We knew his taste for cinema and humor, his outspokenness on racism and police violence, and his love for his family. In his book Come on, let’s talk, published by Albin Michel, actor Omar Sy also talks about his lighter passions. In a series of interviews with journalist Elsa Vigoureux, he reveals he has a weakness for motorcycles. “I have eight on three different continents”explains the former accomplice of Fred Testot, who divides his time between Los Angeles, where he rubs shoulders with Hollywood stars, France and Senegal, where he comes from. “I would like to do the Paris-Dakar on a motorbike one day”he adds.
A dream that goes back to his childhood, spent in Trappes, in Yvelines. “My father had a motorcycle when I was younger. It’s something that inspires me: the movement, the freedom. I got on it when I was young and since then I’ve loved the thing. I have eight motorcycles, out of three different continents [Amérique, Etats-Unis et Afrique où il se rend souvent au Sénégal, NDLR]. I would like, one day, to do the Paris-Dakar on a motorbike.”he told the readers of Parisian. Today, whenever he can, he goes for trips on two wheels to clear his head and escape the pressure linked to his notoriety. “I regularly go on my little motorbike trips on my own. I just take Tato with me in a bag. I also go on a few outings with friends during the day”specifies Omar Sy, speaking of his dog, a young staffie who will celebrate his third birthday next July.
An “Omar Sy cinema”
And the motorcycle is not the only vehicle that Omar Sy is passionate about! In his book he describes riding a jet-ski and quad, and often flying. “It’s true that I don’t make sacrifices for ecology, perhaps wrongly”, he regrets. Hélène Sy’s husband, who often takes a stand on causes that are close to his heart, still specifies that he makes small gestures on a daily basis. “In Senegal, we have a farm, we plant trees, we protect species, we protect the beach. My relationship with ecology is more concrete and accessible”.
Omar Sy has been conducting interviews for several days to present his book. But he is in France for another occasion: the Trappes cinema has just been renamed Cinema Omar Sy. A tribute which greatly touched the father of five children, who celebrated his 46th birthday last January.
“Still overcome by the emotion that surprised me yesterday. To the Trappists, I would like to renew my gratitude for the fraternity and warmth shared together“, wrote Omar Sy on Instagram, also thanking his family and his childhood friend, Jamel Debouzze, present at the event. “Your pride and emotion are powerful fuel“. An unwavering friendship, even thirty years later…
Hélène Sy, the actor’s wife, was of course also present.
