A rising star in the movie industry, Sy came to prominence for his role in the multi-award winning French film The Intouchables. His performance as Driss–an impoverished man who works as an aide to a wealthy quadriplegic man–earned him a prestigious César award for best actor, ahead of Jean Dujardin who won the Academy Award the same year. Recently, he has begun to break into Hollywood, landing roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Jurassic World.