Hot Sexy Israeli Model Liraz Dror bikini photo shoot
The fallout from the Valerie Plame Affair continues, but there's at least one upshot to the sordid tale of espionage: we give you Liraz Charhi. The stunning Israeli actress and singer is set to star opposite Naomi Watts and Sean Penn in Fair Game, the Hollywood retelling of the events leading up to Plame's exposure as a deep cover C.I.A. operative. Charhi, who is actually of Iranian descent, is a complete unknown to North American audiences, and while her role as an Iraqi doctor in Game is unlikely to make her a household name, it's a pretty good start. I mean come on, look at that face.
Did you read the book Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson to prepare for your role as the Iraqi doctor willing to break the law to bring her brother to the States? Yes, it was very interesting, considering my mixed ethnic background, to learn that her paternal great-grandfather emigrated under the original family surname was Plamevotski. After The Washington Post revealed her identity as a CIA operative, it became apparent to everyone just how big a role she had played in stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weaponry, making her something of a hero to me.
In spite of the film's political stance and swipe at the Bush administration, did you encounter any lingering prejudices on or off set? Well, the actor who plays my brother in the film is actually from Egypt, and the producers thought it might be a problematic situation because he is a big star back there. I was in shock that they were guessing between the lines that there would be a problem. Of course, when I met Khaled Nabawy, there was no problem at all, and after we finished shooting we went for dinner with his wife and she said, "Isn’t it amazing that people can look on from the outside and say, 'He´s an Egyptian actor who plays an Iraqi and she´s an Israeli actress, do you think it´ll be okay casting them?'"
Did you find that upsetting?No, but what I am sorry about is that I have just lost two big roles in Hollywood because I´m Israeli. The producers didn´t say that it was a political decision, but I knew that it was. One role was an Iranian woman, but they said that they couldn´t take someone who is part Iranian but also Jewish, and living in Israel. So they took a famous Israeli movie star instead. The other role was to play a Muslim girl, and after flying to Los Angeles for numerous auditions, I finally lost the part. But I feel that things will change, and it actually makes me stronger in the short term.
What is day-to-day life like for you in Tel Aviv? Honestly? Even if you came to Israel I would say that both sides really want to live side by side peacefully. Many recent groundbreaking films have tried to show in the last five or six years just how far the region has come.
How liberal is Israeli society? Okay, so we do take drugs—not me personally—and we do have sex, we do meet our lovers for liaisons in the afternoon. Tel Aviv and Israel is a very free place. The way Hollywood pushed forward the sexual revolution in the late 60s and early seventies is now the template for modern Israeli filmmakers. Our country is religious, but in tandem with this is a great sense of 'live and let live'.
Tell me about the policy of mandatory military service in Israel? When you are 18, it's the law for both men and women to serve in the army. I was pretty lucky, as I survived the intense training complete with the heavy backpack on the assault course. I'm a small girl and it was pretty scary at first, but afterwards you really do feel like you can achieve anything you want. And after finishing in the army, most of these kids who have now really grown up don't want to go and live at home with their parents, so they go off traveling for example. In a similar way to how Americans cling on to the alumni thing, which indicates the importance of your college days, in Israel the best friends you have for the rest of your life generally come from the friends you make in the army. This is how my life in the army went. The army days maybe made me a very independent women in every way, which might have surprised a few casting directors. Where do you locate your sense of cultural identity? Put simply, I was raised in Israel and consider myself an Israeli, even though my heritage is firmly Iranian. I live quietly in the north of Tel Aviv which is a magical part of the city.
Sounds tranquil.Well I'm in the process of getting divorced. It's okay, though. Luckily we didn't have children. And no, I don't have a new boyfriend yet!
How do you relax? I go out with my girlfriends. We are not yet at the stage where they are taking me out for dates. The break-up of my marriage is still a little too fresh for that. But I'm hitting Pilates classes to keep in shape, so I can enjoy the odd glass of lambrusco. I'm a cheap date, one drink and I generally need to sit down afterward.
Any recommendations for visitors to Israel? There are some incredible dress designers who are getting younger and younger in Tel Aviv, and the hottest label right now is Miss Geisha, who makes the most beautiful dresses. For the premiere in Cannes I supported another local designer, called Riva Oshida, who is the most successful fashion designer in Israel. It was amazing to walk down the carpet with Naomi and be photographed with her.
Tags: Pop Culture, People, Movies, Liraz Charhi, Interviews, Fair Game, Andy Threlfall.
