March 3, 2025 • 35 mins
In the first segment of The Entertainment Zone, Paul Amadeus Lane sits down with the incredibly talented Amber Afzali. Amber discusses her groundbreaking role in the film 'Rule Breakers,' a powerful true story about an all-woman Afghan robotics team. Learn about her journey, the importance of this film, and her insights into the world of acting. Prepare to be inspired by this rising star! #RuleBreakers #AmberAfzali #AfghanFilm #Inspiration #EntertainmentZone #PaulAmadeusLane
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Intro.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Let's go with another flow. Ain't your average entertainment show
more to entertainment than what's on the screen, connecting dots
on what you see. Have y'all ever wondered how we
do all begin the idea?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How they started to play xx actors the.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Whole team man props for those behind the scene. Why
did the person get into the bus? Something inside when
they were a kid who helped them out when they
were gonna to quit, went about the family gave them
rocks to kid? How well the haters they left shaming alone?
Find out in the entertainment song with Paul, A'm Aaday's Lane.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And it's a real thing. Hello and welcome to the
entertainment zone. What is up? It's me Paul, I'm Aday's
Lane and I am so delighted to have you on
our show today. Why we have two amazing guests. We're
gonna hear about their amazing roles and one of them
we're gonna take a deep dive into their acting career
(01:02):
and what led them to an amazing project that's going
to be released on March the seventh. Before we bring
them on, remember you can always connect with me. Paul
amadeis lane dot Com. All social media platforms you can
find me. It's Paul Amadei's Lane even on LinkedIn. Why
(01:22):
because I am a business man, That's why you can
connect with me there as well. Hope you all are
having an amazing week. Hope everything is going well, and
hope you are staying healthy out there. I know last show,
I've talked about doing a deep dive in Hallmark's amazing
(01:46):
show that I love, The Way Home. I ran out
of time last show, and I'm gonna run out of
time this show too, So I promise there's gonna be
an episode where I take a deep dive into The
Way Home that's on the Hallmark channel, and we may
have some of the actors join us on the show too,
(02:07):
so you have to stay tuned. So I just wanted
to get that out right away before we jumped into
this edition of the show. Well, in our first segment
of the show, we're going to be joined by an
amazing actor. This young woman I believe is going to
have a long career in this industry. She is in
(02:29):
the amazing film Rule Breakers, and it shows the journey
of an all Afghan woman robotic team, a woman robotics
team out of Afghanistan, and it's a true story. So
(02:51):
I am so delighted to get to know her better
and also this role that she's in and her journey.
So sit back and enjoy my conversation with this amazing,
this beautiful and talented young woman. What's going on, Amber,
How are you?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
I'm good?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Thanks for having me, Hey, it is so great to
be able to talk with you and just learn more
about you. Before about you on I talked about the
amazing new project that you're on and how I think
it's timely right now that we have that type of
film that kind of really just celebrates just breaking the norms,
(03:33):
and how so many people out there have so much
incredible stories and different things that need to be told.
So I'm glad you decided to be on our program today.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Oh, thank you so much for having me. I was
very excited to be able to talk to you, to
be able to talk about the film and to be
able to share a little bit more about my experience
on set and those things.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Awesome, awesome, So hey, let's get started. I would like
to talk about your origin story, So, Amber, when you
were growing up, when did you know that the entertainment
industry was something that you wanted to be a part of.
I found out that you were born in Las Vegas, Nevada,
so that's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah. No, I love Vegas, lots of love for Vegas.
I was born in Las Vegas, lived there till I
was eight, and then we moved to California, and that
was just a decision based off of my dad's work
and those sorts of things. But when we moved to California,
I was very shy. I was starting a new school.
(04:36):
I didn't break out of my shell a lot. So
my parents actually threw me into acting classes along with
my sister so that I would break out of my shell.
And I wouldn't go if it had not been for
my sister, because she was like my front person, like
I was always right behind her and I was terrified
(04:56):
of everything, and she would always speak for me. She would.
She was just my rock, you know. But I was
super shy, and they threw me into acting classes. I
ended up loving it. I had such a great time,
and I remember having a really good experience with a
teacher who posted that class, and I eventually decided to
(05:16):
take like the educational route. I just was really engrossed
in my academics and I couldn't give that up, and
it was becoming a lot to go back and forth
between auditioning and also maintain my schoolwork. So we just
we did it for a year and then decided not
to do it anymore. Fast forward to the pandemic times.
