Carmen Bsaibes On Filmmaking, Fears And Fame

The Lebanese actress speaks to Bazaar about silver-screen triumphs, style turns and not sticking to her original script

I feel like I chose the acting industry, but I also feel that the acting industry chose me,” muses Lebanese actress Carmen Bsaibes while dissecting her own career. What makes her so arresting on screen is a fierce loyalty to her craft and the responsibility she feels when inhabiting a character. “[Acting] makes me feel like I can use all my senses. It makes me see the world from a different perspective and it makes me a lot less judgmental, because you get to live in the shoes of different characters and actually understand them.”

From the moment she was thrust into the limelight thanks to her first scene-stealing role in Egyptian drama The University, the now 32-year-old’s star has risen like a rocket with a singularly upward trajectory. Although she’d been dabbling in television since her early teens, mostly in advertising and commercial work, a series of serendipitous encounters cemented her fate. 

When a colleague suggested she audition for the 2011 production, Carmen wasn’t overly positive. “In the beginning, because the thought never crossed my mind, I wasn’t very enthusiastic, but after I found out about the framing of the show, how it was being filmed, and its overall style, I got excited, went for a casting session, and it worked out. And this is how I started.” Her debut foray on the silver screen was such a success that she was quickly booked for a second series, We’d Be Lying To Say We Didn’t Love in 2013. Then the scripts started rolling in and she’s never looked back.

Moving out from behind the lens

Following in the footsteps of celebrities like Natalie Portman, Brooke Shields and Julia Stiles, Carmen managed to juggle demanding filming schedules with revision and assignments as she simultaneously embarked on a film-making Master’s degree, determined to direct.

 “I used to act and study at the same time. The acting opportunities started rolling in one after the other. I still have the dream of directing, and I feel like one day I will get back into it. But I went into acting and felt like this is the right time to focus on it because I wanted to reach a secure place in the field. I also felt like I could give it my absolute best and reach my potential. I love acting, a lot! I love making the characters in the scripts come alive. I like to embody them and give them life.” 

Yet her unique know-how of the process, gleaned from her studies, gives her a perspective that other actresses could only wish for. She explains that no matter how good a script, the person at the helm is intrinsic to a production. “A good director can transform a script. The way he would film and the way he’ll treat the scene, he can bring out the script in a much stronger way. And a great director has the privilege to change and fix the script. Directing remains my ultimate dream. It is my passion.”

Privacy please

While researching Carmen, what struck me was just how little information there was about her in the public domain. Despite her being such a well-known personality, aside from professional biographies and listicles about her work, there was very little that would offer an insight into the real her. 

I couldn’t help but broach the subject, admittedly with a little trepidation. After a thoughtful pause, she explained, “To be honest, I have always been very keen on keeping my private life out of the limelight. I don’t get caught up in the buzz and the fame. What I offer people is my art, everything related to my projects, my acting and the whole entertainment world around that,”she adds. Without any prompting, the actress clarifies: “My personal life is simply my personal life. And I think this is what I love about it as it is still innocent and unaffected by my job.”

When pressed if she gets recognised, she admits she does. “Yes, sure. But in Lebanon you can go out to places, to restaurants, and have a private dinner or enjoy yourself without being harassed.” Surely most celebrities would like to be in a similar position – how has she managed to achieve that clear-cut distinction between what is for public consumption and what remains out of bounds? “I think everyone knows that there are limits to the questions that I will answer. And even when it comes to appearances or when I attend events, I go by myself. So I don’t create opportunities for people to enquire. The industry knows what I’m like.”

Life imitating art

The biggest compliment for the redcarpet queen? She was so adept at inhabiting the role of Thouraya in 2019’s Bride of Beirut – one of her biggest hits and the role many cite as her best work – that fans often can’t distinguish between Carmen and her on-screen character. 

She nods as she tells us that she could easily channel guileless Thouraya, whose life gets turned around after meeting ambitious Fares in this twist-filled love story. “I’m not playing a completely fabricated person, as she has characteristics that are common in real-life people. We are definitely not exactly alike. She reacts to situations around her because she loves so much. She becomes extremely protective, and this protectiveness makes her act in certain ways. She’s a character who lost her parents, she is very attached to the idea of a family. Once I understood all that, I was able to portray her authentically.” 

There are some actors who will always be associated with a particular role. No matter what they do next, or how long their catalogue of work was prior to that breakthrough part, you’ll always think of Rachel in Friends when someone says Jennifer Aniston or Harry Potter’s Hermione Granger when you see an image of Emma Watson. Carmen is in a similar situation but embraces the love that people have for Thourayya. 

