Kamel El Basha, actor, 61: Q&A

Kamel El Basha, star of the new ABC drama House of Gods, grew up ‘surviving’ under Israeli occupation. The experience set him on a path to the Academy Awards.

Kamel El Basha

You grew up in East Jerusalem, and have said you lived under Israeli occupation from the age of five. What was life like? Imagine you are five years old, and the first thing you remember when talking about Jerusalem is standing beside your mother, trying to hide behind her because all the men from your family are lying there face to the ground with Israeli soldiers holding guns pointed to their heads. My memories are full of oppression, lack of freedom, demonstrations. A busy life, awful in a way, but very active. The situation forces you to live in a different way.

And yet you became a professional actor in Jerusalem, which led to roles in more than 100 productions as an actor, director and playwright – and you eventually won Best Male Actor at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in 2017 for The Insult (which went on to be nominated for an Academy Award). How did you achieve that? Did I have a choice? I didn’t have a choice. I had to survive. I was one of the millions living under these conditions of occupation and surviving. We did that by moving from one place to another or changing schools from time to time. This was our life.

When you studied at Jerusalem’s School for Visual Theatre you worked primarily on Arabic language stage and feature productions. What was it like working in Australia and mostly in English for the ABC’s new production, House of Gods? It’s not my first time acting in another language. I have done it in theatre on several occasions, but this one was more complicated because you have different English in Australia, it was not easy for me to understand what the other actors were saying. They were too fast and I had to use a dictionary to understand my text.

What attracted you to the role in the show, which follows the lives of a popular Iraqi family in Australia as their charming patriarch is elected Head Cleric of the local mosque? My character, Sheikh Mohammad, embodies qualities of attractiveness, loyalty, serving as a role model within his family and extended community. He also exudes genuine care and love, open-mindedness and confidence.

Did you bring much to the role from your own life? Sheikh Mohammad and I have a lot in common. I am not a Sheikh, of course, but I am Muslim. I have a family whom I care about and love. I wanted to be this different type of Sheikh who struggles to present a diverse and modern approach to Islam. The only thing that I needed to study was some differences between Sunnis’ and Shias’ ways of practising, and to understand that.

How was it working with the Aussie cast and creators, including Osamah Sami, associate producer Shahin Shafaei and co-star Antoinette Lattouf? Most of the people I worked with are second-generation Australians. They’re not living an easy life as we’d imagined – they are also survivors in a way, and are trying to grow themselves within their community and trying to defend their rights to live a normal life. A lot of them are struggling to be a part of their communities in Australia or other countries. So it was inspiring, full of love, support, and fun. Everything went smoothly, and I now have a very supportive, loving Aussie family.
House of Gods premieres on February 25 on ABC TV and iView

This story has been updated