Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry is changing the culture in the Middle East when it comes to playing female characters.
Sabry is the star of “Crossroads,” the Arabic version of “The Good Wife,” which launched last June and has achieved top ratings across the Middle East on MBC Group’s premium streaming service Shahid.
In the series, Sabry plays Amira, who returns to her legal career after devoting 15 years of her life to being a wife to a prominent politician and a mother, in the wake of her husband’s sex scandal. In addition to her role in “The Good Wife,” Sabry is also the star of the popular Arabic Netflix original series “Finding Ola,” where she plays a divorcee from Cairo who happily embarks on a journey of self-discovery. “Finding Ola” is set to premiere later this year.
Below, Sabry – who works as a producer on both shows – speaks to diverse On how to deal with the “difficult” cultural complexities of bringing an American show to an Arab audience.
You are the star of these huge series in which you play female characters who push the boundaries of Middle Eastern culture. How do you balance this?
Yes, the shock doctrine doesn't work in this area. I don't think it works when you shock the audience or take them away from what they know, their values and beliefs. But if you take them on a journey from a place they know to a place they may not know, then they will start thinking or dealing with things in a different way.
What were the main challenges you faced in placing The Good Wife's heroine Alicia Florrick in an Arab cultural context?
Actually, it's very similar to the original show. But there were some changes that were made. Some before I joined the project, some after. I had discussions with the producers and the writers about some very difficult moments in the characters' lives in terms of the social judgment of a married woman who loves another man. We had to be very careful about how to handle that and how to present that duality or that kind of dilemma that she's going through.
How did you make Alicia's character more Arab?
We had to rework how Amira, as her name is in the Arabic version, deals with lawyer Will Gardner. [her boss] In the original American version, so is her relationship with her husband and the social structure surrounding her. In our version, she gets more attention from society, her mother-in-law, her colleagues, and her children. There is much less room for action. [on her part] Or for freedom. We had to adjust that aspect because form is form, yes, but it also has to conform to social structures that vary a lot from place to place. And I didn't want to distance Amira from the audience.
How important is the movie “The Good Wife” in the Arab world?
For me, it’s very important to have such a nuanced character in this part of the world. This is probably the first time we see a woman caught in so many crossroads. By the way, the title of the Arabic version of the novel is “Crossroads.” There are so many crossroads in her life at an age that is not in her prime—she’s not in her twenties, she’s in middle age. Nobody talks about middle-aged women in this region. And the fact that she’s torn between being a good wife and living her real life, torn between her authenticity and what society dictates to her—this is very necessary for this region. So I thought [the tweaks] These works were good for me as an actress and good for what I want, or the impact I want to make through my work in the region.
Are there any other cultural differences?
In the American version, Alicia was a very strong character. She chose – in a society that would have allowed her to do otherwise – to put herself second. But she could have chosen differently. Here [in the Arabic version]In this film, we have a character who really didn't have a choice. Amira has a brilliant husband, and she has to live in his shadow. And once she goes back to being a lawyer and goes back to working in the firm and having her own life, the way she negotiates to maintain that life is different from the way an American character negotiates to maintain that life. And we had to be very clever in building that, otherwise it would have come across as a social outcast and a character who has chosen to cheat on her husband.
How do you know when you've gone too far?
These things are very complicated in our region. And because of my experience, because I’ve played so many characters in this region, my nose is always telling me. I have a knack for these things, and I know when we’re crossing the line and when it’s okay to do it. Going back to what I was just saying about Amira, I had to go back a few times and tell the writers, “I don’t think this is going to pass.” With Amira, I think we needed to emphasize the fact that she had no choice and that she was a victim. Not just that guy. [her husband]But not on the level of society as a whole. Now that she wants to keep this freedom, and wants to maintain her independence, it can't be because she's just in love. Otherwise it would be interpreted as her being a woman who changes her mind very easily, which is still very unacceptable. [in the Arab world]It's a game, it's a dance with the audience.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