I was in college and then I came back. I
was going to the University of Pennsylvania in Philly, and
(05:39):
I came back to California because we were in the pandemic,
we weren't going to school in person, and I was like,
you know what, I'm in California. I miss acting. I
really loved it. I found my voice in acting, and
let me just see if I still have it, if
I still like it, and we'll see from there. So
I took an acting class and it turns out I
really loved it and I was still in it, and
I just I loved being able to create different characters
(06:03):
and that's something that it's my way of showing my creativity,
and so I fell in love with it again, decided
to do it full time, got with my manager, and
then I got This was my first audition and my
first callback and my first booking, So it all just
happened really fast. And when things happened that way, it
just feels like they're meant to be, Like they're just
that's the way that you're on the right path. So
(06:25):
it felt good.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Well, were you happy to at the Eagles won the
Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Super happy? Oh?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
My god?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
I was rooting for the Eagles. I was never much
of like a sports fan or a sports viewer, but
being in Philly and at the time there was the
Super Bowl when the first time that the Eagles were
playing when I was walking and they lost, so I
was really bummed out about that, and I know the
(06:52):
entire city was bummed out about that. So when they
had the chance to play again, I was pumped. I
was ready for them to win. I was like, this
is their time, and then they wanted and we were
all super excited.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, it's pretty cool. I grew up as an Eagles fan,
you know, when I was younger, in elementary school and everything.
It was really good to see them win and everything,
and so that's that's cool. So you and I got
something commonly. We we definitely rout root for the Eagles,
and being in Philly, too. Who makes the best cheese steaks, Iscarbibbles,
paton Oscars best cheese steaks out there?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Oh my god, I oh, I'm like the worst person
to ask this for. I I don't remember the places
that I eat, so it's it's really bad, Like I
don't know the names. My friends keep track of them,
they have Instagrams. There's a lot of foodies in Philly. Unfortunately,
I've never been one of them that like remembers the
name of the place. But I think those like small,
(07:50):
mod pop places like those usually have the best cheese
steaks the best food because I feel like they put
a lot more care into their food. So I will
say the best cheese steaks I've had are when I'm
not expecting to have a really great cheese steak and
I just walk in and I just sorted a cheese
stake and it turns out to be the best.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
There you go. Being in southern California like me, we
don't have that many good places to get cheese steaks
out here, so you know.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
You know, yeah, and Philly food scene, like it's really good.
People people always talk about like New York and people
always talk about, you know, the big the really big,
well known cities like La and New York, but Philly's
got a really good food scene and at a at
a much better cost than New York. So it was
great being a college student in Philly.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
The New York because like a million dollars just to
breathe the air out there. So I definitely definitely yeah,
it really is, really is. So you know, you talked
about how the pandemic kind of had you shift to
kind of like your focus back to acting, and that's
one of the things that I noticed about about this pandemic.
(09:00):
H It was it was tough for us to live
through that pandemic, but a lot of us were able
to be able to, I don't want to say, reinvent ourselves,
to kind of shift our focus into things that we
had time to think. We had time to say, Okay,
I want to do this now. And when you decided
to say, okay, I want to get back into this
(09:20):
acting game, did you have supporters out there or someone like, nah,
you know you get you got that education, uh from
from that from from Penn University and just do that.
You know, did you have any naysayers trying to say, now,
you know, stay stay in this this part of your.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Professional Yeah, you know, I mean, I've been very blessed
that my parents are very supportive, especially after getting this role,
you know, and this role aligned so closely with our
culture and the things that we believe in and women's education,
so it was all positive. So they were very supportive
from the get go, and especially once I booked this.
(10:01):
But there were some people out there who just didn't
think it would be possible to be in college in
Philadelphia and also pursue a career in acting. There was
definitely some professors who thought, you know, is that really
what I want to do because I'm so interested and
invested in political science and in human rights, and am
I going to put that all aside for acting? You know?
(10:24):
And that was kind of the mindset that they had.
And Yeah, there were definitely some people who had doubts,
especially once I booked this role and this role was
going to be filming during the school year. People thought like,
there's no way that you're going to be able to
graduate on time, and there's no way that you're also
going to be able to do this movie. And I'm
happy to say that I was able to prove them wrong.
(10:45):
But it would not have been without the support of
those key professors who did believe in it, who did
support me, my parents and my sister and everyone that
I had that were right, like, you know, on my
coat tails, telling me like, you got to keep going,
you can do it, you have a knack for it,
keep going. And so I think my supporters, the strength
(11:07):
of their support definitely outweighed the negativity that came from
those nay series.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yeah, it always it's always good when we have support,
you know, especially when something that we love to do,
that that we are creative doing, and because when we
put ourselves out there, it takes a lot. You know,
it's not easy being in the entertainment world. It's kind
of hard, you know, it's not easy, and it's good
to have people behind you saying, hey, I'm with you,
(11:34):
go for it. I support you, because it's not easy
putting yourself out there.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Oh, I know, just tough. And honestly, one of the
biggest reasons why I was like, you know what, I'm
going to follow through with this is because of the
belief that my manager had in me. She's passed away
now and I'm still with the same management agency, but
the person I'm my manager and right now is incredible.
