Bahraini actress shines like a star in new Marvel adventure series.

May Calamawy, a Bahraini actress born to Egyptian and Palestinian-Jordanian parents, is making headlines in the US with her role as Layla El-Faouly in the new show Moon Knight, based on the comic.

Directed by Mohamed Diab, it is centred around Steven Grant, played by Oscar Isaac, who discovers that he has been granted the powers of an Egyptian moon god, but soon realises that his new-found powers are both a blessing and a curse. He also suffers with dissociative identity disorder. Layla is an adventurous Egyptian archaeologist and estranged wife of Marc Spensor, another identity of Steven’s, who Isaac also plays.

May’s character Layla has already won the hearts of fans, who are touched by both her care for others and her fortitude.

May was born in Bahrain in 1986 and attended school on the island. She was also raised for a time in Doha and the US. She finally settled in Boston to pursue her bachelor’s degree in industrial design. She thereafter lived in Dubai for five years before moving back to the US to follow her dream of becoming an actress. She went on to do a theatre studies degree at Emerson College and spent some time at the Willian Esper Studio in New York City.

May landed her first major role in 2013 in the horror film Djinn produced in the UAE. She thereafter starred in National Geographic’s The Long Road Home and played gueststarring roles in The Brave, Madame Secretary and the CBS crime drama FBI. In 2018 she began her role in Ramy, a Hulu comedy-drama, as Ramy’s sister Dena. And in 2021 she appeared in the movie Together, Together alongside Ed Helms and Patti Harrison.

Moon Knight premiered on March 30 and so far, five episodes of the first series have already been released on Disney+, with the sixth following on May 4. Don’t miss it! ✤