Edited Image of Natasha Behnam from Girls on the Bus episode 7 interview
The Girls on the Bus follows four very different women who bond while covering the Democratic primary election. Lola, the young up-and-comer, is a social media journalist who gained a following after she survived a school shooting and began using her voice to speak about gun violence. Now, she has a massive following and wants to find a way to use that following to change the world for the better.
Natasha Behnam: I'm so excited to let the audience in on Lola's world, and I think it's such a beautiful depiction of what happens when we get triggered and we have unresolved trauma. It doesn't take much for Lola to sort of fly off the handle. But I was so excited that we get to meet the Rahaii family and that we're all... every single actor in the family is Iranian. We are one of the first and only Iranian-American families on TV. I think there's maybe one or two others. And of course we got to speak Farsi in that scene, which felt really real and natural. Obviously for me, I'm a first-generation Iranian-American actor, and that's how I speak with my family.
She found this sort of bubbly, excited, TikTok version of herself, which is, to me, a young girl coming of age just trying to find her way. But everything that is real to her is just underneath that, and she really tried to deal with this trauma after the shooting. And then of course, her not really being able to face the truth of her own story. I think it's a really complicated process for her. And now as she tries to find her way, she's decided that she wants to become a journalist, to change that. She wants to become a journalist, to get the truth out there, to effectuate change, to be as authentic as possible.
I definitely think Lola felt lighter after sharing. I think being able to share that moment with Grace was a huge sort of relief. And the fact that Grace doesn't come at her, Carla's character, instead she affirms her and says, "You are so authentic." I think in a moment of great vulnerability for Lola, that was a really important thing for her to hear, and I think gives her a little bit of hope back in a tough moment.
She's been through so much pain. She has to sort of strategically choose that optimism. And I think the balance between the idealism, the optimism, the getting your hopes up, and then also the angry bitter chip on your shoulder of having experienced trauma is what makes us all human and hopefully makes Lola so relatable.
So if I'm carrying 12 hour days with her anger and her trauma in my gut, and when I go home, my body doesn't know the difference, and it's been under stress all day. So it was honestly very surprising and beautiful to then be like, "Oh, these characters, they really take up a part of us and we have to be so cautious to clean our energy essentially and really make sure we know the difference between them and us.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment to shine light on health disparities at Girls Health Matters SummitThe event is poised to inspire positive change in the lives of young girls across Chicago.
Read more »
Alaska House committee advances, expands proposal to bar trans girls from girls sportsAn amended bill would add elementary, middle school and collegiate sports to limits in place for high school.
Read more »
Alaska House committee advances, expands proposal to bar trans girls from girls sportsAmended bill would add elementary, middle school and collegiate sports to limits in place for high school.
Read more »
Alaska House committee advances, expands proposal to bar trans girls from girls sportsAn amended bill would add elementary, middle school and collegiate sports to limits in place for high school.
Read more »
Girls Rock St. Pete Empowers Girls And Women to Become Rock StarsAssociate Lifestyle Reporter
Read more »
Chicago girls got to be firefighters for a day, thanks to CFD and Girls, Inc.'So many people tell you what you can't do. But they can see what's possible and what you can do. So I told them never say you can't do anything. You can do anything you can put your mind to.'
Read more »