It’s not every day that you meet a Marvel superhero, and when I sit down with May Calamawy – or the Scarlet Scarab, as she’s known to her fans – it becomes quickly obvious that her superpowers extend well beyond her acting and fight scenes. The Egyptian actor exudes charm and warmth in quantities that make her feel like an old friend. Unapologetically self-assured, she speaks with a candidness that’s sometimes missing in those who’ve tasted Hollywood.

“It’s because I’m not trying to be someone I’m not,” she admits frankly. “I’m still a work-in-progress and I don’t try to sugar-coat that. I don’t act like I have more than I have, or that I can do more than I can do.” The actor, who practices a variety of holistic approaches including meditation, reiki, and energy healing, adds, “I’m grateful that I love myself – well, at the very least, that I’ve grown to learn how to champion myself, believe in myself, and not be mean to myself. And that, I think, has taken work that comes at a later age.”

Calamawy, who just celebrated her 38^th birthday, might have come to acting a little later than some of her contemporaries, but she’s dreamt of being on screen since she was a small child growing up between Bahrain, Qatar, and the USA, “I would put on The Nutcracker, or very dramatic classical music, and run around the house, acting out things,” she laughs. But after graduating with a B.A. in theatre studies from Emerson College in Boston, Calamawy moved back to Dubai, where her parents were then living, and fell into odd jobs due to the lack of acting opportunities. 

It was the heartbreak of losing her mother to cancer when Calamawy was 25 that gave her the push to fully concentrate on her dream career. “Losing such a close parent, I was like, ‘What actually matters anymore?’ All my friends around me were getting married, and the relationship I was in probably wasn’t moving in that direction, even though he was wonderful,” recalls the actor, who decided to leave Dubai for New York and enrol in acting school at the renowned William Esper Studio. 

It was a big deal. Acting hadn’t exactly been encouraged when she was growing up – her parents weren’t keen, and she recalls one particular incident as a child. “I told a friend of my mum’s, and she looked at me and said, ‘Acting is very difficult, you should choose something else.’ And then I became really shy to say that I wanted to do it,” Calamawy says, adding that her international life, due to her father’s job, made her close up even more. 

“Moving around generally made me shy,” she says. “Also, being an Arab in the States – looking back, I don’t know why, because in Bahrain we mixed with people from all over, but I must’ve been relatively aware of certain stereotypes people have toward us. At 10-years-old, I wouldn’t want anyone to ask me where I was from or what my religion was – that made me a bit quiet.” 

But after her mother’s death, Calamawy found the strength within to bypass the reservations of others. “It ended up all being generated from me,” she notes. “I haven’t had people around me being like, ‘You go do this, it’s your dream, you enjoy it, you’re good at it’. No, I’m the one that’s just sort of pushed myself.”

Once in New York, things started moving quickly. She landed small parts in dramas like The Long Road Home, Madam Secretary, The Brave, and FBI, soon followed by her big break: playing Dena for three seasons in the critically acclaimed drama-comedy Ramy. 

Set in New Jersey, the show is both hilarious and thoughtful as it follows the son of Egyptian immigrants reconnecting with his faith. Calamawy plays the often-exasperated Muslim daughter, exploring her identity while negotiating the double standards she faces for being female. As a character, Dena gives the Arab woman a depth and complexity that’s often missing in the unidimensional way commonly portrayed through the Western gaze. 

“I appreciated that it spoke to my culture,” explains Calamawy. “I had been playing more dramatic roles, which I felt were stereotypes of what Middle Eastern women would be like. It doesn’t mean those characters weren’t grounded in any truth, but why is this all we’re seeing? And then with Ramy, it was like, ‘Oh, wow, we’re seeing something different’, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.”

It was also Calamawy’s first time being part of a predominantly Muslim and Arab cast and crew. “It felt like we were just with family. I don’t know how to explain it, I think Arabs just get each other differently,” she says with a smile. “It was so fun on set – we just always wanted to spend time together, and we still have those friendships. It was a cool experience to be part of a wave of storytelling with Muslims and Arabs.” 

