LOW WINTER SUN - AMC TV: ATHENA KARKANIS INTERVIEW
by Eli Rosenberg
August 23, 2013
Athena Karkanis, who plays Dani Khalil on AMC’s Low Winter Sun, talks about the quality she shares with her character and her love for Detroit...
... Q: Dani is a tough lady. Is that something you look for in roles?
Athena Karkanis: "Not necessarily, no. It’s an interesting part because of how she plays into the whole fabric of the story. In terms of it being Detroit and her being Arab-American — it’s just an interesting time, given the post-9/11 climate. She’s a very non-stereotypical character, which I found was refreshing. It was nice that it’s sort of like, “Oh look, they’re not just terrorists, they’re actually Americans like you and me.” Well, I’m Canadian, so not really me, but…'
Q: In Episode 2, there’s a great scene when Dani speaks in Arabic to the corner store owner. Was that difficult to prepare for?
Athena Karkanis: "The little trick under my belt is that I speak a bunch of languages, and Arabic is one of them. I also speak French, Italian, Spanish, German –- only so so -– and, of course, English. Everyone in my family is quite multilingual. We traveled a bit growing up. I went to French schools. I actually spent some time in Egypt and learned it there, most recently in December 2011, about a year after the revolution. I rented a flat in Cairo and spent about a month there. The thing about Arabic is that from country to country, the dialect and the accent are very different. I don’t know how many viewers will pick up on it, but the accent and dialect that I was doing was Egyptian, because that’s what I thought my character was. And that happens to be the kind of Arabic that I speak. I’m a bit of a Heinz 57. But I’m partially Egyptian..."
Low Winter Sun airs Sunday at 10/9C on AMC TV. CLICK HERE TO VIEW A VIDEO SNEAK PEEK FROM 'CATACOMBS,' AIRING SEPTEMBER 1, 2013.
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