By day, Soroush Helali walks clients through luxury villas in Dubai Hills. By night, he studies scripts for international streaming platforms.
The duality is deliberate.
“Acting will always be a hustle,” Helali says. “Real estate keeps me grounded. Acting keeps me alive.”
Born in Iran and raised in Belgium, Helali relocated to Dubai six months ago with a calculated plan. Instead of moving to Los Angeles, Mumbai, or London, he chose the UAE as his operational base. His reasoning was simple. Positioning.
“Dubai sits between Europe, the U, S and the Middle East. It’s a bridge,” he explains.
International Roles, Dubai Base
Helali made his streaming debut in Rough Diamonds, followed by roles in Running Dry and The Assassin, produced by Freddie Highmore. His upcoming project, Paradise, has recently wrapped production.
He works with representation outside the UAE and auditions globally. Geography, he says, is no longer a constraint.
“You don’t have to live in Hollywood to work in Hollywood,” he notes. “You just need positioning and access.”
Real Estate as Strategy, Not Backup
Helali specialises in high-end villas in Dubai Hills with a leading brokerage. The career choice was not accidental.
“In acting, you hear constantly. In real estate, you hear it constantly. One yes changes everything in both industries,” he says.
Financial independence allows him to choose projects carefully rather than out of necessity. Stability funds creativity. Creativity fuels ambition.
The transition between both worlds is less dramatic than it sounds.
“In one room, I am advising investors. In another, I am building a character. Both require reading people. Both require resilience.”
Martial Arts Discipline
Before real estate and acting, Helali represented Belgium’s national jiu-jitsu team. The discipline remains central to his mindset.
“Martial arts teaches you to fall and stand up. That applies to everything.”
He continues training within Dubai’s MMA community, calling it his anchor. Physical conditioning, he says, is not optional for long-term performance in any field.
Why Dubai
Helali rejects the idea that creative careers require relocation to legacy entertainment capitals.
“For production, you need capital and vision. Dubai has both,” he says.
He believes large-scale entertainment production will increasingly move toward the region as infrastructure and funding expand.
“There is no ceiling here. If you are willing to work, Dubai gives you the platform.”
For Helali, the city is not a stopover. It is a base. The brokerage meetings and casting calls are not contradictions. They are parallel tracks within the same strategy.
Soroush Helali, Dubai actor, real estate is not a dual life. It is one ecosystem built on calculated risk, mobility, and relentless execution.
Soroush Helali Instagram/Soroush Helali
