Darine Hamze

Darine Hamze isn’t your average movie star—she’s a Lebanese powerhouse known for diving into wild, gutsy roles that a lot of her peers probably wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. She kicked off her education with a BA in Drama at the Lebanese University, then took it further with a master’s from the University of Westminster in London. Growing up smack in the middle of the Beirut civil war, then being shipped off to school in England, you can tell she’s used to shaking things up. What really sets Darine apart? She doesn’t just play it safe. She’s tackled everything from Persian in the Iranian cult film “The Book of Law” (talk about learning on the job) to French and English in controversial flicks like “Beirut Hotel.” That one, by the way, got banned in Lebanon but made waves in France and Germany. People either praised her for being bold or freaked out because she wasn’t playing by the so-called rules—she’s been both celebrated and banned, sometimes at the same time. Darine’s not scared to take heat for her choices, either. She’s vocal about her right to play any character, no matter how much it ruffles feathers. Her approach to cinema is all about reflecting real life, warts and all, and she’s made a name for herself as a champion for women’s rights and free speech. Basically, she brings range, guts, and a whole lot of brains to every role, flipping between Arabic, Persian, French, and English like it’s no big deal.