But the person who took a chance on me, she
(12:00):
without her belief and my talent and my capability, and
she knew that I was in college, and she still
was like, yeah, you could do it. You're you're yeah,
you're in Philly, but we can still set you up
for you know, la stuff. And so I think their
support was what just put me over the edge, like
I'm going to pursue this.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I thought it was fascinating about your education and which
you decided to study when when you were in college,
what made you want to want to, you know, focus
on those topics as as as your education.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Yeah, so I double majored in political science and psychology,
and I think that those political science was something that
I've always been passionate about. I absolutely love kind of
like the idea of a diplomat's education, you know, where
you learn a lot of languages, you learn a lot
about philosophy, you learn a lot about the world and
(12:55):
current events, and so that was kind of what I
was going for. And I wanted to go to law school.
And if I didn't go to law school, I wanted
to be maybe a diplomat or you know, a human
rights activist or someone who's working in Congress or something
like that. That was honestly the goal. And so I
took political science just to get a better understanding of
the world. And I knew I wanted to do international
(13:16):
relations because of my background in the Middle East and
South Asia and how many issues are present in the
Middle East and South Asia that we have not been
able to resolve, and I kind of wanted to be
a part of the solution and a part of making
things better for the people there. So I decided to
study political science. I learned a lot. Penn has a great,
(13:38):
fantastic international relations program, political science program. They have something
for everyone's niche. I really enjoyed it, and then I
enjoyed it so much that I took a lot of
classes in the first couple of years, because I just
I was hungry for more, and that I was able
to add on psychology as my second major, and because
(14:00):
I'm fascinated with how people behave, why they do the
things that they do, what their motives are, what their
intentions are, and the why people might have certain ticks
and why others might not like the little mannerisms that
everyone has and I learned a lot through my psych
degree too, especially looking at it from maybe even an
evolutionary psychology perspective, you know, like looking at either the
(14:23):
very academic, high level thinking of like what we could
be as people versus maybe the very primitive psychology that
is there and like primal psychology that is there of
why humans act the way that they act. And I
think psychology really helped me with understanding my passion for acting,
because both of them are just a deep curiosity for
(14:45):
human behavior and so they go hand in hand. And
I'm happy I had that degree.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Yeah, your background is definitely going to propel you in
this industry, especially with different roles, and you know, if
you want to get into seeing, directing and writing and
all the other creatives that that that that are in
this industry, you know, it's definitely gonna definitely gonna set
you up, you know, for success longevity wise in this game.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Yeah. I really hope so, because I do love it
and I think I think the biggest thing that I
have is staying curious, and that was seen in my
education and now that's seen in my acting career, and
I think they just intertwined. They might not be the
most related. You know, I didn't go to school for
theater or Bachelor of Fine Arts, but I have that curiosity,
that interest in human psychology, human behavior that I think
(15:37):
is just it'll last throughout whatever creative path I take.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeh awesome, thank you, thank you so much for sharing.
And Amber, what was your first professional acting role and
what were some of your fondest memories about that.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Professional acting role? First professional one was going to be
this one, the one that this is my absolute first one.
That I had an audition and I had a callback
and then you know, I it was done in my
acting career. You know, when I started, I've done other stuff.
Those are primarily at school, those are primarily with like
(16:17):
local theater groups and like local acting opportunities. But this
was my first professional gig. So it was yeah, no,
and I'm gonna I understand the the timing that had
to happen for this to be my first opportunity. I
(16:38):
understand how greatful, how lucky I am, and I'm very
grateful for that.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
That is pretty amazing. You know, get this right out
the right out the park. Being able to land this,
I think it's gonna be a really timely project. Especially
the time in which we're living in where ones are
not celebrating others in ones who are kind of different.
And that's one thing I love about this project that
(17:07):
it talks about this amazing story with some amazing women
from Afghanistan and just celebrating diversity. You probably had no
idea when you were doing this project that the landscape
that we will live in now and how this project
(17:27):
is going to be really impactful.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Yeah, the project came to my desk. Came to me
in twenty twenty two, the February of twenty twenty two,
and at that time, the Taliban had taken over again
in Afghanistan. They had promised to bring back girls education.
(17:52):
That was the kind of deal that they had made
in US withdrawing the troops. There was still some people
who had hope, and there were still some people who
saw the situation getting worse and worse with the Taliban.
And when I got this project, I think I was
just very excited to have a project that highlights the
(18:14):
importance of women's education in the region, that highlights the
importance of celebrating women, celebrating women of color, and something
that just is a positive, hopeful picture of Afghanistan. You know,
we were also in despair when the situation unfolded the
way that it did in Afghanistan in twenty twenty one.
