Maliki Mardinalli

And then you came out and you were like, I know what I want to do.

I'm going to be a comedian.

A friend called him out for how he was acting.

Sharif said enough and broke the cycle by focusing on saving money for his comedy dream, taking any job he could.

That's how he met Maliki.

They both grew up in Damascus.

Sharif is Muslim, Maliki is Christian.

They had mutual friends, but didn't know each other.

Maliki was working in a bank at the time.

But they both dreamt of being stand-up comedians.

Here's Sharif.

But then, a week or so later, the owner of the bar changed her mind.

Maliki's friend called and told him.

And that was just because you're like a funny guy and people thought that's it.

So you worked in a bank, but you told jokes to your friends?

Maliki had decided to quit the bank, tired of counting other people's money.

And out of the blue, Sharif called him to invite him to a stand-up workshop he was hosting.

The sheikh is calling Maliki now.

Sharif paces the room, smoking and listening carefully.

The call lasts about 15 minutes.