Ramez Amir is proving TikTok LIVE is not a side quest for actors

MENA pop culture has been following a familiar pattern lately, with stars building a following online, and the next step is a film or TV cameo. However, the reverse move is rarer, and that is what makes actor Ramez Amir’s TikTok pivot feel like an authentic reinvention.

The Egyptian star used TikTok’s LIVE as a platform alongside acting and now has garnered over 4.3 million followers on the app. What makes the shift worth paying attention to is his very clear aim behind it.

Ramez describes TikTok LIVE as a different medium with its own tools and language, one that even he describes as difficult for actors to truly succeed in, which is why he decided to take it up as a “personal challenge”. That challenge had already been building in the background, since before going live on TikTok he spent two years on the platform focused on content, reaching the point where his video views were hitting half a billion per month, then moving from videos into livestreaming while continuing to film on set.

Then there is his content, which is quite unique. Do not expect generic lifestyle snippets or an ASMR video from Ramez. He focuses on showcasing birds of prey, the origin story for his LIVE identity, including a TikTok LIVE family name, Al Gawareh, and the nickname Gareh, which he links directly to his passion for falcons.

@ramezamir_official

قولوا ما شاء الله، جبتلكم رهبة زى ماطلبتم 🦅 #رامز_امير #رهبة #رحال

♬ Last Hope (Slowed + Reverb) – Steve Ralph

His fan following made Ramez one of LIVE Fest’s success stories, as positioned by TikTok itself. The event is TikTok LIVE’s annual global celebration of community and connection, where creators and fans connect. 

Below, Ramez speaks in his own words about refusing the old rules, building closeness with his followers, and why TikTok LIVE became more than an experiment for him.

You were already known on TV and in film before turning to TikTok. What made you want to step away from that world and start over online?

What really drives me is passion. I don’t stick to the traditional rules that say a successful actor shouldn’t be on digital platforms. We’re living in a different time. On the contrary, why not try new things alongside acting? I’m an actor, alhamdulillah, and when I joined the program, I really fell in love with TikTok LIVE. I felt a real passion for it, so I said, Why not continue? I truly enjoyed it.

TikTok LIVE gives you a different kind of love from people compared to acting. In acting, people don’t really get close to you as a human being. But when the audience that loves you as an actor gets closer to you, sits with you daily, knows you by name, and you know them by name, that’s something incredibly enjoyable.

When you first joined TikTok, did you see it as an experiment or something serious?

Honestly, when I first joined TikTok, I didn’t know much about it, and I didn’t know how it worked. My only intention was to interact with the audience who love me and follow my work and my videos on digital platforms, and spend time with them a few times.

It all started by coincidence. I found that people really enjoyed engaging and interacting with me, so they asked me to come back the next day. At first, it was supposed to be one day, maybe two at most. And suddenly, subhanallah, so many things happened that introduced me to new people and new experiences.

From the very first TikTok LIVE, alhamdulillah, I had a very large number of viewers. People started telling me, “If people love you this much, why would you leave?” The same people who loved me encouraged me to continue. So TikTok LIVE started as a coincidence, and it slowly turned from a coincidence into a real passion in my life.

It’s usually the other way around, creators move into acting. What was it like rebuilding your audience from scratch, this time as a digital creator? What segment of people did you focus on?

A lot of people start on digital platforms or TikTok and then move into acting. For me, I honestly see it differently. I don’t look at show business as a hierarchy. Acting, singing, social media, TikTok LIVE, I don’t rank one above the other. I believe we’re living in a new era, and in the end, it’s all cinema to me. Cinema is a platform to showcase content, just like TikTok. TikTok is simply a new platform for a new time.

[…] TikTok is a platform, cinema is a platform, TV is a platform, TikTok LIVE is a platform. They’re all ways to present creative content. And my personality is that I want to succeed in all of them. I love leaving a mark wherever I go. People who know me always say that about me, and that’s exactly why I chose to really focus on TikTok.