(18:36):
That when we saw a project that showed Afghanistan and vibrancy,
it humanized girls, It showed women as being a powerful force,
as being intelligent. This was something new and this was
something that I was excited for Hollywood to be able
to see.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah, it's definitely timely, timely forward and is diving deeper
about the project and rule Breakers. Yeah, that is an
amazing title, rule Breakers. And when you when you first
got the script, when you're management team first said hey, Amber,
(19:15):
you got the job, what did you kind of do
to kind of prepare yourself. What were some of the
emotions that you had when you saw that you landed
this role.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
So my manager, the one who passed away, rest in peace,
she was the one who gave me the phone call
that I booked this role, and she was the way
that she had done it because originally this project, so
this project filmed in Morocco and Hungary, but originally it
was supposed to film in I think Romania and Ireland
something like that. And so when she called me. She
(19:46):
was like, are you ready to go to Romania and Ireland?
And I was like, you're kidding, Like you're kidding. You know,
I booked it. Is this for real?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
You know?
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I booked it? And there was a sense of like,
what was this happening? Because again, this was my first
edition and it was going to take me out of
the country, and I knew how lucky I was to
have this opportunity. I was. I was thrilled. I was
beyond thrilled. I just the first thought that came to
my mind was, you know, this is a project about Afghanistan.
(20:18):
My parents have been big supporters of my career in
wanting to support Afghanistan and also in my acting career.
So the first thought was like, oh my god, thank
you so much. And then I was like, I have
to go and call my parents, but I wanted to
call them and record their reactions, so I had to
wait until I was like in my apartment with my
laptop recording their reactions. We were all on a FaceTime call.
(20:39):
I told them they were thrilled over the moon and
it's been it's been a wonderful ride ever since we've
had We've traveled for nine weeks to five weeks in Morocco,
four weeks in Budapest. I traveled with the most amazing cast,
the most amazing crew. We had two sets of crews,
one in Morocco and one in Budapest that were completely
differ friend but both lovely and wonderful in their own
(21:04):
special ways. And it was just a project of a lifetime.
I think because of my passion for the topic that
we were filming, and because of my start to the
industry of what I hope is a very life like
long career. It was a beautiful journey.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
That's awesome. That's awesome. And what did you have to
do to kind of prepare for this role? What type
of preparation did you do?
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Yeah, the girls and all of us, we consumed a
lot of content about the original Afghan Girls Robotics team.
We're lucky that this was based on a true story,
so we had a lot of videos to watch, news articles,
to read information to learn about the real team. And
I actually knew about the team beforehand. My parents and
(21:50):
I we had heard about them and we were all
very supportive of you know, this, this group of powerful,
intelligent women coming out of Afghanistan and We worked with
a dialect coach all of us in order to get
an accent that we wanted it. The accent to feel
still relatable and universal to the world, you know, we
(22:13):
didn't want to feel The director was very mindful to
make sure the girls didn't feel otherworldly, because that's what
media tends to portray women from that region as and
he wanted people to be able to relate. And so
there was a very conscious decision of taking the accent
and minimizing it so that we could have this kind
of universal esque feel to the film. And I appreciate
(22:38):
that that is something that also Roya and Alaha, who
the film was based off of, were really passionate about
having a universality to the film. So that was also
the decision of film it in English. I know, like
you know, there's a lot of Afghan movies or Farsi
and Duddy speaking movies out there that are about Afghanistan
(22:59):
and about Iran, but this one was the one that
we wanted to make in English. So dialect coaching. We
also did a lot of again preparation by watching videos
and consuming content and trying to understand what the girls
were going through. I met up with Roya and a
Laha in New York because I was in Philly. It
was a quick train ride and I was able to
(23:20):
meet up with them before filming, and that was very informative,
and you know, working with a coach one on one
just understand dive deeper into my character, into essence character.
But at the end of the day, it just felt
like I was being given the freedom to kind of
create my own young girl that I had to make
feel safe and nurtured. And I just I wanted her
(23:43):
to be able to be herself when we were on set,
and I wanted her even if she's an introvert, she's
not ashamed of being an introvert. She's not. She can
showcase her femininity, her grace, her humility, and not feel
like she has to be anyone else. And then I
think I was I'm very proud of the character that essence.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
And when you look at the character that let you portrayed,
what was kind of the biggest challenge of given that
character life, given that character, your own personal touch with
this character, and how did you kind of overcome those challenges.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
One of the big concerns that I think all of
us girls might have had when we first got the
project was making sure that we each had our own personalities,
making sure that that shined through. Because there are four
of us, we are very similar in culture and in
backgrounds and the stories of the girls. They're very different,
but they also have their similarity. So we just wanted
(24:49):
to make sure that the differences were highlighted. And I
think when you watch the film, you could very clearly
tell like, that's her character type, that's her character type.
