Nour Jude Assaf On Voice Acting, Stranger Things, And New Role In Apple TV+’s Ghostwriter’

A breakout actor!

After gaining fame from his amazing voice acting career, Nour Jude Assaf is back on our screens and better than ever. He currently stars as ‘Samir’ in the Apple TV+ series ‘Ghostwriter’.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Nour about his similarities to his new character, his love of basketball, and more!

When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue a career in acting? 

N: “Ever since I was a little boy I loved entertaining people and making them laugh. (I was always called the class clown in school) Much of my family and friends always gave me encouragement to introduce myself to acting and give it a shot. I was always obsessed with watching TV shows and movies and learning about the actors and background of the project. So one day, some 7 years ago, I got into an acting class and absolutely LOVED it. I loved the imagination and improvisation used in acting and all the laughter and fun included while working! That’s when I knew I wanted to become an actor.“

Tell us more about your amazing new role in Season 3 of Apple TV+’s ‘Ghostwriter’ 

N: “Ghostwriter is a reimagining of the hit 90s series and is now back for a 3rd season better than ever! This season includes the same ghost from last season who haunts a neighborhood bookstore and starts releasing fictional characters from popular books and novels into the real world, a group of friends team up to solve an exciting mystery surrounding the ghost’s unfinished business.“

Do you think you have anything in common with your character ‘Samir’? 

N: “Samir and I have a plethora of similarities. In the series, Samir is a refugee from Syria who migrated to America about 2 years ago with his parents and younger brother. I was originally born in Lebanon and migrated to America with my family due to the economic situation in Lebanon. I’ve been moving all around the world from Lebanon, France, Turkey, and now America. Similar to Syria, Lebanese culture is extremely alike to cuı̇ sı̇ ne and tradition. I truly love the diversity included in this season of Ghostwriter and how it is shown and brought attention to using real-world issues like the difficulty and journey of living as a refugee from Syria.“

You have also done a lot of voice acting. Which do you think is more challenging: on camera or V.O.? 

N: “I’ve done loads of voice acting! I love voice acting so much and I really enjoy having the flexibility with my voice and behind the microphone, without the camera on my face. I think on-camera acting can be more challenging at times just because of the camera all up in your face, but with voice acting, it’s just you and the microphone, so you can use your body language and weird faces as much as you want while voice acting because no one can see! Something I like to do while voice acting is I like to prepare my body and face the same way the character would and do my weird faces to perfect the voice. The best thing is, no one would ever know!“

What advice would you give to young actors like you balancing school and work? 

N: “Being a child actor can be challenging with all the school work surrounding you while working. Some advice I would give to those young actors like me is to create a routine and map out your plans beforehand to be prepared ahead of time. Another piece of advice that I think is super important is to take breaks. Take breaks for yourself to reset and focus and to prepare for road bumps and struggles throughout the journey, because anything can happen! The best things come out of hard-working actors, even if those road bumps or obstacles get in your way, you will always grow and learn from them, so push through and work for it, through rain and shine.“

Do you think learning several accents and traveling the world has improved your acting skills? 

N: “Learning several accents and perfecting an accent while acting has 100% improved my acting skills and helped me grow as an actor and strengthened my acting skills. When acting on camera without an accent, I only focus on the character’s role and mastering it, however when acting AND adding on an accent, I have to focus on the character’s part and the accent at the same time. I’m glad I’ve had opportunities to master accents while acting as it definitely has enhanced my acting skills greatly.“

If you could give yourself a role in any current TV series, which would it be and why? 

N: “To give myself a role in any current TV series is tough, however, I’ve always wished to play a role in Stranger Things, or any horror or thriller/mystery project. Something you may not have known about me is that I am the biggest basketball fanatic! Using my basketball skills in a movie or series has always been one of my dreams.“

Where can we follow your amazing journey? 

N: “Follow my amazing journey with my personal experience and close-up point of view on my Instagram page (@nour.jude) or on any of my social media pages!“

See Nour shine as Samir in ‘Ghostwriter’, available now on Apple TV+!

Photo credit: Raul Romo | Stylist: Veronica Graye