Before TikTok LIVE, I actually spent two full years on TikTok focusing only on content. Alhamdulillah, I reached a level where my video views were hitting half a billion per month. People know that about me. I’m always renewing my passion. One phase I focus on acting, then suddenly content creation, then from videos to TikTok LIVE and right now, I’m filming a movie. I’m someone who loves to enjoy what they do.

When it comes to building my audience from scratch through digital content, my main focus, whether through videos before TikTok LIVE or even after I started, was for people to know me as Ramez. Some people know me as an actor, but they only know the character I play. They don’t know who I really am, how I was raised, my personality, my details. That’s what I wanted.

I wanted people to deal with me like family, not like a celebrity or someone they’ve seen from a distance. This is the relationship I’ve been trying to build since I entered the world of videos and TikTok LIVE: simplicity. I want people to sit with me and feel like, “I’m not Ramez the actor, I’m Ramez your brother.” You’re my family, my friends, and we laugh and joke together.

TikTok LIVE Fest celebrates creators and their communities around the world. What was that experience like for you, and what did it mean to see your work recognised on that stage?

TikTok LIVE Fest, for me, is the event I wait for all year. Last year, honestly, when it was held in London, it was a huge event, and TikTok did an incredible job. It was an amazing experience, and I look forward to it every year, just like everyone else.

Of course, the moment we step on stage is a beautiful moment, because it’s recognition for a full year of hard work. You’re not just happy for yourself. One of the most beautiful things about TikTok LIVE is that you also want to make your people happy, your family, your community. That moment is exactly like a football team in a match that wants to make its fans happy. Or a football player when he scores a goal, of course he’s happy for himself, but his main goal is to see the fans happy, to make them proud.

Your bird videos get tons of attention online. How did that part of your life become such a big part of your content?

When it comes to my videos with birds of prey, those videos are actually the reason I have a TikTok LIVE family called Al Gawareh, and why people started calling me “Gareh.” Everything that’s been built recently, my identity, was built because of my passion for falcons.

Even posting those videos started by coincidence. I was preparing for a film that involved birds of prey. I worked on that film for almost two full years. I was training with the birds purely as an actor preparing for a role. Then the producer ran into an issue and the film got postponed. 

But suddenly, I found myself really loving it and continuing with it. I truly fell in love with. And even when I decided to post content about it, which also happened by chance. I was bored one day and thought, let me post something simple for the people. Suddenly, they loved it and started asking me to post more.

Do you ever miss the structure of acting, or has being online given you a kind of creative freedom that TV couldn’t?

Honestly, for me, they’re both the same. Acting has its own joy, content creation in general has its own joy, and TikTok LIVE has its own joy. I’m someone who loves trying new and unconventional experiences. I don’t believe in strict rules; I believe rules are meant to be challenged.

If there’s a rule that says a successful actor shouldn’t post videos, then I’ll post videos. If there’s a rule that says a successful actor can’t build an audience on TikTok LIVE and succeed there, then I’ll take that challenge. I love experiencing new things. For me, none of them is higher or lower than the other. They’re all equal, and I’m simply practicing my freedom of creativity.

Digital media platforms offer even more creative freedom. In traditional filmmaking, you work within a structured system with a director, writer, and a full team. Online, you take on every role yourself: you’re the director, the actor, the writer, and the editor. That level of independence brings a unique kind of satisfaction, especially with the direct connection you have with your audience. And when success comes, you know it’s something you built on your own.

How has this shift changed how you see fame or success now?

My experience on TikTok, through both video content and livestreaming, has completely changed how I view fame, especially in the digital age. We’re clearly entering a new era, and those who don’t adapt risk being left behind.

Digital media platforms have created a much deeper connection between public figures and their audiences than traditional fame ever allowed. People no longer know you only through the roles you play; they see your everyday life, your interests, where you go, and how you live.

That visibility builds a stronger, more personal bond. In the past, audiences connected with actors solely through their characters. Today, digital media platforms allow people to truly understand who you are as a person, and when used responsibly, they offer the opportunity to have a positive influence on others.

Follow along at @tiktokmena and @tiktoklive.