Hassan Fayek's unique quality was his seemingly childish laughter and innocent astonishment, and it was through these qualities that he created a bridge between himself and his audience.

Like other members of his generation, Fayek came to the screen from the theatre. He started acting on stage in 1914 and went on to later act in many films. 

Fayek’s beginnings were at the hands of his intimate foe, Youssef Wahbi, the star and producer of Sons of Aristocrats (1932), who convinced Mohammed Karim, the film’s director, to give a role to Fayek.

His subsequent film -- Antar Effendi (1935) -- came after he had joined El-Rihani’s theatre and through his old friend and company colleague Stéphane Rosti.

Fayek's real beginning, however, was to come in the subsequent year, with El-Rihani’s film His Highness Wants to Marry, directed by Alexander Farkas. The film boosted his popularity among those who couldn’t attend the theatre, especially in the provinces far from Cairo.

He then moved to another film titled Abou-Zarifa in the same year which was directed by Alvize Orfanelli, and in 1937 he played his first important and prominent role in The Chant of Hope, which starred Umm Kalthoum, Zaki Tuleimat, and was directed by Ahmed Badrakhan.

During his cinematic years, Fayek was mainly confined to two types of roles.

The first was that of a weakling, a pliant person. It is best exemplified by his role as Anwar Wagdi's brother in Fatma (1947), directed by Badrakhan.

The second type was that of a self-interested shrewd man. Two clear examples of this type are The Light of My Eyes (1954), directed by Hussein Fawzi, and My Prince Charming (1957), by Helmy Rafla. In both, he played a cunning man looking for wealth but still retaining his sense of humour and comedic performance. 

Fayek remained trapped in these types of roles for many years, although there were some variations as he aged, such as his roles in Street of Love (1958), directed by Ezzel-Dine Zulfikar, and Sukkar Hanem (1960) by El-Sayed Bedeir.

Even when he became paralysed after releasing The Reason and the Money (1965), directed by Abbas Kamel, he had three films yet to be released: Memoirs of a Female Student directed by Ali Beheiri, The Female Idol (1967) by Helmy Rafla, and Mum's Fiancé (1971) by Fateen Abdel-Wahab, which came out seven years after his paralysis.

Fayek had two experiences as a leading actor. The first was in 1954 when director Fouad El-Gazayerli adapted Naguib El-Rihani’s play Hassan, Morcos, and Cohen for the cinema.

Despite El-Rihani's influence as an actor whether on stage or in cinema, Fayek remained the only one who could free himself from his master's overwhelming influence.

His performance playing Abbas in Hassan, Morcos and Cohen, revealed Fayek's unique soul and performance, even when he was uttering El-Rihani's words.

His last film The Reason and the Money was released on 1 February 1965 while its star lay paralyzed in an Italian hospital. In that film, Fayek played the role of Sultan Caramel -- and his sibling Bechamel -- who was driven by the love of power and money to conspire and depose his sultan brother. 

Many see that Fayek's stardom faded early in 1965. He was also neglected by the authorities and his colleagues. 

He passed away at his home in Cairo on 14 September 1980.