That's her character type, that's her character type. But that
was did not come without its challenges. I mean, for essen,
for my character, it was just finding that balance between
being that strong type of rule breaker. You know, how
(25:09):
strong can she be in the society that she's been
raised in and how much of that shyness does she
also have in finding her voice. So it was kind
of balancing like, this is a rule breaker, this is
someone who is doing something very creatio courageous, but she's
also not a typical extrovert. She's very shy, she's very reserved.
(25:32):
She is finds peace in those that she already knows
and the people around her, And so that was something
that I was balancing, and I think through several conversations
with the director Bill, who's fantastic. I was able to
find deeper and deeper layers into essen and be able
to portray that on screen.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
It's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that. And
when you were able to see kind of like the
the finished product and see all the hard work come
to this culmination of this project, what were some of
the things that went through your mind?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
That's me, Like, oh my gosh, that's me on the screen,
Like that felt so weird to watch myself. I think
the first time I watched it, I just could not
get over the fact that that was my face on
the screen and my friends faces on the screen, like
we were on screen and they were actually editing this,
they were going through it, they were making adjustments. I
just couldn't believe that we were all part of this project.
(26:34):
People that I had gotten so close with, and myself
that I see myself every day, we're in a movie.
That felt like a total out of body experience. But
once I kind of adjusted to that into seeing myself
on screen, I think now looking at the overall finished product,
looking at how all the characters just like they go
hand in hand so perfectly. There is that chemistry, and
(26:55):
I know a lot of people have been talking about
how there's this palpable chemistry between the girls in myself,
and it really was there. So the fact that it
translates on the screen was such a beautiful thing because
I could appreciate that too as a viewer. And I
think when I saw the final product and how colorful
they had made Afghanistan, how Roya Allaha and the girls
(27:17):
from the real team, some of them were able to
see it, and they all had a deep appreciation for it,
and they really enjoyed the film and seeing that this film,
because we've done a couple of screenings, has had a
different message for everyone. Everyone can take something away from it,
no matter what community they're in, whether it's robotics or
STEM or being an Middle Eastern or South Asian woman,
(27:40):
or being someone who had a hand in the events
that happened in Afghanistan. Everyone's taken a different message. So
it's really it's fulfilling my soul. It's like that project
that fulfills my desire to be able to help my
community and be able to bring awareness and attention to
(28:01):
the situation Afghanistan and to the power that women have
from that region, but it's also fulfilling my creative desire.
It just feels like a beautiful piece of work that
we've worked so hard on. It's been two years in
the making and here we are.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
That was like some lasting memories Amber that she's going
to take away from this project, you know, traveling and wow,
I mean you probably experienced some amazing food, some amazing
culture out there that that no doubt's going to stick
with you.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
No, and more than all of the travel experience that
I had, I think I've made some really lifelong friends
in Nina and Sarah and Nudine and Mariam and Nicole,
Like they're just a wonderful group of people to be with.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Now, were you into robotics before you got this partner?
Was robotics something new new to you?
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Completely new? I'm going to be very I completely knew
it was something that I had never considered tapping into
because I want to be honest, I was very good
at math when I was growing up, very good at
math in high school when we when I skipped calc
AB thinking I could go to calc BC and I'd
be fine because I was that good at math. Okay,
(29:19):
took helth BC. But that was the hardest class I've
ever taken. And I took physics AP physics and that
was like equally one of the hardest classes I've ever taken.
And I think in my mind, I was like, yeah,
some people some people are are are robotics, you know,
some people are going to be the engineers of the world,
and then some people will be the people who help
(29:41):
propel funding for STEM and for women in STEM and
help to raise awareness. And I figured I was going
to be in the latter category after those classes. But
I do have a deep appreciation for STEM and robotics
and I always tell people around me, like I want
to take another class in calculus and in physics. I
just want to have another crack at it. Like I think.
(30:02):
I think now with this newfound interest to it could
be something that in the future I'll be a little
bit more in my skill set with robotics, so I'll
give it another go. But I had no history of
doing robotics. But it was cool because we actually had
college students who were in robotics teams come on set
(30:23):
and maneuver the robotics, show us how to touch and
use and like think about robots and it was great
to have them on set. That really helps bridge that
connection for us.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
That is so amazing, That is so awesome. Thank you,
Thank you so much for sharing that we get to
kind of get the behind the scenes look going on,
you know, this project and everything, and what's next for
you Amber, you know, you got your first one under
your belt. What's next?
Speaker 3 (30:53):
So nothing I can share right now, but there will
definitely be more to come. I'm very excited for audiences
to hopefully see me in different roles that are equally
as dynamic and equally as complex and are really highlighting
the strength of women. So keep an eye out. But
right now, I'm honestly just really excited about this project
(31:15):
coming out. I've been doing a lot of work to
kind of show this project and this film to people
because it is one that is near and dear to
my heart and it's my first one, Like I want
to be fully present and everything that this project has.
