In pictures: Actor Omar Sharif, 1932–2015

Omar Sharif had never had moustache before his appearance in Lawrence of Arabia. In 2012 he told The Express that the director, David Lean, is the one who suggested it. “I arrived in Jordan on a private plane that stopped right in front of this lone figure,” he says. “I got out and he walked around me, studying my profile. Then he took me straight to the make-up department and said: ‘How about a moustache?’ ” The Egyptian legend has never looked back. D Morrison/Express/Getty Images

He began acting in the 1950s and was propelled to stardom by his supporting role in the World War I drama Lawrence of Arabia, for which he won an Oscar nomination. In this photo taken on December 21, 1962, Sharif arrives for the film's premiere in Hollywood. AP Photo, File

An even bigger role followed as the eponymous hero in David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago, the adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel of tortured passions during the Russian Revolution. AP Photo, File

Known for his raffish good looks, Sharif went on to star in many more films and television productions, including alongside Barbra Streisand in 1968’s Funny Girl. The two are pictured here at the film's London premiere on January 15, 1969, with Britain's Princess Margaret (right). AP Photo, File

Sharif is pictured here in February, 1985, playing the role of Prince F Romodanovsky, adviser to Peter I, in the television series, Peter The Great. Boris Yurchenko, File/AP Photo

In later years, Sharif, pictured here in 2004, became almost as well known for playing bridge and owning thoroughbred racehorses as for his acting. He had two children: one son named Tarek with his former wife, the Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, and a second son, Robin, from a brief relationship with Italian journalist Lula De Luca. EPA/Diego Gomez

Sharif poses with his lifetime achievement award at the 4th Film Ball in Vienna, Austria, on March 15, 2013. EPA/Georg Hochmuth

Sharif pictured here on March 19, 2004, leaving his handprints in Gran Canaria's Hall of Fame. Fluent in Arabic, English, French, Greek, Italian and Spanish, the actor spent many years living between France, Italy and the United States, before settling back in his native country. EPA/Angel Medina G

Sharif's former wife, the Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, died earlier this year on January 17 at the age of 83. The couple divorced in 1974 but Sharif never remarried. Speaking in 2003, he blamed the constant travelling during his role in Lawrence of Arabia for the couple's break-up. “It separated me from my wife, from my family,” he said. “We didn’t see each other anymore and that was it, the end of our marriage. I might have been happier having stayed an Egyptian film star.” EPA/Georg Hochmuth