In Netflix’s Catalog, Mohamed Farrag plays a widowed father learning to raise his children through YouTube

Egyptian star also doubled as surrogate dad to child co-stars Retall Abdulaziz and Ali El Beialy on set

Life is a series of realisations that you’re not yet good enough. The trick, Egyptian actor Mohamed Farrag has learnt, is admitting it – and finding a way to get better.

That’s also the lesson of Farrag’s new series Catalog, Netflix’s latest Arabic-language original. In it, he plays Youssef, a man who thinks he’s a good father. He provides for his family – buys his wife, Amina, jewellery and cars, ensures his children, Karima and Mansour, have a good education and a roof over their heads. That should be enough, right?

When Amina dies, it suddenly becomes clear he has been living with strangers. Luckily for Youssef, he has some help. Amina was a parenting influencer and posted tips online. And so, for the first time, he starts watching her work on YouTube – learning from his late wife how to be a loving dad.

“If you have kids, it’s a big problem if you don’t know anything about them. Providing for them isn’t enough, you have to be involved,” Farrag tells The National. “This series is about love – how to love your kids and how to make them love you. And it’s all about becoming involved in their problems, their day to day.”

Farrag says Catalog has messages about embracing both grief and fatherhood. Photo: Neflix

Farrag, 42, is currently one of Egypt’s most well-regarded actors. But it’s been a slow climb to that perch – with the actor only coming into his own as a leading man over the last several years. His MBC horror series Room 207 earned rave reviews, as did his breakout 2023 film Voy! Voy! Voy! which became Egypt's Oscar submission. In 2024, he reteamed with his Newton’s Cradle co-star Mona Zaki for the hit thriller Flight 404 – which even released theatrically in Europe.

With Catalog debuting on Netflix globally, Farrag has the chance to attain prominence on the world stage. And it’s a moment he’s finally ready for.

“I’m different now in the way I prepare for characters and approach each role. I feel I’ve really grown up,” Farrag says. “I used to hate seeing myself on screen – but I’ve started to like myself in the last several years. Something changed in my mind. With each job I do, I see myself more clearly. It’s hard for me to say it out loud, but I’m happy for myself.”

While it took him two decades to reach the top rung of the Egyptian film and television industry, acting was his passion before he even knew what it was.

“I didn’t know it was called acting. My sisters and I would watch movies and TV shows, and then write down the script to our favourites. We’d start rehearsals, record ourselves doing it, and then play it back to make sure we were good. I have so many memories like that,” says Farrag.

From packing lunch to the school run, Youssef faces a series of firsts. Photo: Netflix

To play a dad in Catalog, Farrag also had to become a surrogate father on set to child actors Retall Abdulaziz, and Ali El Beialy, who play Karima and Mansour. During their first encounter, Ali in particular was intimidated by Farrag, who he knew only from his work.

“I was nervous,” says Ali, 10. “But Fegoo, as we call him, was very friendly and funny, and we became friends in the first 10 or 15 minutes. Then, when we started shooting, we used to see each other every day, so we got closer and closer until we became best friends.”

To forge the connection, Farrag took his own advice – getting involved and meeting his two younger co-stars on their own level. In doing so, he also reconnected with his childhood self – the one who would film videos with his sisters. But instead of home movies on a camcorder, the trio filmed TikToks.

“We were constantly making TikToks,” says Retall, 13. “It was always me and Ali and Fegoo. We even made up our own gibberish language that we were always using on set.”

Ali proceeds to recite a line in said made-up language, which proves as incomprehensible as one might expect. “Can you translate that?” Farrag asks. “No,” says Ali with a laugh.

While he is the younger of the two child stars, Ali is already known across the Arab world as the breakout star of the Ramadan series Leh La 2 from earlier this year. For Retall, meanwhile, Catalog is her first role.

Catalog is Netflix's latest Arabic-language release. Photo: Netflix

“I learnt a lot from Fegoo. He’s the one who always stayed focused during the difficult scenes – he was always very helpful and committed. He would help me and Ali with everything,” says Retall.

Ali focused most closely on getting to know his character and finding the common ground the two shared. “Mansour loves his mom, and I really love my mom, so I connected with him in this point,” says Ali. “I got closer and closer to Mansour after every scene.”

And by leaning on each other, the three actors together explored what happens when you lose what means most to you.

“Our show has a lot of messages, but I think it’s important to discuss the value of missing someone. To move forward, we need to keep even those we’ve lost involved in our lives,” says Farrag.

Catalog is now streaming on Netflix