Mahmud Abdel- Aziz was born in al-Wardian district in Alexandria. He studied Agriculture in the University of Alexandria where he obtained his BA in 1966, then later an MA in the same field. During his university years he was interested in acting. Luck came his way when director Nour al-Demerdash discovered him a role in the television series (al-Dawamah). He caught the eye of producer Ramsis Naguib who chose him for the lead role in the film "Until the End of Life" in 1975.

At the beginning, his good looks qualified him to become a star; he was always cast in the role of the handsome young man. In 1982, he moved to a different genre with Shame (al -‘Ar) which brought out his hidden potential. He then attempted more challenging roles. He played the role of a father when he was still relatively young in "The Virgin and White Hair" in 1983, and "Forged Official Documents" in 1984.

From the eighties onwards he turned to comedy, but with tragic undertones, showing the suffering of the underdog. He portrayed a typical Egyptian who transforms tragedy into a joke, so that life can go on. Al-Kitkat (1991) is a good example of this genre, where he played the role of a blind old man who lost his eyesight but not his vision.

The television series "Raafat al-Haggan" won him immense fame and popularity. He was cast in another TV series Mahmud al-Masri, which recounts the fortune of an Alexandrian businessman.

He received Best Actor Award from the Alexandria International Film Festival for his film "The Gentleman" in 1996 and from the 2002 Paris Cinema Festival at the Arab World Institute for his latest film "The Magician".