Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamawy needs no introduction. She has been acting since 2006, with roles in everything from Tobe Hooper’s Djinn to Madam Secretary. But she probably came firmly on to the radar of television watching audiences for her role as the acerbic Dena Hassan on Ramy Youssef's award-winning series Ramy.
Since then, she has entered a rarefied stratosphere of global entertainment, becoming the first Arab superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing Layla El-Faouly, aka Scarlet Scarab, in Moon Knight on Disney+ opposite seasoned actors Ethan Hawke and Oscar Issac. Her latest role is in a smaller film, The Actor, based on the novel Memory by Donald E Westlake about a man with amnesia. The film is distributed by Neon, the company behind this year’s Oscar dominating Anora.
We caught up with her and asked her to answer Luxury magazine’s One Last Thing questionnaire.
What is your favourite time of day and why?
It’s the beat before sunset when the sun is still shining but everything feels more still like the sun’s excitement is chilling out and it’s just being.
What is your favourite restaurant anywhere in the world?
Naguib Mahfouz in Khan El Khalili, Cairo.
When was the first time you realised your parents were human?
When I was 22 and my mum got sick.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Content.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can read minds.
Your favourite book?
I honestly don’t know, and not because I read too much but because I don’t read enough. I feel like I need to learn how to sit down and indulge in books again.
What type of music can’t you stand?
Currently, metal.
What puts you in a bad mood?
The state of the world.
What can you not live without?
Myself.
Dream dinner guests?
My mom.
Sitting on the sofa or out with friends?
Sofa with friends.
What smell takes you straight back to childhood?
Cinnamon.
What food takes you back to childhood?
Weetabix, labneh and olive wraps and those ice creams with the gumball at the bottom.
Which city do you love but would hate to live in?
I'm keeping that one to myself.
Can you play a musical instrument?
Every once in a while I can play the piano.
Have you ever been on a motorcycle?
Yes, but can’t remember when. Seems like a vague memory when I was a child. Dodgy.
Any words to live by?
“Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.” – Marilyn Monroe
Biggest pet peeve?
When things aren’t returned to their place.
Do you believe in aliens?
Yezzir.
What is your favourite Arabic word?
Miskeena [editor's note: literally translates as 'needy' but is normally used to imply a mix of empathy and pity for someone.]
The most niche thing you watch on YouTube?
Obscure animals such as rain frogs or duprasi gerbils.
How do you take your tea?
White with a cheeky spoon of sugar.
What makes you cry?
Videos of abused animals learning to trust again.
What do social algorithms think you’re interested in?
Kittens, dogs and pixie haircuts.
TikTok or Instagram?
Instagram, only because I haven’t let myself download TikTok yet, but it would probably be TikTok if I did.
What is it about you that would surprise people?
I’ve been learning to horse ride for the last couple of years and love it!
What was the last thing you did for the first time?
Visit Cambodia.
