Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian man whose time living in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport inspired the Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal,” died of a heart attack Saturday in the airport’s Terminal 2F.
His death was confirmed by the Associated Press, which wrote that police and medical professionals were ultimately unable to save Nasseri. The report indicates that officials stated that Nasseri had been living in the airport again in recent weeks.
Nasseri, who also went by the name “Sir Alfred,” lived in Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle Airport. He first settled in the space in 1988 after Great Britain refused him political asylum as a refugee, despite stating that he had a Scottish mother.
After declaring himself stateless, his residency in the airport became a deliberate choice. Nasseri reportedly always kept his luggage by his side, spending time reading, writing diary entries and studying economics. He first left the airport when he was hospitalized in 2006, 18 years after first settling in the terminal.
His unconventional situation became the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s 2004 film “The Terminal,” starring Tom Hanks as an Eastern European man who resides in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport after being denied entry to the United States. In 2003, the New York Times reported that Spielberg had purchased the rights to Nasseri’s life story through his production company DreamWorks, paying roughly $250,000.
Nasseri also served as the inspiration for the 1993 French film “Tombés du ciel,” starring Jean Rochefort. Released internationally under the title “Lost in Transit,” the film followed a man who stayed in an airport for several days after losing his passport. Beyond narrative film, Nasseri was also the subject of numerous documentaries and journalistic profiles.
Nasseri also wrote an autobiography titled “The Terminal Man,” published in 2004.
Believed to have been born in 1945 in the Iranian city of Masjed Soleiman, Nasseri was roughly 76 years of age upon his death.
