A few days ago, thanks to the availability of Disney Plus, we were able to ask a few questions to May Calamawy, actress of Middle Eastern origins who plays Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight.
(LR): May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly and Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector / Steven Grant in Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT. Photo by Gabor Kotschy. ..Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
About Moon Knight
The series follows Steven Grant, a quiet employee of a gift shop, who is struck by memory lapses and memories from another life. Steven discovers he has a dissociative identity disorder and shares his body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven / Marc’s enemies approach, the two must investigate their complex identities as they delve into a deadly mystery among the mighty gods of Egypt.
Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy. Mohamed Diab and the Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead team directed the episodes. Jeremy Slater is the lead writer, while Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Mohamed Diab, Jeremy Slater and Oscar Isaac are the executive producers. Grant Curtis, Trevor Waterson and Rebecca Kirsch are the co-executive producers.
Moon Knight: interview with May Calamawy (Layla El-Faouly)
Below you will find the video interview with May Calamawy, who, as mentioned, plays Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight, and to follow the text version.
How did your origins and background influence your character creation and how did they give depth to the mythology of Moon Knight? How complex was it to interact with Moon Knight’s many alter-egos?
I am from the Middle East and I know what it means to be a woman and to grow up there. All I did was externalize how I felt and the people around me, in this way I was able to carry these feelings in Layla and show what it feels like to be born there, to grow up in many different countries as it has happened to myself. It was helpful to have a perspective for each situation. It was tough with all those personalities but Oscar [Isaac il protagonista della serie] he did an amazing job and I knew who he was in every scene even if he omitted to say it. I simply understood who I was going to talk to. It’s interesting because the way I acted was natural, I can’t go into specifics, but it was very easy to figure out how to relate to each personality.
I am from the Middle East and I know what it means to be a woman and to grow up there. All I did was externalize how I felt and the people around me, in this way I was able to carry these feelings in Layla and show what it feels like to be born there, to grow up in many different countries as it has happened to myself. It was helpful to have a perspective for each situation. It was tough with all those personalities but Oscar [Isaac il protagonista della serie] he did an amazing job and I knew who he was in every scene even if he omitted to say it. I simply understood who I was going to talk to. It’s interesting because the way I acted was natural, I can’t go into specifics, but it was very easy to figure out how to relate to each personality.Did you get the feeling that it was himself playing different people or it was always him …
Do you think it was more complicated to interact with a hero like Moon Knight with his many personalities than the classic duality between hero and person behind the mask? There were so many people behind the mask this time, was it different?
Where do you think you can place your character within the largest basin of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? What do you think it adds to the mythology of Moon Knight and the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
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