Mohammed Al Turki has spent much of his career bringing people together on screen and off. The Saudi producer has worked on films including Arbitrage, 99 Homes and Crisis, and later became one of the key figures behind the rise of the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah. Now, after years behind the camera, he has stepped in front of it.
In Guy Ritchie’s big-budget action film In the Grey, Al Turki makes his acting debut as Wolfgang opposite Henry Cavill. “Working with Guy Ritchie in front of the camera was surreal,” he says. “Watching him direct while bringing Saudi Arabia on to a global stage made the experience even more meaningful. Sharing scenes with Henry Cavill wasn’t a bad way to start, either.”
We caught up with Al Turki for our One Last Thing questionnaire.
What is your favourite time of day and why?
Sunset. There’s something cinematic about the golden light fading across the horizon and the brief hush between day and night. It feels like a reset button.
What is your favourite restaurant anywhere in the world?
That’s impossible to answer with just one. But if I had to choose today, I’d say a small local restaurant over a famous one. The best meals are usually tied to a memory, not a Michelin star.
When was the first time you realised your parents were human?
When I realised they didn’t have all the answers, and neither do any of us.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Continuously curious.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I’m surprisingly good at connecting people who should know each other. I’m also apparently quite good at playing matchmaker. I introduced Ed Westwick to his now-wife Amy Jackson in Jeddah, and helped bring together my best friend Michelle Rodriguez and Richard Gere as co-stars. The list goes on.
Your favourite book?
The one I keep returning to is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Different chapters seem to mean different things depending on where you are in life.
What type of music can’t you stand?
Anything that feels manufactured. I can listen to almost any genre if it feels authentic.
What puts you in a bad mood?
Small-mindedness.
What can you not live without?
My passport.
Dream dinner guests?
King Abdulaziz, Anthony Bourdain, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela and Omar Sharif.
Sitting on the sofa or out with friends?
Depends on the week. The older I get, the more attractive the sofa becomes.
What smell takes you straight back to childhood?
My mother’s perfume.
What food takes you back to childhood?
Lebanese food.
Which city do you love but would hate to live in?
New York. Incredible energy in small doses.
Can you play a musical instrument?
Poorly enough to say yes, and well enough to know I shouldn’t perform publicly.
Have you ever been on a motorcycle?
Yes, and I had an accident at 17 that required stitches to my head. I understand why people become obsessed with them, though.
Any words to live by?
Leave people and places better than you found them.
Biggest pet peeve?
People who are rude to service staff.
Do you believe in aliens?
The universe is too big for us to be that special.
What is your favourite Arabic word?
Tumaaninah. It means a sense of inner peace and reassurance.
The most niche thing you watch on YouTube?
Videos of abandoned movie theatres being restored.
How do you take your tea?
Strong, with ginger and fresh mint.
What makes you cry?
Acts of kindness more than sad stories.
What do social algorithms think you’re interested in?
Architecture, films, travel, roller coasters and probably far too many hotel reviews.
TikTok or Instagram?
Instagram.
What is it about you that would surprise people?
I’m much more introverted than people assume.
What was the last thing you did for the first time?
Act in a film.
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