What’s Next? Al Rawabi School for Girls’ Noor Taher on Friendship, Future Aspirations and Bringing Layan To Life…
Digital contributor Yassine Hariss sat down with one of Netflix’s rising stars to discuss her promising career and ambitions in the world of entertainment and arts…
This interview was conducted for the announcement of season 2 of Netflix’s Al Rawabi School for Girls. Click here to read more.
Not many shows can claim to have had a similar impact that AlRawabi School for Girls had on the region. As Netflix’s second original production to be hailing from the Middle East, the mini-series triggered a slew of hot takes, raw opinions and assertive reactions – and is still a conversation starter one year later.
Its singular narrative, coupled with its provocative nature, led to extensive worldwide coverage, ultimately pushing Noor Taher, better known as Layan in the coming of age series, to the centre of the global stage.
The part-time actress and full-time icon in the making is now a recognised personality in the industry – even over 12 months after the show made its debut. Although her next steps in the field are yet to have been shared publicly, the sky’s the limit for Noor.
Here, Bazaar Arabia sat down with the twenty-two-year-old actress as she shares insight into her creative aspirations while shedding more light on her experience working with Netflix thus far…
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (HBA): What triggered your initial interest in acting?
Noor Taher (NT): Ever since I was a little kid, there was nothing I enjoyed more than being on stage and performing in front of people.
Around the age of six I started working on film sets and I’ve been in love ever since. Since I started out young, I always had many actors I would look up to, like Anne Hathaway and Angelina Jolie; however, one person really look up to in the industry is ironically my [AlRawabi School for Girls] co-star Rakeen Saad. Not only is she a phenomenal actress, but because of her being my biggest inspiration, she’s grown so close to my heart; any advice from her is always so cherished.
HBA: What made you want to audition for AlRawabi School for Girls?
NT: I first found out about the show through casting calls on social media, and I decided to audition for it. Months later, I finally landed Layan’s role! Our show’s creator made sure to express exactly how she envisioned the character, and from that, I tried to take as much as possible and bring Layan to life using a lot of hard work to unearth her. Overall this experience has been unbelievably incredible, I learned so much about the industry and formed a lot of meaningful relationships [throughout the filming the series.]
HBA: AlRawabi School for Girls is best described as a coming-of-age series; do you see yourself staying in that same genre? What other genres would you like to try out and why?
NT: AlRawabi School for Girls was definitely a wonderful show to be a part of, especially given the significance of the messages the show touches on; personally would love to work on something like that again. However, two genres I’ve always wanted to try are Fantasy and Horror… Fingers crossed!
HBA: Talk us through your experience shooting AlRawabi. How was it having to act a certain way towards members of the cast that you are friends with in real life?
NT: If you follow me on social media, you’ll surely know how close I am to my co-stars; and ironically, I have such a close relationship with my on-screen nemesis. Whenever Andria [Tayeh] and I had a difficult scene to do – like the beating scene for example – I would try avoiding her before the scene so that I can channel Layan’s hatred for Mariam instead of Noor and Andria’s goofy friendship. In general, after any tough scene, the cast and I would hug out the tension that was just performed between the on-screen characters.
HBA: What’s next? Are there any other industries you’re planning on exploring?
NT: Acting is definitely my top priority and what I want to do for the rest of my life. However, ballet is also a huge passion of mine that I’ve had for over fourteen years, and I hope that someday I can combine my two passions together. That would definitely be a dream come true!
Lead image photography: Bader Sounnoqrot. Styling: Jad Toghuj. Make-Up: Laura Madar. Stylist assistant: Dana Bogomolova. Producer: Saif Saleh. Talent management: ZVEMECHÉ. Special thanks to Fairmont Amman. Noor wears Zhannagochi Official.