FAQ for
The Terminal (2004) More at IMDbPro »

It's not so much based on a true story as it is inspired by a true story. The true story was of Merhan Nasseri who lived at Charles DeGaulle Airport from August 1988 to August 2006, when he was taken from the terminal due to an illness. An Iranian political refugee, Nasseri became stuck when his refugee certification documents were stolen from him in France, en route from Belgium to England. Without the papers, he was unable to enter England; Belgium did not permit refugees to return once they had left the country; and France would not allow him to stay because he could not prove his identity. As such, he became stuck at the airport.

In 1995, an attorney persuaded Belgium to reissue his identity papers, but the government insisted he present himself in person. Later, they agreed to accept him as a resident, but Nasseri insisted he wanted to live in the UK.

In 1999, France granted him residency, but he refused to sign the papers. He had begun to identify himself as "Sir, Alfred", based on a letter the British Government had sent him, even publishing an autobiography under that name.

While never acknowledged in The Terminal publicity material or DVD, he was reportedly paid $250,000 by the producers.

His story has also been told in the French movie Tombés du ciel.

Viktor's late father had set out to collect the autographs of the 57 musicians in the 1958 photo "A Great Day in Harlem" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Great_Day_in_Harlem. He came to America to get the last one, from Benny Golson, and add it to the others in the Planters can.

The photo was the subject of an award winning documentary, A Great Day in Harlem.