Sharlin Mu’rai had already worked in the industry for years without breaking through and had started working as a teacher at a school, when the audition for “The 80s” came along, in which she was cast in the role of Ilana — a role that has accompanied her for 10 years now and also currently in the new season that jumps to the 90s. In an interview with Matan Yaniv she talks about the resemblance between herself and the character, the frustration of competing with inexperienced models over roles, and the desire to land a meaningful dramatic role.
Whether she’s the unconventional boss in a TheMarker commercial or a not-exactly-sharp cashier at “Tzomet Miller,” most of the public will still recognize the actress Sharlin Mu’rai as Ilana, the smiling woman from “The 80s” who provides a counterweight to her colder, more serious husband (played by Ofer Shechter), and from the very first second you can notice character traits shared by the character and the actress. She closes herself in a quiet room in her home, because outside her three children are running around, and she talks with me in a phone interview that begins charming and smiling. While Mu’rai excitedly tells me about the follow-up season — “The 90s,” which premiered this week on “Reshet” — it’s not long before she confesses to the challenges of combining the profession with personal life.
“I run a life beyond the profession. I work as a substitute teacher from eight until one, which is a job that suited me after a lot of jobs I dropped out of; then comes the second job, which is being a mom — and consider that, in the middle of all that, I also have to work on auditions when there’s quiet at home. But the thing that keeps me in the consciousness and gives me the strength to continue is ‘The 80s.’ I’ve been going with this series for almost 10 years now and I’m most proud of this role.”
How do you manage to combine the auditions with two jobs?
“First of all, you have to make sure there’s quiet at home (laughs). It’s not simple — it’s learning texts while working, it’s filming the audition when you really have quiet both at home and in your head. By the first season of ‘The 80s’ I was already engaged and everything happened so fast that sometimes we even filmed while I was actually pregnant. But all in all I’m proud of myself for not waiting for more prestigious roles in order to start my life.”
(Credit: courtesy of the Haim Shraga talent agency — personal management)
Along with the actress’s success, she breaks down when asked about her colleagues in the profession. “I studied at Beit Zvi with the most talented actors imaginable, 50 talented people one by one, but their spark faded over time,” the actress shares. “Because today the rules of the game have changed — they prefer reality alumni and web stars. No one looks at a soul actor; even if he studied acting for 3–4 years, casting directors will prefer the model with tens of thousands of followers, and it’s not fair. It’s not fair and it’s frustrating for the actors who aren’t models or reality alumni.
It’s not fair because we ate dirt for 3 years and slept at the school because we didn’t have money for the bus. The absurd thing is that they see me as the one who made it, the one who’s on television, even though they didn’t really give me many chances apart from ‘The 80s.’ I wish there were more like Shalom Asayag. People who give a chance to folks no one else sees. This role, this family, all of it is a great gift that Shalom gave me.”
What do you think is the secret of the series’ success?
“The authenticity it has. They speak lightly and at eye level, without being afraid to bring in the accents, the slang and the special foods. There’s no Moroccan or Georgian home that doesn’t identify with it. It sounds surprising, but even children identify with this series, meaning it has a very large age range.”
It’s hard not to notice the resemblance between Mu’rai and her character. Of course, she too grew up in a Moroccan home in the eighties, but she also has a cantor father at a synagogue (like Prosper), she too grew up in a home with five children, and she also married a husband of Ashkenazi origin (“I’ll tell you a secret, but he’s also half Iraqi,” she laughs). “It’s always funny in our home, always cheerful, so when I read the synopsis for this series I said — ‘If not me, then who?'” Mu’rai says.
Did you even have to prepare for such a character?
“I very much brought myself, because I really identified with Ilana, both in terms of age and in terms of background. I admit that at the time I did prepare for the audition with Irit Suki, an audition coach, who gave me a few tips, but her biggest tip was: be yourself, be authentic.”
There’s no doubt that a decade and a sixth season can be a little too much for some actors. Was there a moment when you said ‘enough, that’s it’?
“I’m in the complete opposite. As far as I’m concerned, I’m ready to return to this role as much as needed and as much as they want me. Every season it feels like coming home, to this amazing cast, to this wonderful character. Every season I get excited and think about what they’ll do this time, how they’ll manage to move me this time, and each time anew they manage to surprise me. They also give a chance, each time anew, to new and very funny people whom maybe no one else would have cast. But I’ll tell you more than that — I’ll never say ‘no’ to Shalom Asayag. Shalom is the one who chose me out of all those who competed for the role, and there were very famous competitors. And he’s the one who gave me the chance after many auditions that told me ‘no.’ So to refuse Shalom is, as far as I’m concerned, like spitting into the well I drank from — and I drank a lot from it.”
Were there cases where you refused auditions?
“My agent, Haim Shraga, sent me one day to an audition for a series called ‘La Familia,’ and they wanted a 60-year-old aunt there — that’s what was written in the character description. So I got really mad at him, I told him: ‘Why are you sending me to auditions like these? I’m not an aunt and I’m not 60, I’m not in the criteria of what they’re asking for.’ But he insisted with me, he said everything was fine and everything was changeable. In the end I got the role and the aunt became the younger sister of Rami, played by Mariano Idelman. It was surreal, but in the end I got to act both alongside him and alongside Rotem Abuhab — all because of Haim’s persistence.”
What’s your dream role?
“A dramatic role. I actually want a role that will take me out of the ‘Ilana’ box and show the audience that I have another shade. Unfortunately, I don’t see it coming at the moment, but I hope they’ll give me a character with a little sadness, a few secrets — I really feel like being in that niche.”
