Kevin Spacey helps aspiring Arab actors

Kevin Spacey skipped the Screen Actors Guild awards, which handed him a win for his wildly popular role on House of Cards, to watch 34 young actors from across the Arab world perform a play as part of his foundation's Home Grown initiative supporting local talent.

The cast, all 25 years old or younger, hail from war-torn Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq and other corners of the Middle East. For many of them, the play marked the first time they had ever left their home countries or been given support to hone their craft.

Abduljabbar al-Suhili, 25, from Sanaa, Yemen, is returning from the intensive work-shops held in the United Arab Emirates to a country without a president. Yemen has been plagued by power outages, al-Qaida attacks, rebel Houthi advances and widespread political instability. Dabbling in the arts is considered a luxury, and acting is not seen as a serious profession, he says.