Samy Naceri was born Saïd Naceri on July 2, 1961 to an Algerian father and French mother in Paris' IVe arrondissement and spent his childhood in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil. A French actor, Naceri is well known for his work in the four Taxi movies and The Code (La Mentale).
Stemming from a substance abuse charge in 2003, Samy was sentenced to eight months imprisonment with deferment, had his driving licence suspended for three years, and penalized 5000€ fine for a road rage incident in which he smashed a car and assaulted one of its occupants.
Known for his Islamist views, Samy uttered a death threat against Salman Rushdie on a French talk show (October 2005). Naceri was alleged to say: « Pour 50 balles, moi, je te fume. » (which roughly translates to: "I'll whack you for 50 quid"). While part of the altercation was edited out of the broadcast, its host and producer Thierry Ardisson denies Naceri uttered death threats that night. Since then, Salman Rushdie has declared he won't appear on any TV show in France ever again.
In November 2005, after waiting for a late guest, Naceri disfigured a 22-year-old man with an ashtray at a trendy Paris restaurant. The actor was convicted for assault and spent two months in jail. He was released in February 2006.
In December 2006 he was again imprisoned for racially abusing police officers.
In January 2007 he was accused of attempted murder after stabbing a security guard in Aix-en-Provence.
