Although Fazil Salayev played his first film role at the age of 32, wide audiences came to know him above all as a film actor. Director Hasan Seyidbeyli invited him to play an episodic role in the film "Island of Miracles". A year later he played the role of a journalist in director Agharza Guliyev''s film "Ulduz" ("Star"). He went on to create the roles of Mehdi in "An Apple Is Like Another Apple", Miggi in "Our Teacher Jabish", Fazil in "In a Southern City", and Gulamali in "Dervish Blows Up Paris". While away from the Academic National Drama Theatre, he played various character roles in the satirical newsreel "Mozalan". In the 1969 film "Shared Bread", directed by Shamil Mahmudbeyov, his portrayal of Girchi Mahammad revealed different facets of his talent. This psychological role demonstrated that he was not confined to a single type, and it is regarded as one of the notable examples in Azerbaijani cinema of expressing emotion through silence. He also appeared in various sketches on the television programme "A Journey into the World of Comedy". Although Fazil Salayev''s artistic career was relatively short, he left a lasting mark on the memory of Azerbaijani audiences through the characters he created, his strong facial expressiveness and his expressive sense of humour. The films he took part in have retained their value over time and continue to be watched with interest today. The actor died on 20 June 1978, at the age of 46, on the birthday of his youngest daughter, Ofeliya.