If Ramy was her ‘big break’, making her a household name in the Middle East and amongst Arab and Muslim diaspora, her next major role, in the Marvel series Moon Knight, would propel her into the stratosphere. Playing archaeologist and adventurer Layla El-Faouly, who doubles as superhero Scarlet Scarab, alongside acting giants Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac, was a world away from previous major roles, not just in terms of famous co-stars, but the huge budget to depict the fantasy storyline based on Egyptian gods and legends. Calamawy admits that despite it being a huge Marvel show, it hasn’t made her so famous that she’s lost her anonymity. 

“I thought my life was probably gonna change a bit more drastically, I even got a new phone number to prepare,” she laughs. “I’d say where I’ve been most impacted is if I go to a Comic Con and I see fans there, they’re so passionate about it.” Calamawy, who has 379K Instagram followers, numerous fan accounts, and is the subject of endless fan art posts, has also seen her character become a hero figure for young women. 

“Someone recently sent me a message saying, ‘Whenever life gets tough, I think of Layla’. It’s really touching to see that this character can give someone a bit of strength,” explains the actor. “It’s not just Arabic girls sharing these messages either, it’s across the board. There was someone who sent me a photo and her whole wall at home had photos of me – it’s really endearing because I just don’t think of myself that way. I’m not someone who generally walks in a room and is like ‘Look at me’. I don’t care for attention, but it’s always nice to be seen. Any person who becomes an actor, deep down, does enjoy being seen.”

There’s a line in the sixth and final episode of Moon Knight, which is set against the backdrop of the Pyramids, where a young local girl asks, ‘Are you an Egyptian superhero?’ And Calamawy’s character replies, ‘Yes’. It’s a poignant moment for viewers who don’t often see this representation of Arab women, and probably why many young women now look at Calamawy as a role model. 

“It’s a position I’m happy to be in,” the actor says thoughtfully about being seen as a role model. “But I also know that I’m someone who’s dedicated to my own growth and the work I do on myself, especially after losing my mind while navigating grief. So, I am wary sometimes of stepping into what a role model could be.”

“I can see how, as I grow into my work, I will maybe make choices that aren’t going to be what people might be proud of,” she continues. “I want to be a role model for authenticity and someone knowing what they want.”

Calamawy’s latest project is a screen adaptation of the 2010 novel Memory. The film, called The Actor and set in 1950s Ohio, tells the story of an actor who has lost his memory after being beaten up, and follows his journey to finding his identity, and his way home. 

Duke Johnson directs, and Calamawy stars alongside actors including André Holland, Gemma Chan, and Joe Cole. “It’s the first time that I am not playing an Arab,” she shares. “It was so freeing doing something else. In fact, I play five different parts, so I’m a different woman throughout it. I had to work with a dialogue coach to come up with different accents for the different characters – it was this non-committal way of exploring a bunch of different characters. It was really fun.”

Work is keeping her busy, but Calamawy is doing her best to find time to relax. Currently living in the English countryside in Buckinghamshire, she has taken up horse riding and is learning to cook. “I never would’ve thought about the country[side] because I’m so social,” she shares. “I have a huge community, I’m a busybody, but spending time somewhere that isn’t so stimulated has actually suited me. I feel like I could see myself spending time in a more quiet area.” 

The actor, who loves journalling, has also started creative writing this year. “If something happens that I think is funny, I’ll try to write it out as a scene, I’m hoping that might lead to other ventures,” she admits. “There’s a real wave of Arab writers coming up – you’re going to see their work everywhere soon, and I’d love to be part of that.” 

We have a feeling she will be amongst them because Calamawy has the ability and drive to get stuck into whatever she puts her mind to. Whether it’s her work as a writer, producer or actor, her superpowers know no bounds. 

Photographer: Buzz White for One Represents

Production: We Made It 

Executive Producer: Jorge Rosell 

Producer: Amalia Martinez 

Stylist: Rachel Davis for One Represents 

Stylist Assistant: Macy Richards 

Make-up Artist: Kate Glanfield 

Hair Stylist: Andrew Dylan

Photographer Assistant: Freddie Hare

Photography Lab: Bayeux 

Location: Modernity London