But it is not the first time that he has played an Arab character.

Igal, who stars as fanatical Muslim cleric Arshad Al-Masri in The Infidel, also portrayed PLO terrorist Mahmoud Hamshari in Steven Spielberg's epic Munich and Iraqi General Al Rawi in the recently released Green Zone.

"The only thing that matters in playing a character is to remember that he is a human being - and on that level I don't see any difference between an Israeli Jew or an Arab or indeed any other man," Igal said.

Born in 1958 in Givatayim, a suburb of Tel Aviv, his Iraqi Jewish parents had migrated from Baghdad in the early 1950s, soon after the creation of Israel.

There is no doubting that his Iraqi Jewish background has aided Igal in his career.

He said: "Of course it helped, I spoke Arabic as a first language since I grew up with my grandmother in my early years.

"When I played Saddam I portrayed a specific man, a very interesting and complex one. That was all I was concerned with.

"He was a man of great stature and personality and it was a great experience."

But it was not easy for Igal to become part of the entertainment business, something which he had always wanted to do.

He recalled: "I was not encouraged to go into acting. From a very early age I always dreamed about being an artist.

"I decided on acting around the age of 21 - the other options were to be a musician or a film maker.

"However, somehow, I found myself studying theatre at Tel Aviv University. My father, as any Iraqi father, wanted me to become an accountant as he was."

Later establishing himself in the Israeli theatre and film world, he appeared in numerous productions and won a prestigious Israel Film Academy award for his role as headmaster Tissona in the 1996 film Saint Clara.

And Igal is optimistic about the future of the Israeli film industry.

He explained: "At the moment it is very small, but it's really growing.

"For the last three years we have had films nominated for an Oscar in the best foreign film category - and that is encouraging.

"The problem is the small budgets and it is amazing that we have won such critical acclaim and global film festival recognition.

" I hope it will grow as international interest in Israeli film will be translated to sales and income."

One of the things that Igal likes about The Infidel is that it has no limits.

He said: "That is amazing in my eyes, because everything is so restricted. You can laugh about everything. I think it is very brave and beautiful and a very, very funny comedy.

"I was by myself reading it and laughing and usually it is hard to laugh by yourself, but I was laughing like crazy."

Igal has spent much of the past few years working abroad due to work, but is currently back in Israel playing Eddie Carbone in a new Tel Aviv Theatre production of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge.

Igal added: "It is a beautiful show and this year will give me a chance to enjoy home much more."