their qualities.”

Speaking of wisdom, at a time when people of influence are advocating their diets, their mediation programs and their yoga routines on social networks, when you ask Rahme what makes her feel good, she answers simply “Being with family. And then I have my own spirituality, I pray, I have faith.”

Her faith was certainly there, on August 4, 2020, at 6:08 p.m. The actress was at her home, in Dbayeh, a city by the sea about ten kilometres north of Beirut. She was unenthusiastically preparing to go to the gym. She was exhausted and about to give it up, but Odille, her agent, pushed her to stick to her schedule. So, she got up to go out. She had hardly left the living room when the monstrous explosion at the port of Beirut shook the walls. Everything collapsed. The couch she was sitting on was covered in debris and large shards of glass. “I felt something, at that moment, as if the universe had pushed me to move from where I was,” confides the actress.

When asked what horrifies her most in this world, she always comes back to that moment, to her disgust at the irresponsibility, corruption and greed of the few that cause so much suffering to the many. The collapse of Lebanon angers her. “I am often told: “Why do you stay here? You can just go back to Australia, you are lucky to have a second country.” But no! This country is also mine; these people are my people, it is not so easy to tear yourself away from those you love, even in such a situation,” she says. The flames that shine in her eyes when she remembers this moment recall the flashes in the eyes of Reem, the rebellious heroine of Lil Mawt whom she portrays with rare boldness. The conversation then turns to her career as an actress, but also as a dancer, the two arts being, for her, second nature. One of her favourite roles, she says, was that of Farah, in the series ‘Tango’ directed by Rami Hanna and broadcast in 2018. Obviously, acting and dancing are inseparable for this character.

Despite her passion for the two disciplines, Rahme confides that she had a plan B: journalism, which she studied at university in Australia, just in case. Dancing and acting was where she wanted to start when she returned to Lebanon, where her success at Dancing with the Stars literally made her a star. She immediately received a proposal to host a reality show. But she panicked because of an unexpected hurdle: her Arabic accent was strongly tinged with Australian English, and her vocabulary was a little limited. She needed time to prepare, but the production couldn’t wait. Sometime later, she received another offer for another show. She decided not to let the chance pass her by and took two weeks of intensive courses, at the end of which she was ready to take the plunge, with a perfect accent. A hard worker and a perfectionist, the actress leaves nothing to chance when it comes to her career.

A week after celebrating the last episode of Lil Mawt with the whole team, Rahme still wears Reem’s red hair. One last link with this character to which she is strongly attached. “I gave a lot to Reem, as she gave me a lot. still have her hair, I haven’t changed colour. Filming stopped end of March and she still lives in me. I cried when she was sad, I was happy when she was happy, in love when she was in love… what else? Now have to get away from her little by little and move on,” says the actress. Above all, she emphasises having loved this role, a strong woman, that the screenwriter created for Reem, and a story that also shows the vulnerability of men and somewhat reverses the common gender stereotypes in Arab series.

As she reflects on the ending of one chapter and the start of another, she opened up about her approach to her craft, “I’m not one to be partying before the camera rolls. I know actors capable of changing their composition as soon as they hear the clap. Not me. I need to collect myself, to dig into myself before entering a role, perhaps even to pray,” she confides. She also says that she rehearsed in front of mirrors for a long time. Now she doesn’t need it anymore, having understood that at herself will not make the difference, but the amount of credibility she gives to her role. Now, she leaves it to the viewer to judge. “After studying and working hard, there comes a time when you can start letting go, trusting yourself,” she says, and the advice she would give to anyone wanting to get started in an acting career would be: always work hard and be sincere.

As for Lil Mawt, its fans will no doubt have to accept that this third season is the end. Everything will depend on the screenwriter and the production, says Rahme, who doubts that the story still has twists in store. As for the actress’ personal projects, she tells YUNG that she is immersed in many scripts. She has gone back to reading new proposals, exploring new roles. Between the planes and happy family barbecues in Lebanon or Australia, she is, for now, leaving the screen to find herself in reality, simply being there for those she loves, with total confidence. ■