Interview with Shila Ommi

TV Interview!

 

Shila Ommi, star of the Disney/Pixar film "Elemental"

Interview with Shila Ommi of the movie “Elemental” and “Tehran” on Apple TV+ by Suzanne 6/15/23

It was really fun to speak with Shila. The movie looks really good (and great for kids). I saw the trailer last week when I went to see “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Shila plays Cinder, the mom of the main character, Ember (Leah Lewis).

 

MORE INFO: Official Site Trailer

"Elemental" key art

CINDER LUMEN (Shila Ommiis Firetown’s resident matchmaker, utilizing her natural gift that allows her to smell true love in a Fire person’s smoke, whether they know it or not. She boasts numerous matches throughout her tenure—she’s proud of her track record—but this brusque, no-nonsense and traditional mom has yet to find a match for her daughter.  Elsewhere audiences can see Shila Ommi on the Apple TV+ espionage thriller, “Tehran.” Shila Ommi is one of the returning co-stars of Apple TV+, espionage thriller, “Tehran,” now streaming season two now on Apple TV+.  Ommi portrays the character of Nahid Kamali, the wife of Shaun Toub’s character Faraz Kamali (a skilled investigator with the Revolutionary Guards), and she also shared the screen with the iconic Glenn Close, and in season two. The heart pounding “Tehran,” which has earned the comparison in the media already of “24” meets “The Americans,” is must watch TV at it’s finest.

Shila Ommi is an American/ actress, born in Tehran, and has lived in Los Angeles since onslaught of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.  Her mother was a poet and her father a philanthropist, real estate mogul, and the founder and CEO of Iran’s largest construction company, Vima Co.  At an early age, Ommi witnessed the wrath of the Islamic regime. Ommi’s father was also on their hit list, but her family had the chance to flee the country, leaving behind their wealth and all their belongings to begin a new life in the United States.

Today, Shila Ommi is a prominent actress in the Iranian communities in diaspora.  For over a decade, she toured the globe as the lead actress and co-artistic director of Workshop 79, a theatre company spearheaded by acclaimed Iranian playwright/director/actor Houshang Touzie (“A Simple Wedding,” “Argo”). The founder of the LA based theater group, Turquoise Heart Productions,  Ommi uses theater art as a form of healing and activism, writes, directs, and acts in theatre pieces that share the Iranian experience with American audiences, and the exile experience with Iranians abroad. She is recently directed a play commissioned by the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health.

Ommi portrays the character Nahid, in the acclaimed espionage thriller, “Tehran,” with seasons 1 & 2 streaming now on Apple TV+ . She portrayed the character of Yasmin in the Apple TV+ anthology series “Little America” co-starring with Shaun Toub (who is also her screen husband in “Tehran”).  Ommi is also a voice-over artist and performs regularly in animated films and web series.  She is the voice of all the characters, male and female in a cartoon series called “NOPM: Special Forces” which was commissioned by the Boromand Foundation, a human rights organization focused on Iran’s human rights violations. She is narrating a video about deforestation, and a film about Iran… both coming out by the end of this year.

Elemental

PG

June 16, 2023

Animation

Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” is an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.

  • Directed By

    Peter Sohn
  • Produced By

    Denise Ream

Cast

Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie

Rated PG

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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Cinder - portrayed by Shila Ommi in "Elemental"

 

Interview with Shila Vosough Ommi

TV Interview!

Shila Ommi

Interview with Shila Vosough Ommi of “Tehran” on Apple TV+ by Thane 5/23/22

It was great to speak with this amazing actress!  Her role of Nahid Kamali expands in season 2 of the show.

 

Here are the questions I asked. We’ll try to get the answers transcribed soon!

1. What made you want to get into acting?

2. You play a sick woman in Tehran. Did you do any research for your role?

3. What do you think about the relationship between your character and her husband?

4. addition to acting, I see you have directed, produced, and performed stand up comedy, too. Which of these do you like doing the most?

5. Was doing stand up comedy a good experience for you?

6. Your IMdB profile says that you speak four or five languages. How did you learn so many?

7. I am interested in the music video that you were the executive producer for. How did that opportunity come about?

8. What do you think of the American media portrayal of Iran? Do you believe that it’s accurate and fair?

9. People say that Hollywood is more diverse, but what about behind the camera? Is it still an old boys club when it comes to traditional TV studios?

10. Has the rise of streaming services helped the diversity in front of the camera?

11. What has been your favorite production that you’ve acted in?

MORE INFO:

Tehran

poster for "Tehran" on Apple TV+

Season 2 release date: May 6, 2022

“Tehran” season two follows Tamar (Niv Sultan), a Mossad hacker-agent who infiltrates Tehran under a false identity to help destroy Iran’s nuclear reactor. But when her mission fails, Tamar must plan an operation that will place everyone dear to her in jeopardy. Two-time Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Glenn Close joins season two, with Shaun Toub, Shervin Alenabi, Arash Marandi and Shila Ommi also returning.

The series is created by Moshe Zonder, Dana Eden and Maor Kohn, and directed by Daniel Syrkin. Omri Shenhar serves as writer alongside Zonder. Syrkin and Shenhar are also co-creators. The executive producers are Eden and Shula Spiegel for Donna and Shula Productions, Alon Aranya for Paper Plane Productions, Julien Leroux for Paper Entertainment, Peter Emerson for Cineflix Studios, and Zonder, Shenhar, Syrkin and Eldad Koblenz for Kan 11. “Tehran” is distributed internationally by Cineflix Rights.

Shila OmmiShila Ommi is an American actress, director, writer and producer who was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up in Los Angeles.

She has directed and produced award winning plays in Los Angeles, and for over a decade she toured internationally under the name Shila Vosough in an Iranian-American theater production company performing plays in Persian.

Shila directed the feature film, ‘Wake Up Sleeping Beauty’, a psychological dramatic film about a young Iranian-American woman waking up from cultural trappings and ‘curses,’ and coming into her own power. It was produced by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

A graduate of UCLA, Ommi received a Departmental Honors for a ‘Bachelor of Science in Biological Anthropology’ minoring in Biology, where she wrote a published thesis on ‘Parental Investment Among Vervet Monkeys.’ She later attended the Ruskin School of Acting where she studied under the tutelage of John Ruskin and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

In addition to emceeing charities, hosting award shows, moderating and occasionally performing stand-up comedy, Ommi is also a prolific voice-over artist narrating documentaries and voicing characters in animated TV and web series.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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Shaun Toub and Shila Ommi in “Tehran,” now streaming on Apple TV+.