In « Gladiators » in 1995 :

You have the glory, the wealth, a big career and a nice family. What is the most important in your eyes?

My family. For the rest, anything can happen. You know what I mean?  Money isn’t really important. Some people make a lot more money than I do, and I make more money than others. But above all, you have to find happiness, and for me, peace and happiness come from family.

Do you like the glory?

I like making movies. I’m not looking for glory. I just want to make good movies. I like being well known, but it’s not my aim.

How much time to you spend training every day?

Normally I train two and a half hours a day. Six days per week. But right now I’m busy producing a movie so it is a little less.

Which are the hardest decisions to take?

Every time I say yes to a movie. Which is the hardest in my job, because every time I say yes, I accept being somebody completely different. There are emotions that are exchanged, and they make you grow and mature. And so it gets easier to live with yourself and with your inner demons. You see with this movie, since I just turned 31, I am becoming a little more of a “Man”. I am crossing another border in my life.

Do you practice when you are shooting a movie?

Yes. Sometimes I even practice more during a movie. I’m nuts! During the shooting of “The Quest”, I worked for 8 am till 8 pm. I worked 12 hours a day on that movie, not counting my physical preparation. After that, I would go back to the hotel to take a light meal, and then I would ride a bicycle and then train till midnight. I followed that program during three months and a half. When the shooting was over, I was really dead tired. It is a bad moment to go through. After all that work, from production to acting, you go through a really weird period. You don’t know who you are or what is happening around you. It’s a sort of  small depression that grips you. When you are being rushed for more than three months, and you give of yourself just a little bit more every day, your body gets used to it. And then all of a sudden everything stops, and becomes calm again like an ocean or a desert.

Abdel Qissi interviewed by Patrick Laurent, in “La Derniere Heure”, 1995 :

When we are together, we become kids again. We were 14 years old –well, he was a little younger- and we met in the National sports centre in Ixelles. I was practicing boxing and he, karate. We often went to the movies together, and we played back the movies at home. He always wanted to be the good guy, and I had to play the bad guy. As a friend, he didn’t change. He’s great, nice, non-violent. And as an actor, he still has to improve : he always needs action. As a producer, he’s perfectionist. He’s very hard. Finally as a man, he has evolved a lot. It’s normal, : There are the millions of dollars, the unending offers, stress and an intensive training.