Antonio Banderas, Barbra Streisand and filmmaker Roland Emmerich are leading the tributes to acting icon Omar Sharif, who has died aged 83.

The Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago legend, who had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, died at a hospital in Cairo on Friday after suffering a heart attack.

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Tributes have poured in for the movie veteran via social media, with his The 13th Warrior co-star Banderas tweeting, “My great friend Omar Sharif has passed away. I will always miss him. He was one of the best… He was a great storyteller, a loyal friend and a wise spirit.”

Director Emmerich, who recruited Sharif to narrate his 2008 film 10,000 BC, writes, “Very saddened by the passing of Omar Sharif. Blessed that I was able to work with such a legend. Love to the family.”

Actress/singer Streisand, who starred with Sharif in Funny Girl, said she was “profoundly sad” at the loss.

Streisand recalled how he rose above the criticism of his casting and their interracial love scene in 1968’s Funny Girl to deliver a remarkable performance.

In a statement, she writes: “Omar was my first leading man in the movies. He was handsome, sophisticated and charming. He was a proud Egyptian and in some people’s eyes, the idea of casting him in Funny Girl was considered controversial. Yet somehow, under the direction of William Wyler, the romantic chemistry between Nicky Arnstein (his character) and Fanny Brice (Streisand’s character) transcended stereotypes and prejudice.

“I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Omar, and I’m profoundly sad to hear of his passing.”

The role won Streisand the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1969.

Former antiquities minister and renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who was one of Sharif’s close friends, confirmed the death of the legendary actor.

Sharif was lauded for his work in Lawrence of Arabia.

Hawass said Sharif died in an upscale clinic in Cairo, where he had been for a month, and said his friend’s funeral could take place tomorrow.
“His psychological condition had deteriorated — he had stopped eating and was not drinking,” he said.

Born in Michel Demitri Shalhoub in 1932, Sharif was the son of a lumber merchant in Egypt’s second city Alexandria.

He was raised a Roman Catholic but converted to Islam and began acting in the 1950s.

He won international fame and an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role in Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O’Toole in 1962.

He went on to win Golden Globe awards for Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.

Fluent in English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Greek and French, Sharif sent hearts aflutter around the world. His most high-profile roles were in the 1960s when he starred opposite Streisand in Funny Girl.

Sharif kept working over the following decades, often in TV movies, while also earning a reputation as one of the world’s best known contract bridge players.

He co-wrote a syndicated bridge newspaper column in the 1970s and ’80s, as well as authoring several books and a bridge computer game called Omar Sharif Bridge.

The actor made something of a comeback in 2003 in the title role of the French film Monsieur Ibrahim, in which he played an elderly Muslim shopkeeper.

The performance won him a best actor award at the Venice Film Festival and the best actor Cesar, France’s equivalent of an Oscar.

Sharif underwent triple heart bypass surgery in 1992 and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994.

He reportedly smoked 100 cigarettes a day but quit after the operation.

Omar Sharif’s 10 most notable films

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)

The Night of the Generals (1967)
Funny Girl (1968)
Mackenna’s Gold (1969)
The Horsemen (1971)
The Last Valley (1971)
Hidalgo (2004)
The Ten Commandments mini-series (2006)