- Dena is one of my favorite characters in the show,
I relate to her so much.
She is such a strong, independent woman
who has to balance between her culture and her family.
Did you take any inspiration
from your own upbringing into the role?
- Definitely,
I would say that I've pushed the boundaries with my family.
I'm like the rebel child in a way,
but the one thing with Dena is
she speaks her mind in a way that I don't always.
She's a little harsh at times, and aggressive,
which I find fun to do, but if I spoke like that
to my family, or my parents,
it wouldn't go down as well.
- The first season on Ramy ended
on a pretty crazy cliffhanger.
Can you explain what we're expecting to see for Ramy
and for Dena in season two?
- Ramy,
he starts off and you see the hole that he's in.
That's a pretty dark hole.
And then he finds a path that he believes will help him.
He's gonna annoy you.
Ramy is gonna drive you crazy,
but you're also gonna like,
I empathize with him when I watch it.
Especially here, 'cause he's just so vulnerable.
And then with Dena
she feels like more independent,
but still not, which you can see in her dynamic
with her family.
And there's a lot of pressure.
And that's also something
that I understand as an Arab Muslim woman.
Like we grew up with a lot of pressure.
I'm sure you understand that as well.
And everyone really does.
I had like a bout of alopecia while we were filming.
And so Ramy asked me if I wanted to make that the episode.
Some people are like, that's an interesting choice.
Like, why did you guys do that?
And we're like, well,
that's sort of what was on the table at the time.
- I think that's what makes the show so relatable,
especially to like Muslims,
is that you're taking your own experiences
and putting into the show.
- To be able to work with a team
like this has been really rewarding.
And I don't think that this is what it's always like,
but I get to work with the creator
who's a good friend of mine
and we have the chance to collaborate.
And to tell something
that matters to me
and I'm really grateful for that.
What does this role and the show mean to you?
I had only been auditioning that year
and my agent at the time felt most comfortable
sending me out for roles for Arab women,
which I was fine with.
I was like, if that's gonna be my thing,
I'll do it since I speak Arabic.
And that's what I was booking a lot of roles
where I was covered and going through a lot of trauma
and crying and saving someone
from a terrorist group or,
the war.
And it was a lot.
I remember that summer being
like I don't wanna do this anymore.
And I want there to be something,
there has to be something else out there.
Four months later, Ramy popped up.
So when I saw it, I was like, oh,
I wasn't gonna let it go to anyone.
- What was the most exciting topic for you
that the show explored?
- So, I get excited by things that annoy people
and I love how Ramy was just watching a lot of porn in it.
Like I love how he really went
into that.
And even having Mia Khalifa on it.
That was going to be my next question.
The show has some pretty interesting guest stars this year.
And I have to ask, how did you feel when you found out
that Mahershala Ali was gonna be a part of the cast
this season
and what was it like working with him?
I was so happy, like I love his work.
There's this elegance to him.
And I knew he was gonna be a teacher
for all of us immediately.
And he was. He sat next to me in hair and makeup
in the trailer, that's when I first met him.
And he was just so genuine and humble
and introduced himself and was like,
"Is this how you say this in Arabic?"
And was like, "You're asking me?"
like, "You're asking me anything?"
I could give you my number or like whatever's best, email.
Thank you, please give you family my salaams.
When Ramy told me that I was gonna have a crush on him,
I was like, great!
And it was actually humiliating
'cause in that one scene in the hospital,
when I'm sort of flirting with him,
I think I like pushed it too far.
And Mahershala said something to Ramy and Ramy was like,
"Yo, can you turn it down a little?
I don't feel like you would
be doing it that much in public."
I was so embarrassed, but I was just being natural.
So, what advice would you have for someone who
like comes from a similar background as you,
who kinda wanna dip their toes
in acting or another creative field?
What I'll say is don't try to get anyone else's approval
'cause it's a waste of time.
If I tried to get my dad's approval,
which is a beautiful thing,
I wouldn't be where I am right now.
If anything, he's the one who's evolved so much seeing
I've shocked him and he's accepted
and grown so much through my experience of this.
And I think that if you're even deciding
it means that you wanna do it
The more personal we are, the better.
And and I wanna hear those stories.
I want other Arab Muslim women to speak up
and I want us to inspire each other
and push each other more.
And now, especially, it's like a really special time
where we're in this alignment
where people want to know our stories.