these films offer an extensive record of what he could do with a speaking part. The understated physical presence in *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* is still his, and it matters. The direction can be less restrained, and the staging in *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* sometimes makes the couple’s isolation over-explicit. Ben Salem and Mira keep the affection believable through that insistence. Seek it out for them, with the warning that the director is not always content to let his actors make the point. ## Biography El Hedi ben Salem was a Moroccan actor. He appeared in several films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder between 1971 and 1975. His best-known role was as Ali in *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974). He also appeared in *The Merchant of Four Seasons* (1972), *World on a Wire* (1973), *Tenderness of the Wolves* (1973), *Martha* (1974) and *Fox and His Friends* (1975). Fassbinder dedicated his film *Querelle* (1982) to Salem. A documentary about Salem's life, *My Name Is Not Ali*, was released in 2012. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) ### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these - *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974), Fi1m 88, as Ali — [page](https://film.one/film/ali-fear-eats-the-soul.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Fox and His Friends* (1975), Fi1m 78, as Salem the Moroccan (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/fox-and-his-friends.md) ## Complete filmography (12) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *When Fear Eats the Soul* (2007), as Ali (archive footage) - *Querelle* (1982), Thanks - *Fox and His Friends* (1975), as Salem the Moroccan (uncredited) — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/fox-and-his-friends.md) - *Like a Bird on a Wire* (1975), as Bodybuilder - *Martha* (1974), as Hotel Guest - *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974), as Ali — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/ali-fear-eats-the-soul.md) - *World on a Wire* (1973), series, as Bodyguard - *Tenderness of the Wolves* (1973), as Französischer Soldat - *Jail Bait* (1973), Actor - *Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day* (1972), series, as Dunkelhäutiger Arbeiter - *The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant* (1972), Set Production Assistant - *The Merchant of Four Seasons* (1972), as Araber --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/el-hedi-ben-salem