Here's Why You Should Pay Close Attention to Today's Google Homepage

If you are wondering who the guy is on Google's homepage, we're here to tell you that it's none other than the Egyptian heartthrob and acclaimed film star, Omar Sharif.

The actor, who died three years ago, was honored by the search engine with a Google Doodle from Sophie Diao today, on what would have been his 86th birthday. And for good reason ...

In the 60s, Sharif – real name Michael Dimitri Shalhoub – was a legend. He was the leading actor of Egyptian cinema and was the only Egyptian, if not the only Arab to make it to Hollywood back then. He is also the only Egyptian actor to ever win two golden globes and be nominated for an Oscar, thanks to his performances in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, which propelled him into international stardom. But all of that fame came crashing down after a continuous streak of bad movies from the early 70s onwards.

His propensity for gambling, getting in trouble and women also eventually cost him his wife of 19 years – Egypt's "lady of the Arabic screen," Faten Hamama. But of the scores of women he went out with, she remained the love of his life. Speaking of her death, he has said that it "ruined" him, and that he was "in the last stop of life." Ironically, he passed away just six months after her death.

Today we remember the charismatic man with the bad boy persona who loved deeply, as well as the actor who showed the world the refined talent Egypt has to offer.