Los Angeles Times interviews Arab actors Haaz Sleiman (“The Visitor,” “Nurse Jackie), Ayman Samman (“American Sniper,” “Blindspot”) and Sammy Sheik (“American Sniper,” “Lone Surviver”) about the challenges working in the film industry. The Times makes the point, “Arab actors living in Los Angeles navigate disparate worlds. They keep abreast of the upheaval in their homelands while seeking parts that challenge America’s perceptions of the Middle East. Their ambitions brush against the tumult of global politics and the carnage of terrorist attacks that have ignited nationalist and populist zeal in the U.S. and Europe. They have learned to temper frustration and take advantage of more layered roles. “
“The bigger the movies you’re in, the chances are better at getting more diverse roles,” comments actor Ayman Sleiman,. “It’s moving in the right direction for Arab actors but very slowly. Look at African Americans. It took them forever to move ahead. Arabs are the new blacks. We took their place as they moved up.”
Fellow actor Sammy Sheik agrees, “…the roles are definitely getting more complex. Right now, I’m playing an American soldier of Arab descent on ‘NCIS: Los Angeles.”
Judy Henderson, casting director for Showtime’s “Homeland,” has also noticed a subtle “multicultural shift”: “I have noticed characters are becoming more diverse. Our industry is trying to show America as it is today. I’ve noticed this in the last few years, especially in TV sitcoms…. For so long our country didn’t understand the Middle East. We lived in a cocoon.”
