'Those About to Die' star Lara Wolf on representation and working with Anthony Hopkins

Actor, who plays historical figure, Berenice, explains how she got under her character's skin

By Haider Rifaat

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Published: Mon 29 Jul 2024, 7:19 PM

Born in Iran and raised in Switzerland, Lara Wolf had always been an introvert. As a child, she saw an opportunity to participate in a school play and latched onto it. “I was very shy,” Lara recalled. “I was always a little bit scared of people being in a social situation. Then I had this experience like maybe when I was six or seven in a school play where for some reason, a voice inside me told me, just do it!” she added.

Once Wolf was on-stage, she saw her fears disappear. “They just melted off me,” she said. Despite her inherent shyness, being on-stage felt less intimidating because Wolf's job was to express emotions. Nothing felt forced. “It felt so good. It felt safe to me.” She added.

That play alone eventually became a turning point, forever changing the trajectory of her personal and professional life. Despite knowing that acting was her future muse, Wolf planned to become a therapist. Her Persian mother wanted her to secure a solid career before embarking on a journey that felt self-fulfilling.

Although she was studying to become a therapist, Wolf felt something was missing in her life. Her mental health suffered because she was not in the best place in life at the time. She thought that a career in therapy would help her explore herself on a deeper, more profound level but it was doing the opposite. There was still an empty space that needed to be filled. Lucky for her, she already knew that acting was her happy place; it was a profession meant for her and she knew that from a young age. Here came another opportunity for Wolf, this time as an adult, to earn her degree, do some research, save up money and head to New York City, where she currently lives and is pursuing an acting career.

Historic role

Wolf recently concluded a major Hollywood production, the Peacock series Those About to Die, where she starred opposite Oscar-winning legend Anthony Hopkins and actors Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins and Tom Hughes. She played the role of Berenice, a Jewish Queen, member of the Herodian Dynasty of the Roman Empire. Wolf’s initial pull towards the project was of course, Hopkins, who she refers to as one of her most beloved actors, and directors Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner who helmed the project. “It’s an ancient genre piece. I’ve never been cast in that. That was interesting to me. The fact that my character is based on a historical person, and then a queen was incredible to me.” Wolf said.

Although Wolf was over the moon to meet Hopkins, she was disappointed to learn that she caught COVID-19 the day she was supposed to see him. Nonetheless, she was content that Hopkins’ character in the series referred to her character multiple times. Wolf was not playing a fictional role at all. She was playing Berenice, a Jewish Queen who was a prominent figure in the Roman Empire.

Bringing a character to life who Wolf knew very little about was not quite a challenge though. “Things have been written about her; I was able to do research. It was a template that was given to me. I basically did a lot of reading,” she said.

“I contacted a Jewish historian friend of mine who was able to read things in Hebrew. Because I don’t read Hebrew he was able to read Hebrew and he could tell me the different sources that talked about Berenice.”

Wolf said that during the Roman Empire, women were not talked about as much. Even a historical figure like Berenice was disliked by the Romans. Whoever talked about Berenice had to first please the Romans at the time. Because different sources provided different pieces of information about Berenice, it was ultimately up to Wolf to decide how to connect with that character.

(Photo by Sharon Daniels)

Next project

Season one of Those About to Die concluded in July. What is next for Wolf? A spy action-thriller feature film scheduled to begin this fall. “I'm very excited about that. We'll be shooting in Tbilisi.” she revealed.

The actress hopes to play a wide range of characters going forward. “I think I can fit into an action world just as I can fit into something that is psychologically very layered and deep,” Wolf said.

She likes a physical challenge and enjoys doing fight choreographies. She sees herself playing athletes and superheroes at some point, perhaps even a psychiatrist. But aspiring to play all these characters can seem a far-fetched reality for an artist like Wolf who is of Iranian descent, and a non-American to boot. Hollywood productions would cast for very specific roles that she would not fit the bill for because of her mixed ethnic background. “People would look at me and I would draw too much attention because people would be like, 'What is she? How do we place her?'” she remarked.

“Oftentimes it really drove me crazy. It still does because I see great roles where I’m like, I’m just myself, but it seems like they (producers) don’t know how to place me." The inability of producers to consider Wolf's talent over her physical appearance was the greatest setback for her, but it was also her greatest asset because she looked so different.

“I’m trying to look at it as an asset actually. Because the world is opening up. The idea of diversity is more present than ever. And when I started to see breakthroughs that asked for, let’s say, half Lebanese, half American, like I almost cried because it made me so happy to see that writers are starting to push towards a direction of, yeah, obviously we can all be mixed. Why not?” she asked.

Wolf claimed that stereotyping a character who is Iranian, for example, is a mistake in itself because that creates a misperception about Iranians. She recalls her ancestors having green eyes. Her mum looks different, and Wolf has been told that she does not look Iranian at all. Hence, Hollywood producers often miss the opportunity to give proper representation to ethnic groups and different nationalities that are non-American.

Representation and talent both matter in the entertainment industry. Giving representation to diverse group of actors is critical in any industry because it builds healthier competition. However, Hollywood tends to give marginalised representation to justify diversity, attributing small, supporting roles to under represented, non-White actors.

Wolf believes that the industry is working its way up to change the conversation around diversity but it is still a work in progress. Over the years, she has learned to take up space and not be so afraid to step on someone’s feet. “I’m a person; I exist, and I have the right to represent myself.” she said.

She holds that if actors of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds present themselves, make space for themselves, and stand up for themselves, that build up will eventually create a movement in the entertainment industry.

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