Sarhan was born in El Sharqiya, Egypt on 12 March 1925. He graduated from the "High Institute of Acting in Egypt" in 1947. In 1949, Sarhan acted in his first movie, Lahalibo. His rise to stardom was in 1951 when Youssef Chahine, a famous Egyptian film director, chose him for the lead role in the movie Ibn El-Nile "Son of the Nile".