In this video, I will tell the story of the real-life heroes from the movie "The Intouchables" and the moments that didn't make it into the film or were changed, as well as the sources of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo's wealth.

The real-life prototype of the character Omar Sy portrayed looked very different from the screen. The film's producers intentionally went for this inaccuracy because they really wanted Omar to play the lead role, so they changed the nationality of the character. The real Abdel Sellou was born in Algeria.

When Abdel was four years old, his parents sent him to Paris to be raised by their childless relative. For North African residents, this act was not unusual as many underprivileged Algerians did the same. Sons were sent to be raised by distant relatives while daughters were kept with the family. After Abdel's foster mother had her own children, he received much less attention. No one monitored his school attendance or his whereabouts during the day. He started to receive his upbringing on the streets. His favorite activity became stealing cameras from unsuspecting tourists at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. For a long time, Abdel's misdeeds went unpunished because he was a minor, but soon after he turned eighteen, he ended up in prison.

Abdel served a year and a half, then was released and got a job at a pizzeria. However, he found it boring and did everything to get fired. For two years, he lived on unemployment benefits without feeling any remorse. One day in December 1994, he received another notification from the employment agency about the need for an assistant to take care of a paralyzed patient. For Abdel, it was a routine matter - he would come, get the notification rejected, and then show the rejection slip to the employment agency.

Here is where the first divergence from the real story begins. In the movie "Abdel," they start taking care of only Philippe. In reality, initially, Abdel took care of Philippe's wife for a year as well. The film does not delve into the origins of Philippe's enormous wealth. It is possible that this is because nobody expected the film to be such a huge success worldwide. It was primarily intended for the French audience.

Meanwhile, the surname Pozzo di Borgo is quite well-known. Philippe Pozzo di Borgo is a descendant of an ancient and noble Corsican family. French children extensively study the life of one of his ancestors in history lessons as he was a sworn enemy of Napoleon himself. Even to this day, there is a saying in Corsica: "As rich as Pozzo." Inherited from his wealthy ancestors, Philippe received a significant fortune, including businesses involved in the production of a very famous French champagne, Pommery.

During the first half of his life, Philippe was a prominent executive and, as a form of leisure, preferred extreme sports rather than aristocratic entertainment such as theater or opera. This is why he felt repulsed when caretakers with two higher educations attended to him.

Philippe was not accustomed to being pitied. He was always a very strict leader. In some sources, you can even find information that he suffered injuries because, before his paragliding flight, he planned a massive downsizing at his factory and, instead of focusing on the flight, he was contemplating how to carry out mass layoffs. However, in Philippe's own book, which served as the basis for the film, there is not a word about it. It could be because these speculations are untrue or because it portrays him in a negative light. Regardless, the paraglider crashed. Doctors managed to save Philippe, but as a result of the injuries, his body was completely paralyzed, and hospitals fought for his life for two years.