El Hedi ben Salem

El Hedi ben Salem (1940–1982, Morocco/France) was a Moroccan actor best known for his leading role as the titular character in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1974 film *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul*. A non-professional performer of Berber descent, he appeared in several Fassbinder projects during the 1970s, including *Fox and His Friends* (1975) and *Satan’s Brew* (1976), often portraying North African immigrants. His brief career highlighted themes of marginalization and cultural displacement in New German Cinema.