Posted on 12/09/2006 11:15:35 AM PST by nuconvert
To be Elizabeth, Iranian actress looked to the Bible
Dec 8, 2006
Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After today, strangers in hotels, airports and other public places might look at Shohreh Aghdashloo and think sainted Elizabeth instead of terrorist.
Shohreh Aghdashloo, who was nominated for an Oscar in "House of Sand and Fog" in 2003, plays Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, in "The Nativity Story." Click photo for larger image.
During a recent visit to Morocco, a hotel doorman stopped the Tehran-born actress, asked if she was the woman on "24 Hours" as the show "24" is sometimes called, and requested a photo. "By all means," she said, as he went to fetch a camera and then asked a friend to "take a picture of me and this terrorist."
Not to worry. She just played one on TV.
Aghdashloo, in Philadelphia to promote "The Nativity Story," marveled by phone, "It's just incredible, the power of television." No matter where she travels, she is recognized for "24" although moviegoers also remember her haunting turn in "House of Sand and Fog," which earned her a supporting Oscar nomination.
In "Nativity Story," she plays Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, who receives a vision from God that his wife "will bear him a son and he shall be a prophet, preparing the way for the Lord."
Their advanced age and infertility would seem to make that impossible, but Elizabeth gives birth to John the Baptist.
Director Catherine Hardwicke put the cast through a week of "Nazareth boot camp" in which they learned to weave a carpet, bake bread and milk a goat. "That was my favorite," Aghdashloo says of the goat milking, and while she never got to use the skills, they helped the method actress feel at home.
So did dramatizing the birth of John the Baptist, executed without the comfort of modern-day medicine. "The minute I sat on that stone bed, I felt the cold, and I realized, my God, this must have been really hard, especially with their hands tied over their head."
Elizabeth's words to Mary are incorporated in the "Hail Mary" prayer, but not much is known about this pivotal figure. Aghdashloo turned to the Bible -- which describes Elizabeth as "well advanced in years" and barren -- along with an "A to Z" Bible companion.
"When I started reading about her, how generous, selfless, giving, kind this woman was, with a heart filled with passion and love for humanity, from then on, it became easier," she said, speaking rapidly in throaty, accented English.
"Also, during the research, I realized she reminded me a lot of my own grandmother, who used to take me to the bazaar. We would buy rice, she would buy candy and take it to the slum area. Of course I'd be nagging, 'Grandma, these [packages] are heavy, Grandma, these are heavy.'"
Not only was "Nativity Story" Aghdashloo's first Biblical epic, but it was her first movie with such a large and diverse cast.
"I've worked 30 years, but I've never had the pleasure of working with so many good actors at once. If you're lucky, you get to work with one, two, three, four, five actors but not with a great ensemble, over 16 to 20 people from all over the world -- England, France, Ireland, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, USA."
The role of Mary is played by Keisha Castle-Hughes, whose turn in "Whale Rider" made her the youngest Best Actress Oscar nominee in history. At 16, she is a couple of years younger than Aghdashloo's real-life daughter, whom the actress missed terribly during the shoot. "Keisha, come here, give me a hug," she would say.
Mary and Elizabeth are cousins, separated by many years, but they are both miraculously pregnant and share a special relationship.
Elizabeth functions almost as a mother to Mary, "because when she is blessed, when she is dealing with this miracle that is happening to her, she does not share it with her own mother, she comes to Elizabeth. ... She says, 'Who am I that the mother of our Lord should come to me?'"
The 54-year-old Aghdashloo was surprised by the sheer simplicity of the movie, written by Mike Rich.
"When I started reading the Bible, the Gospel of Luke, I realized where the simplicity is coming from. I'm so glad the screenwriter kept that simplicity," because it needed no twists or turns. It also has what she calls an "excruciating resemblance to today's world."
The shoot was a smooth one, with a sort of "positive energy," but the cast had few of the luxuries associated with movie production.
"Every day I used to come to the hotel and wash myself. There was only sand coming off me -- in my ears, in my eyes, in my mouth. Everywhere, pink sand, and the heat, 127, 130, [degrees Fahrenheit] but really, we were all so happy making this, we didn't realize how hot it was," or how the tents with the piped-in cold air were no substitute for air conditioning, especially for the actors layered in fabric.
After Aghdashloo's American publicity tour, she was headed for Rome and then the Vatican, where "The Nativity Story" premiered on Sunday. "What are the odds this Middle Eastern girl gets to go to the Vatican with 7,000 people? I'm so overwhelmed."
The event was a benefit for construction of a school in the village of Mughar, Israel, which has a diverse population of Christians, Muslims and Druze and is located 25 miles from Nazareth.
The real-life pregnancy of Castle-Hughes, expecting a child with her boyfriend of three years, has muddied the publicity waters. Some observers said that was why Pope Benedict XVI was absent from the screening, while a Vatican spokesman said he never planned to attend.
(Post-Gazette movie editor Barbara Vancheri can be reached at bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. )
She is a great actress with a very alluring voice. I hope to see get more juicy movie roles!
Wow, she's 54?
Gotta love Persian women.
}:-)4
cool
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