From L'Esquive Lead Role to Life on the Street

Osman Elkharraz was born in Nanterre, near Paris, to a Moroccan father. At 13 he was approached near a shopping centre at La Défense and cast in the lead role of Abdellatif Kechiche's film L'Esquive. He went on to appear in the film Né en 68 and in the television series SOS 18, which ran from 2005 to 2010. When he turned 18, he says, the money he received for his roles came to less than 3,000 euros, which was less than he had been promised.

Family life was difficult. After his parents died he lived for a time with his grandmother, then in his late father's house with his three siblings, where his older brother worked to cover the bills. He left school at 15 and stopped attending acting classes at the Florent school. Yabiladi reports that he later spent time on the streets, which he describes as nights that felt long and without hope. The article does not say how long this lasted.

Once the situation became clear to him, he began looking for work every day, applying at places such as the post office and the Galeries Lafayette department store. Within about two weeks he found a three-month job at Galeries Lafayette, which later became a permanent contract. A social worker then helped him obtain a small flat of his own.

In May 2016 he published a memoir with the publisher Stock, Confession d'un acteur déchu, which was supported publicly by the rapper Booba and the actor Franck Dubosc. He also directed a short film, Coup de Poker, financed by crowdfunding, which premiered in France on 14 July 2018.

At the time of the 2018 article he was working as a courier in Paris, writing a second book and developing two more short films. He was also visiting Morocco after a long absence; his father is buried in Casablanca.