And we have a couple of events lined up to
show this project to more members of the community, more
Afghan members of the community, more Middle Eastern and South
(31:38):
Asian members, more students in STEM. So we're hoping this
will have a wide reach, a wide impact, and just
give give inspiration to all those that no matter what
roadblocks come in your way, if Roy and the girls
can get through it, so can you just let that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Absolutely, Well, you do me a favorite amber since this
is your first one and I'm channeling my inner Jedi
right now, I'm foreseeing some great things for you. So
when that happens, you bet not big time, me am,
because if you big time, you and I gonna have problems.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
Don't worry. I won't. I am.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
I am.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
You know, I really hope I make it to the
big leagues. That's that is the goal. But I am
I think everyone who's in this industry, because they're following
what we are passionate about, what we are excited to
do in life. We are taking such bold risks and
bold moves like I think we've already made it, Like
we're fulfilled, we're happy, we're all in the big leagues now,
(32:37):
like we're doing what we love. So don't even worry
about that. I'm trust me. If you think I'm going
places like I think you're going everywhere, I think you've
already made it in my eyes, So don't even stress
about that.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Oh, thank you, Thank you so much, Jah, but that
that is so kind for you to say, and I
really enjoy chatting with you about them your journey. And
is there anything else you'd like to share with the
viewers or the listeners out there that we didn't get
a chance to cover about About this amazing project that's
going to drop on March seventh, Yes.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
March seventh, I guess I'll just say that it'll be
released in theaters around the nation March seventh. New theaters
are popping up all the time, and it is a
family friendly, super heartwarming movie, So make sure you bring
the kids, bring all of your extended family members. You're
gonna have a great time watching this and I and share,
(33:34):
Please share what you think of the film, because we'd
love to know like that that would touch my heart
to see how it impacted you, because again, everyone's taking
something different away from this movie that I didn't expect,
So I'd love to hear.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
That that's awesome. Rule breakers, This is the amazing Amber
of Zali. She is awesome, So y'all support her, check
her out, and we give you social media out. We
gotta get people a t ig.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Yeah at Amber of Zali just my name Amber and
then afz Ali. Yeah, and that's how people can track
all of the events that we're doing, all of my
new projects that will be coming out, and they can
also see some behind the scenes stuff going on.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Awesome, Amber, It's been great chatting with you and wishing
you nothing but success, my dear, thank you, thank.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
You so much, and thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
This was so fun, my pleasure. Really enjoyed chatting with Amber.
Amber is amazing. You can look at her and tell
she has it together and her background truly is going to,
I believe, propel her into this industry. When we get back,
we're going to be joined by actress Moe Collins. Yes,
(34:50):
Mad TV Parker Recreation that Mo Collins. She is going
to be joining us talking about her guest star role
on NBC. He's night Cork. So don't go nowhere and
we'll be right back after these messages.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Intro, let's go with another flow, ain't you averaging The
team is shown
Intro.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Let's go with another flow. Ain't your average entertainment show
more to entertainment than what's on the screen, connecting dots
on what you see. Have y'all ever wondered how we
do all begin the idea?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How they started to play xx actors the.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Whole team man props for those behind the scene. Why
did the person get into the bus? Something inside when
they were a kid who helped them out when they
were gonna to quit, went about the family gave them
rocks to kid? How well the haters they left shaming alone?
Find out in the entertainment song with Paul, A'm Aaday's Lane.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And it's a real thing. Hello and welcome to the
entertainment zone. What is up? It's me Paul, I'm Aday's
Lane and I am so delighted to have you on
our show today. Why we have two amazing guests. We're
gonna hear about their amazing roles and one of them
we're gonna take a deep dive into their acting career
(01:02):
and what led them to an amazing project that's going
to be released on March the seventh. Before we bring
them on, remember you can always connect with me. Paul
amadeis lane dot Com. All social media platforms you can
find me. It's Paul Amadei's Lane even on LinkedIn. Why
(01:22):
because I am a business man, That's why you can
connect with me there as well. Hope you all are
having an amazing week. Hope everything is going well, and
hope you are staying healthy out there. I know last show,
I've talked about doing a deep dive in Hallmark's amazing
(01:46):
show that I love, The Way Home. I ran out
of time last show, and I'm gonna run out of
time this show too, So I promise there's gonna be
an episode where I take a deep dive into The
Way Home that's on the Hallmark channel, and we may
have some of the actors join us on the show too,
(02:07):
so you have to stay tuned. So I just wanted
to get that out right away before we jumped into
this edition of the show. Well, in our first segment
of the show, we're going to be joined by an
amazing actor. This young woman I believe is going to
have a long career in this industry. She is in
(02:29):
the amazing film Rule Breakers, and it shows the journey
of an all Afghan woman robotic team, a woman robotics
team out of Afghanistan, and it's a true story. So
(02:51):
I am so delighted to get to know her better
and also this role that she's in and her journey.
