To know the Hassan family is to love them.
They’re dramatic, boisterous, loving and despite the show Ramy being about the lives of American Muslims, they’re extraordinarily relatable.
“We’re telling a story that’s not just representing people like us, it’s representing anyone who is dealing with the same [issues], that’s the genius of Ramy [Youssef],” Laith Nakli told Celeb Secrets reporter Blakely McHugh. “He creates a show where Arabs can see themselves in it but also non Arabs can see their problems in it too.”
The Emmy-nominated Hulu series follows the life of Ramy Hassan, a first generation Egyptian-American growing up in his politically-divided New Jersey neighborhood.
Viewers watch as Ramy explores being caught between two worlds: The Muslim community “that thinks life is a moral test” and “a millennial generation that thinks life has no consequences, according to the streaming service’s description of the show.
“[Ramy Youssef] just throws real life problems that everyone in the world deals with at this family and then we get to see them and get to relate to them,” Nakli shared about the show.
The show is no stranger to guest stars. In addition to the series regular cast, Majid Jordan, Sarita Choudhury and now Bella Hadid have made appearances in the long-awaited third season.
The comedy-drama series, loosely based on Ramy Youssef’s real life, first premiered in April 2019. The second season premiered in 2020 but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the third season was put off until now.
Hulu announced the supermodel would be joining as a regular cast member in early 2022, marking her debut role as an actor.
“She’s so good! You worry sometimes with people who have never acted and have been in the spotlight for a completely different career but she’s so good,” Nakli shared about Hadid’s acting skills.
Laith Nakli, who plays Uncle Naseem on the hit show, was supposed to be a limited character in the series however he secured a recurring role during season two.
While he only shot one scene with Hadid, he described her as, “fantastic,” “lovely,” and “from the earth.”
He also spilled what she likes to play on set: Backgammon
“She’s obsessed… she wants to challenge everyone to backgammon.”
So of course we had to ask, is she good at it?
“She beats a lot of people according to what she says. She hasn’t played me yet so we’ll see,” Nakli said jokingly. “Once she beats me in backgammon, [I’ll accept defeat.]
Hadid makes her debut in episode 4 as Lena, the quirky, odd Muslim girlfriend of Steve (Steve Way). Steve is Ramy’s best friend in the show who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy.
You can watch our full interview with Laith Nakli below and you can watch all ten episodes of Ramy out on Hulu now. Let us know what you think about Bella Hadid’s backgammon obsession by reacting to this article or by sending us a tweet to @celebsecrets.