Instead of it hindering her and typecasting her, she says, “After Bride of Beirut, people started wondering, ‘What’s next for Carmen?’ They started to see my other roles. The Innocent came out just after Bride of Beirut, and the audience saw me in a different light. Perhaps if I had shot The Innocent five years earlier, it wouldn’t have had the same impact and success that it did.”

We spoke to the effervescent star as she wrapped up the third and final season of Bride of Beirut with bittersweet nostalgia. Although she knows she’ll always be associated with the blockbuster – and has chosen to have a break to recuperate for a bit – she’s eager to take on new challenges. 

The fear factor

A regular in Ramadan series, Carmen has viewers hooked night after night during her month-long dramas. From The University, which she filmed while she was just 18, to more recent soap opera Al Zebaq, it’s a genre she’s comfortable in.

Feature films are another feather in her cap, but when pressed as to what she feels will truly test her, she admits it’s live theatrical work. “I’ve taken classes during my university years but never actually taken the theatre on professionally. I have always had a fear of the stage. But now I think maybe I need to conquer that fear. Maybe that is on the cards.”

When did it dawn on her that she’d made it – that the dream that so many had of being a bona fide, successful actress, was, in her case, her real-life story? “I don’t want to sound falsely modest but I have never thought: ‘That’s it, I made it.’ I always feel like I have – and want – more challenges.”

“I’ll admit that when I did the last series of Bride of Beirut, I felt that it was a big step in me moving forward. But each time I embark on a new project, I feel like it puts me in a new, better place. Sometimes it is not about huge exposure but about growth.” Picking up a prestigious Joy Award in January this year showcased the fact that her choices have been stellar.

Risky business

Not one to play it safe, Carmen insists she picks her parts based on personalities that attract her rather than the promise of fame or fortune. This neatly brings us to what many consider her riskiest role. In Morine Carmen plays a woman pretending to pass herself off as a man. Surely this was a stretch?

“I got a lot of help from the director, but also I always feel that when taking on a role, you need to be able to reach deep into yourself and bring out the abilities you have. This is exactly what I did. There is no doubt that I’m a girl playing a boy; we had to change my attitude, my look, even my voice. I felt I had to really reach deep inside myself to search and find the attributes that helped me play the part.”

It is no wonder that this is one of her turns that she herself is most proud of, alongside Eugenie Nights which is currently gaining rave reviews as it’s streaming on Netflix. While discussing the regional film scene, the subject of the recent Arabic remake of Perfect Strangers comes up. Instantly enthusiastic Carmen gushes: “It is amazing. I have also seen the French version.” Despite controversies associated with it, she is happy to audition for a similar movie. “One hundred per cent, I would love to do something like this.”

Red- carpet glamour

“It is always more about the event itself but I do enjoy dressing up,” she says with a laugh when asked about her impeccable turns in the spotlight. “I always like to be natural. It is important to be true to myself. I love fashion but my main goal is to be authentic, to dress in my own style and stay true to my own identity.”

The discerning fashionista does tend to gravitate towards one designer in particular: her fellow Lebanese compatriot, couture king Elie Saab. “We have done many collaborations together.” Has she thought about exploring other aspects of her creativity? “I have very specific tastes, what I like to wear and how I like to dress, so in the future I do dream of projects… but I don’t have anything specific on the horizon.”

The world is her oyster

Looking in from the outside, it can feel like Carmen’s had a privileged, unassailable journey. But self-doubt still permeated her twenties: “I felt that it would be difficult for me to get main roles. I thought that my looks might not fit the mould that was popular. But I remained focused and true to myself, and I succeeded. I got the big parts that I needed.” 

Global aspirations are also on the agenda. Five years ago the actress tried to transition to the international market by attempting to break into the French film-making industry but given her constant workload back home and in Egypt, wasn’t able to relocate. “You had to be there to have an agent and to audition… but I think it’s opened up a lot now. Getting a job abroad is much easier. I can easily audition while being based in Lebanon so that’s something I can explore now.” Fans can rest assured that she is not going to rest on her laurels and is currently reading some new scripts. But they might have to be patient: “I want to choose the right project for me. A challenging one.”

Editor-in-Chief: Olivia Phillips. Deputy Editor: Jessica Michault. Photography: Frederico Martins. Creative Direction: Seher Khan. Styling: Cedric Haddad. Art Director: Oscar Yáñez. Market Editor: Nour Bou Ezz. Producer: Natascha Hawke. Hair: Ivanna. Make-Up: Michel Kiwarkis at MMG. Photographer’s Assistants: Nicole Leblanc and Benge Oluwasemire. Stylist’s Assistants: Rita Abi Antoun and Hajir Zaidan. Producer’s Assistant: Walaa Alaqra