So sit back and enjoy my conversation with this amazing,
this beautiful and talented young woman. What's going on, Amber,
How are you?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
I'm good?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Thanks for having me, Hey, it is so great to
be able to talk with you and just learn more
about you. Before about you on I talked about the
amazing new project that you're on and how I think
it's timely right now that we have that type of
film that kind of really just celebrates just breaking the norms,
(03:33):
and how so many people out there have so much
incredible stories and different things that need to be told.
So I'm glad you decided to be on our program today.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Oh, thank you so much for having me. I was
very excited to be able to talk to you, to
be able to talk about the film and to be
able to share a little bit more about my experience
on set and those things.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Awesome, awesome, So hey, let's get started. I would like
to talk about your origin story, So, Amber, when you
were growing up, when did you know that the entertainment
industry was something that you wanted to be a part of.
I found out that you were born in Las Vegas, Nevada,
so that's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah. No, I love Vegas, lots of love for Vegas.
I was born in Las Vegas, lived there till I
was eight, and then we moved to California, and that
was just a decision based off of my dad's work
and those sorts of things. But when we moved to California,
I was very shy. I was starting a new school.
(04:36):
I didn't break out of my shell a lot. So
my parents actually threw me into acting classes along with
my sister so that I would break out of my shell.
And I wouldn't go if it had not been for
my sister, because she was like my front person, like
I was always right behind her and I was terrified
(04:56):
of everything, and she would always speak for me. She would.
She was just my rock, you know. But I was
super shy, and they threw me into acting classes. I
ended up loving it. I had such a great time,
and I remember having a really good experience with a
teacher who posted that class, and I eventually decided to
(05:16):
take like the educational route. I just was really engrossed
in my academics and I couldn't give that up, and
it was becoming a lot to go back and forth
between auditioning and also maintain my schoolwork. So we just
we did it for a year and then decided not
to do it anymore. Fast forward to the pandemic times.
I was in college and then I came back. I
was going to the University of Pennsylvania in Philly, and
(05:39):
I came back to California because we were in the pandemic,
we weren't going to school in person, and I was like,
you know what, I'm in California. I miss acting. I
really loved it. I found my voice in acting, and
let me just see if I still have it, if
I still like it, and we'll see from there. So
I took an acting class and it turns out I
really loved it and I was still in it, and
I just I loved being able to create different characters
(06:03):
and that's something that it's my way of showing my creativity,
and so I fell in love with it again, decided
to do it full time, got with my manager, and
then I got This was my first audition and my
first callback and my first booking, So it all just
happened really fast. And when things happened that way, it
just feels like they're meant to be, Like they're just
that's the way that you're on the right path. So
(06:25):
it felt good.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Well, were you happy to at the Eagles won the
Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Super happy? Oh?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
My god?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
I was rooting for the Eagles. I was never much
of like a sports fan or a sports viewer, but
being in Philly and at the time there was the
Super Bowl when the first time that the Eagles were
playing when I was walking and they lost, so I
was really bummed out about that, and I know the
(06:52):
entire city was bummed out about that. So when they
had the chance to play again, I was pumped. I
was ready for them to win. I was like, this
is their time, and then they wanted and we were
all super excited.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, it's pretty cool. I grew up as an Eagles fan,
you know, when I was younger, in elementary school and everything.
It was really good to see them win and everything,
and so that's that's cool. So you and I got
something commonly. We we definitely rout root for the Eagles,
and being in Philly, too. Who makes the best cheese steaks, Iscarbibbles,
paton Oscars best cheese steaks out there?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Oh my god, I oh, I'm like the worst person
to ask this for. I I don't remember the places
that I eat, so it's it's really bad, Like I
don't know the names. My friends keep track of them,
they have Instagrams. There's a lot of foodies in Philly. Unfortunately,
I've never been one of them that like remembers the
name of the place. But I think those like small,
(07:50):
mod pop places like those usually have the best cheese
steaks the best food because I feel like they put
a lot more care into their food. So I will
say the best cheese steaks I've had are when I'm
not expecting to have a really great cheese steak and
I just walk in and I just sorted a cheese
stake and it turns out to be the best.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
There you go. Being in southern California like me, we
don't have that many good places to get cheese steaks
out here, so you know.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
You know, yeah, and Philly food scene, like it's really good.
