Samar Khoury
Samar KhouryBy Lekan Olujinmi
Samar Khoury is a British international Model, Actress and Dancer. She was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to a Lebanese father and a Congolese mother, and speaks Arabic, English and French fluently.
Samar Khoury started modelling in 2010. She has worked with many photographers in England and abroad. She made the cover of Zen Magazine January 2012 and gave her first exclusive interview to the magazine. Samar Khoury has also featured extensively in international magazines including Amina Magazine (Paris), Black Hair, Black Beauty and Hair Magazine, FAB Magazine, Faqtor Fashion Book (NYC-Japan-Paris-London), Folk Magazine (Norway), Femina Magazine (India), Miss Ebene (Paris), Pride Magazine, The Independent magazine, The Globe Newspaper (Ghana), The Promota magazine.
Samar states that: "I believe that in the modelling and acting industries, the ideas inherent in 2face gemini are put into action by models and actors because we fit ourselves into the identity of someone else's skin. We have a make-over from a creative team and once all the lights are ready and set, the photographer is waiting to shoot you live, here and now. Models express emotions through the lenses of the camera. There is nowhere to hide and to escape! Convince the viewers, convince the crowd: sell the product, sell it. Our business is to make others believe the images we project!"
In your own words describe your experiences with the theatre production The Diary Of Black Men - How Do You Love A Black Woman?
I would like to thank The StageWalker Group and The Klub International Management Company for giving me this opportunity and exposure. The experience has been overwhelming! I am looking forward to meeting the rest of the cast members. This is my first theatre production so I don't know what to expect and there's a mixture of feelings, anxiety and excitement and a bit of uncertainty. In relation to theatre, I haven't had the privilege to watch the play so it is my first time. I will be in a better position to give my answer after the production.
Did your parents support you going into the entertainment business?
No. They only supported me through my education. I had to support myself in the beginning because introducing modelling into my family was not seen as a respectful job. However, I had to prove myself to them. In the end, they are so proud of my achievements. It was important for me to get an education first and once I got it as a foundation, it was easier for me to pursue my creative side.
What does theatre and the Arts mean to you?
Freedom. I'm free to express myself by being creative and meaningful. I give a presence of creative piece that can be acknowledged and admired by an audience. It enables me to reconnect with my inner child. When I was a child, I used to read French Literature and write poems in French. I carry it through my modelling now by becoming different characters based on the clothes I'm wearing.
Name one thing your life experiences have taught you, which you would like to teach others?
Appreciate people and objects around you every day because you will never know when one of those things will be taken away from you or be deprived from you. I took my flight in late 90's knowing that I will see my mother 'soon.' Soon became a decade now since I have not heard from my mother. However I live everyday hoping to hear from her and the closest things I have from my mother are my beautiful sisters.
Who is your current favourite music icon and why?
I listen often to Afrobeat and Arabic music. My favourite music at the moment is Bollywood music: "Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham" - It's All About Loving Your Parents. My taste of music is quite universal and my mood dictates my musical preference at any given time!
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Hopefully to visit Congo by September, then travel to America or South Africa. Anyway I will know by the time I finish with the production team.
Do you think that Black Brits find themselves in the same positions socially and economically as their American counterparts?
Well, I've not been to America yet so I will give my opinion based on my knowledge. I don't think they are in the same positions yet until the Black Brits have a Black Prime Minister one day... If you look through history, Black Brits and Black Americans have come from two different past struggles to reach their current destiny. For example, Black Americans went through slavery and majority of Black Brits went through Windrush. It is embedded in them to fight for what they want - for instance, Hip Hop became a Multi-Billion Industry. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X fought for their civil rights. African Caribbeans were invited to work in Britain by late 1940's. Black Brits did not have the same struggle. We did not have to fight as our Black Americans brothers had in the fields/farms.
What advice would you give to young actors and theatre producers trying to get in the business?
Well, I am new to this business. I don't think it's wise for me at this early stage to advise young actors or theatre producers because my background is more modelling than acting. However I'm looking forward to receiving advice from the more seasoned cast members.
The play or choreopoem is obviously written from an African American male perspective, how can the issues be relevant to other cultures too?
It is relevant when you look at relationships between a man and a woman. It is depicted from a Black American perspective however, the characters can be found in Hispanic, Asian or White communities. The principal difference would be cultural elements. For example, every culture depicts how we interact with our women. There's romance, fight, argument, divorce. Interaction between men and women are different between White and Asian. Lesson can be learned how to love your women, how to appreciate your own. At the end of the day, we all come from a mother - "A Woman" and does every woman deserve affection, respect, love and security?
The Diary Of Black Men - How Do You Love A Black Woman? Why do you think it has stood the test of time?
It's an issue that can be addressed everyday and forever... In any relationship by any culture... It's an education taken from theatre production reflecting and arousing questions in our real domestic world: lack of deeper understanding of one another between a man and a woman.
What impact do you think The Diary Of Black Men will have on its "new young audience"?
It will help by awakening younger audience to view adult problems. They could be the leader to break that unhealthy cycle and learn from this real theatre experience. We are living in a multicultural society and the lines are gradually blurred out. We no longer address how do you love a black woman? The question is how do you love a woman by going forward. The media and internet are exposing different controversial images of women which is having psychological effects. It is challenging the way young girls see themselves (size 0, anorexia, fake boobs, cosmetics) and this is also impacting on young boys on how they perceive a woman should look and what she should do for them.
What kind of reactions have you got from friends and how are they showing their support?
They are very happy for me and they know that's what I wanted after my modelling. It is a stepping stone for me that I could embrace and use to start my acting career.