I think Hollywood makes the mistake of mixing all these identities and cultures, mostly from the Middle East.
To be a veiled Muslim woman on screen is a very scary minefield for me.
I have a baby that is 21 months old, and I watch Disney Junior with him. A lot of those shows are about pirates. Even the T-shirts and pajamas I buy for him have pirate themes like, ‘Aye-aye, argh and mate.’ But, I definitely grew up watching pirates.
I never had planned for my life and my career.
I come from a family of refugees. I’m used to surviving and going with the flow, and what happened to me was just life.
I didn’t want to be an actress. I wasn’t trying to be in film or an art gallery for me.
I am especially fascinated with mermaids, and they are always coming out in pirate stories.
