Known for being ‘Bassem Youssef’s hottie’ after appearing with him in a comic fashion, Ghida Nouri proves that she has a lot to offer more than being the new babe on screen. The rising actress is launching a series of Youtube Video Blogs dealing with political and social issues from a feminist and libertarian point of view. We met Ghida to know about her new invasion to the Egyptian entertainment industry.
You are originally from Lebanon; do you think it’s hard for young foreign actresses to pursue an acting career in Egypt? What obstacles did you find?
Well first of all, my origins are not that simple! I have at least 3 different nationalities in my blood and Egyptian relatives but yes, legally I am perceived as a foreign actress. Pursuing an acting career anywhere in the world, regardless of gender or nationality, is a mission impossible! The right college certificate or even the rare talent won’t get you there. It’s a long brutal struggle that ends up in 99% of the cases by achieving nothing! Egypt is the only country in the region with a real industry and its showbiz has always been tolerant to outsiders so I am at the right place but I get the routine annoyance of the work permits and taxation.
Do you think it’s hard for beautiful, sexy actresses to be taken seriously in our Egyptian film industry? Do you have any advice for young actresses?
Women are objectified in Show business in just about every country in the world! Beauty and sex appeal can type cast an actress if she allows it. I am still in need for advice to give any but there is a simple wisdom I follow in my short career which is: Your next wrong step might be your last, so question every choice you make.
How do you work on developing your acting skills?
Workshops, lots of them! You can say I am an acting workshops junkie! I have yearly commitments with the classes of Hadi Tabbal, Ahmed Kamal and Marwa Gabriel. I also read for Uta Hagen, Sanford Meisner, and Lee Strasberg
Do you have any Egyptian directors you dream of working with?
A great script and a generous production makes a director’s job much easier! There are only three production houses that make quality movies now but my favorite screenwriters are Tamer Habib, Mohamed and Khaled Diab, Belal Fadl, Wessam Soliman and Mariam Naoum to name a few.
What are your criteria of choosing scripts?
My criteria of choosing a script is simple: A role that has a logic back story, a structure and that moves the story told by the script forward.