Everywhere, all at once: The year of Nour Hooshmand

Some years ago, while studying theater arts at the University of the Philippines, Nour Hooshmand would always look forward to the rehearsals of Dulaang UP. There, she was supposed to learn direction and lighting design under the tutelage of the likes of Dexter Santos and the late Floy Quintos, but would instead hone her penchant for performance as a stand-in for actors who couldn’t make it to practice sessions. She was beside herself for having to act with such accomplished thespians as Shamaine Buencamino and Stella Cañete. “I enjoyed it so much to the point that I’d wish some actors would not come to the rehearsals so I could do their parts,” said Hooshmand. Her directors would even hand her notes clandestinely, despite knowing she wasn’t there as an understudy.

“ Kahit hindi ako ‘yong mag-act sa show pero ‘yong makaeksena ko lang sila even just for a moment, okay na sa akin ‘yon ,” Hooshmand continued. “ I never really expected na may future dito. ” (Even though I’m not the one acting in the show, just getting to share a scene with them, even if only for a moment, is enough for me. I never really expected that there would be a future for me here. ) At the time, Hooshmand thought she was meant to remain behind the curtains, learning everybody’s blocking and knowing their lines by heart, but never stepping on stage, let alone performing. “ Malala talaga ‘yong battle ko with self-image (My battle with self-image is really bad),” she revealed. She would often hear comments about the implausibility of her becoming an actor and landing roles due to her facial features. “ ‘Di raw ako pang-leading lady (They say I’m not leading-lady material),” she said. Today, the Filipino-Iranian actress is practically everywhere and impossibly hard to miss. Even for the briefest of…