Nasanin Nuri came from Iran to become Miss Earth Switzerland to a actress who cares
Interview conducted March 27, 2018
By Dan Locke
Unratedmagazine: You are a Gemini and for that reason you can adapt easily to different characters. Why do you feel that you can become anyone?
Nasanin Nuri: I do not feel that I can become ANYONE- that would make me a hell of a character actor! But I do believe that being a Gemini can be helpful to find it easier to adapt into different characters. I am not crazy into horoscopes, but here and there, there are some interesting facts that I just go along with it. And I love to mention to people that I am a Gemini, the reaction is always the same: OH MY GOD YOU ARE CRAZY! :o)
Iran to Switzerland
You were born in Iran. Tell me about your journey from Iran to Switzerland?
I was not even 5 years old, so it was very natural for me to start in Switzerland. I started Kindergarten in Switzerland. Switzerland is my home, I don’t know any other home.
How did you family feel about you, as an actress. Because as I understand it most Persian parents don’t want their children to go into the entertainment industry.
My little Brother is always proud of me no matter what I do- and my closest friends, that are my chosen family, believe more in me than I do sometimes, they genuinely believe in me. They constantly go out of their way to support me in this. I owe them everything in this journey.
Miss Earth Switzerland to Modeling
At 21 you won your first pageant, Miss Earth Switzerland 2008. How was it to be Miss Earth
Nasanin Nuri
Switzerland and what did it detail?
I mean I was very young, and I was very overwhelmed in the beginning. With the title came all the model jobs in Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. I was a bit shy and self-conscious in front of the camera. I got all these gigs, had to go to events and meet so many people. I was terrified of giving interviews and being on stage. It kicked my butt, I had to get out of my comfort zone, I learned a lot and grew so much. It brought a different side out of me. Being Miss Earth Switzerland was a life changing experience- there was a glamour world to it, but I also used my title to speak about women rights in the middle eastern, I worked with some charity organization together, one of them was Amnesty International. It was so empowering and freeing to use a beauty title and show the world what women are made of!
By winning in Switzerland it gave you the chance to represented Switzerland at the International level. Which was in Manila, Philippines. And you finish the Top 8. How was it going to the Philippines and want did you think of the country and people?
I mean it is very though being a month on an international Beauty Pageant. You are with so many girls, from all over the world, that was the beautiful part of it. And no, there was no drama, or any fights. : o) The girls were all super nice. We had a tight schedule every day, and we were every day on the road, and we simply didn’t have enough sleep. It was an unforgettable adventure. We were every day in a new city, I saw the most beautiful sunsets and the most beautiful islands, but we also got to see the slums, the poverty and the homeless kids. My heart still breaks thinking of that part of it. The people are so simple, humble and kind. Always smiling, always welcoming, always kind. They were always so excited to see us Beauty Queens, they treated us as gods. They have so much respect towards Beauty Queens, it’s almost as if you are holy. I loved the country and it is on my list to go there again.
You started modeling and became an ambassador for Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France. What charities did you embraces at the time and which one are you involved with now?
My main Charity was Women Rights and domestic Violence. I worked with some organizations together and I also pulled off a charity gala with some Swiss celebrities joining. Nazari Afshin Jam, former Miss World Canada and human rights activist gave a speech about women rights. It was interesting she was always one of my role models, she is also Iranian and we both have the same name, both in a beauty pageant. The newspapers loved that two Nasanin’s were together fighting for women rights.
#MeToo
What is you’re feeling about the #MeToo movement?
Nasanin Nuri
I admire the courage of all the women who are standing up. It is a beginning and there is still so much work to do. I mean ten years ago when I was speaking about it in the newspapers, it was still a big taboo to speak about it. People were shocked.
From Switzerland to United States of America and Acting
After modeling why did you decide to go to acting school?
It wasn’t a decision like that. And I never quit modeling like that either. I was on an adventure of finding myself, I gave up everything I had in Switzerland and started a new unknown journey in America. And somehow there it was, I got accepted in this acting program and started it. The first three months I was afraid they’re gonna kick me out, I was so bad. I even remember calling my friend on the phone and I was like: “I’m not sure if I can make it, like I don’t know what the hell I am doing, all I know is that I’m the worst in class.”
I see that you are into Boxing, Kick Boxing, May Thai, Weight Lifting, Snowboarding and Ice Skating. I can see you in some type of action film. Which would be a nice idea for your next film? Did you make the UFC gym film?
Yaassss! I would love to be in an action film. It would be amazing to play a villain, or a badass woman you don’t wanna mess around with! :o)
I was on a hard program for athletes and was training with a coach one on one for about 3 months, for a short film that I shot. It is about my fight as a woman in this world. It was hard work. We shot everything in one day. I was totally beaten up at the end of the shoot, I had to lift, exercise and fight all day long.
At the end of your year of acting school, you wrote and starred in a short film entitled “Where Am I”. The film was very well received at the Wellington Film Festival with an honorable mention for Honorable Mention at Wellington Filmfestival 2016, Winner Best Narration at Wellington Filmfestival 2016 and finalist Best Cinematography at Wellington Filmfestival 2016, I did watch it, and it was great. How did you start on this project? How did you fund the project?
Thank you. That was after I finished my first year of acting school. And we had 3 months of summer break before second year. I spent two of it in Switzerland, I was bored of such a long break from school and started this project, which was funded out of my own pocket. It was just me and a cinematographer. My brother helped a few times on set.
How were you picked as Veronica Hawthorn in Paul Kyriazi’s film “Forbidden Power”?
The producers saw some of my work online and contacted me. They told me that the director wants someone more native American looking if I could send in a picture of me looking more “native”. I straightened that dark hair of mine, put on black eyeliner and feather earrings, and took a picture and sent it in. Then I skyped with Paul for an hour, and he was so thrilled and told me: “We found our Veronica”
Tell me what the movie is about?
A mysterious Woman named Veronica has a one-night affair with the Tech guy George. When George wakes up the next day she is disappeared but had left George a note. It would be all a boring telenovela, if there was not that George starts to feel different after that one-night affair, he is getting stronger and stronger, he has super power… He wants to find out what is happening to him, so he tracks down Veronica to find the truth. It was empowering playing a woman who has sex with men on her terms and uses them. Like hell yeahhhhhh…: o)
If you could change anything in the movie about Veronica. What would it be?
Well… To be honest here, I wish Veronica had more scenes in which she fights, and kills men with her bare hands. : o) For my own personal pleasure to play that part for sure. :o)
What’s Next in Movies and Acting
Can you tell me about your next project coming up in which you wrote, produced and star in?
That is still in the editing phase right now. It is an abstract short like the short you watched “where am I”
What are your goals in the next five years
As an actor I have dedicated my whole life to the art, and I will be forever an actor. But the next five years are the five years that I am going to selfishly, foolishly, bravely give my all and everything to acting. In five years I want to look back and say: Could I have worked harder? NO- I DID EVERYTHING I COULD! In 5 years I want to be a busy working actor- I want to have a stable career.
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