Abu Dhabi-born actress Yasmine Al-Bustami to star in hit crime drama NCIS: Hawaii

Yasmine Al-Bustami has arguably one of the best acts in show business.

as one of the stars NCIS: Hawaii, As the newest addition to the 20-year-old hit TV series, she can spend nine months a year filming in paradise.

The critically acclaimed first season is available on Starzplay, with a second season returning next month.

Al-Bustami’s casting not only marks another major step in the industry’s move towards a diverse representation on mainstream television, but it’s also a great deal for the Abu Dhabi-born, Jordanian-Palestinian father and Filipino mother. For the actress, it’s also a personal milestone.

She’s well aware that her role as series regular Lucy Tara, the dogged investigator, could resonate well beyond her immediate fan base.

“What I’m really happy about is that I play a character where you can insert any race or background and it doesn’t affect the character,” she told National.

“No one needs to mention or add some kind of storyline to explain that they might be Arab or Asian because that’s not the focus of the story.

“The characters are them, and that’s the plot we focus on.”

quality over race

This is also how Al-Bustami has approached his career.

After moving to the US with her family from Abu Dhabi at the age of 3, she developed a passion for acting in college.

“But it was more on the business side at first, because part of me didn’t think it could be a sustainable career,” she admits.

After taking part in several amateur productions, she began to envision life in front of the camera, and by the age of 25, Al-Bustami had landed a recurring role in the fantasy series originalfollowed by a selection from the regular TV segment of the 2016 TV series inspector and romantic comedies in 2019 I ship.

Al-Bustami also featured in the powerful music video for John Legend’s 2016 track foolproofin which she plays a Muslim woman facing bigotry over her relationship with a Mexican man.

She said all her roles were chosen based on the quality of the material, rather than making broader industry or political statements.

“Honestly, I just love all the different things that reading brings me and anything that works,” she said.

“Thankfully, it’s rare for me to get a role that I don’t think I can do at all.”

tell true stories

when it came NCIS: HawaiiAl-Bustami said actors and producers were forced to accurately represent Hawaii and its cultural life.

It features many Hawaiian actors – like Anthony Ruiva, Moses Goode and Danielle Zalopani – Albustami says plot line Be inspired by the locals.

“What I appreciate is that the writers really set out to show Hawaii and bring in some of its history and culture in order to make the show a learning experience rather than just a backdrop,” she said.

“It’s also a cool place and I wonder if I’m cool enough to get there. Everything about it is what you see.

“When you take a photo, you can only hope to capture what you see live. But in Hawaii, it’s only when you’re there that you really appreciate its beauty and magic.”

Moments like these make a career worthwhile, she said. Now she hopes to keep her track in the competitive world of television acting.

“Everyone has their own journey and way of getting where they want to go. For me, it’s always been a lot of fun, I never find it too tiring, even though the days are tough.

“I think it depends on me understanding that what I’m doing satisfies me in a way that other things in life don’t.

“That’s not to say there were a lot of times in my career that it wasn’t tough, it was just that I didn’t want to give up.”

Updated: August 19, 2022 3:44 AM