Interviews

Sahar El Maataoui

April 17, 2022
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Meet Sahar El Maataoui – the Moroccan actress, model and a TV Presenter. Holding a masters degree in Auditing and management control, Sahar has made modelling and acting as her career. She has acted in several TV commercials for popular brands.

Her debut in filming field was acting alongside Bollywood’s top actors like Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan in “Tiger Zinda Hai”.

This month, we sat down with Sahar to know more about her and her upcoming projects.

Tell us about your education.

After finishing high school, I went to university where I got my master degree in auditing and management control and at the same time I was working as a model. After graduation, I started working professionally in modelling and did an acting course in which I got a diploma in film acting.

How did you get interested in the field of modelling and acting? Who or what inspired you?

I was always fascinated by models in fashion magazines and movie stars like Audrey Hepburn, Monica Bellucci, Julia Roberts.

You are a model, actor, and a TV presenter. What came first and which one is you favourite and why?

The first one that came was modelling, I was spotted by Fati Boujiki, a Moroccan fashion designer in a shopping mall and got my first cover shoot with a Moroccan magazine that she introduced me to, in which I wore her new collection.

I can’t choose between the three, I enjoy doing all of them, as each one makes me discover something new either it is new trend with modelling, new stories and characters with acting and new places and information with TV presenting.

Tell us about some of your best modelling projects.

It was definitely my first magazine cover and my first job as a model when I went to India.

Tell us a little about your acting career. What were some of your best acting projects?

My best project in acting was my role in “Tiger Zinda Hai”. It was my first role in a movie and I was very excited to act along with such good and famous actors like Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan from the Bollywood.

Are you currently working on any new acting projects?

I have actually just finished filming an exciting Moroccan film. I’m taking a little break now before heading to a beauty contest in Italy: Miss Europe Continental in which I am participating in their world edition.

The most important thing when you are shooting is?

To know my lines perfectly and to be wearing clothes and shoes that I am comfortable in.

How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

Perseverant, adventurous, and dreamy.

What is the best and worst part of being an actress?

The best part of being an actress is having to live many lives in one and to experience many emotions and the worst part is the waiting part but I beat it with either having nice chat with the make up, hair and costumes department or revising my lines.

How do you prepare for a role?

The most important part for me is understanding the director and writer’s vision and how they see the character, then learning the script, checking what costumes and makeup, hair is going to be like so it brings me close to the character’s life, and then comes many steps that are private for each actor, I already told you a lot (lol).

Do you have any tricks or routines to stay healthy and beautiful?

Thank you for the compliment. To stay healthy, I try to eat some greens and avoid sugar and too much carbs, drink lots of water that comes naturally to me as I am always thirsty.

What kind of roles do you like or would like to play and why?

I have a long list of characters but to sum it up, be part of stories that tell about Moroccan and Arab women, either their history or their present.

What did you learn from your biggest failure?

To never give up and keep going while taking care of my health.

What is your own definition of happiness?

It is gratitude.

What is your favourite travel destination and why?

For holidays, I love the island life. So, any island that has turquoise water, sandy beaches and sunny long days.

What do you think of Social Media?

I think it is a good platform to showcase creative content, work, artistic projects, stay in touch with the supporting community and it is also good for businesses and shopping.

What are some of your other hobbies?

I love running, playing basketball, reading and binge-watching Netflix.

Do you have any other secret talent(s)?

I like painting but I don’t know if I am good at it or not. My mother tells me that I shouldn’t give up and do it more. So, let’s consider it a secret talent.