People people always talk about like New York and people
always talk about, you know, the big the really big,
well known cities like La and New York, but Philly's
got a really good food scene and at a at
a much better cost than New York. So it was
great being a college student in Philly.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
The New York because like a million dollars just to
breathe the air out there. So I definitely definitely yeah,
it really is, really is. So you know, you talked
about how the pandemic kind of had you shift to
kind of like your focus back to acting, and that's
one of the things that I noticed about about this pandemic.
(09:00):
H It was it was tough for us to live
through that pandemic, but a lot of us were able
to be able to, I don't want to say, reinvent ourselves,
to kind of shift our focus into things that we
had time to think. We had time to say, Okay,
I want to do this now. And when you decided
to say, okay, I want to get back into this
(09:20):
acting game, did you have supporters out there or someone like, nah,
you know you get you got that education, uh from
from that from from Penn University and just do that.
You know, did you have any naysayers trying to say, now,
you know, stay stay in this this part of your.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Professional Yeah, you know, I mean, I've been very blessed
that my parents are very supportive, especially after getting this role,
you know, and this role aligned so closely with our
culture and the things that we believe in and women's education,
so it was all positive. So they were very supportive
from the get go, and especially once I booked this.
(10:01):
But there were some people out there who just didn't
think it would be possible to be in college in
Philadelphia and also pursue a career in acting. There was
definitely some professors who thought, you know, is that really
what I want to do because I'm so interested and
invested in political science and in human rights, and am
I going to put that all aside for acting? You know?
(10:24):
And that was kind of the mindset that they had.
And Yeah, there were definitely some people who had doubts,
especially once I booked this role and this role was
going to be filming during the school year. People thought like,
there's no way that you're going to be able to
graduate on time, and there's no way that you're also
going to be able to do this movie. And I'm
happy to say that I was able to prove them wrong.
(10:45):
But it would not have been without the support of
those key professors who did believe in it, who did
support me, my parents and my sister and everyone that
I had that were right, like, you know, on my
coat tails, telling me like, you got to keep going,
you can do it, you have a knack for it,
keep going. And so I think my supporters, the strength
(11:07):
of their support definitely outweighed the negativity that came from
those nay series.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yeah, it always it's always good when we have support,
you know, especially when something that we love to do,
that that we are creative doing, and because when we
put ourselves out there, it takes a lot. You know,
it's not easy being in the entertainment world. It's kind
of hard, you know, it's not easy, and it's good
to have people behind you saying, hey, I'm with you,
(11:34):
go for it. I support you, because it's not easy
putting yourself out there.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Oh, I know, just tough. And honestly, one of the
biggest reasons why I was like, you know what, I'm
going to follow through with this is because of the
belief that my manager had in me. She's passed away
now and I'm still with the same management agency, but
the person I'm my manager and right now is incredible.
But the person who took a chance on me, she
(12:00):
without her belief and my talent and my capability, and
she knew that I was in college, and she still
was like, yeah, you could do it. You're you're yeah,
you're in Philly, but we can still set you up
for you know, la stuff. And so I think their
support was what just put me over the edge, like
I'm going to pursue this.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I thought it was fascinating about your education and which
you decided to study when when you were in college,
what made you want to want to, you know, focus
on those topics as as as your education.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Yeah, so I double majored in political science and psychology,
and I think that those political science was something that
I've always been passionate about. I absolutely love kind of
like the idea of a diplomat's education, you know, where
you learn a lot of languages, you learn a lot
about philosophy, you learn a lot about the world and
(12:55):
current events, and so that was kind of what I
was going for. And I wanted to go to law school.
And if I didn't go to law school, I wanted
to be maybe a diplomat or you know, a human
rights activist or someone who's working in Congress or something
like that. That was honestly the goal. And so I
took political science just to get a better understanding of
the world. And I knew I wanted to do international
(13:16):
relations because of my background in the Middle East and
South Asia and how many issues are present in the
Middle East and South Asia that we have not been
able to resolve, and I kind of wanted to be
a part of the solution and a part of making
things better for the people there. So I decided to
study political science. I learned a lot. Penn has a great,
(13:38):
fantastic international relations program, political science program. They have something
for everyone's niche. I really enjoyed it, and then I
enjoyed it so much that I took a lot of
classes in the first couple of years, because I just
I was hungry for more, and that I was able
to add on psychology as my second major, and because
(14:00):
I'm fascinated with how people behave, why they do the
things that they do, what their motives are, what their
intentions are, and the why people might have certain ticks
and why others might not like the little mannerisms that
everyone has and I learned a lot through my psych
degree too, especially looking at it from maybe even an
evolutionary psychology perspective, you know, like looking at either the
(14:23):
very academic, high level thinking of like what we could
be as people versus maybe the very primitive psychology that
is there and like primal psychology that is there of
why humans act the way that they act. And I
think psychology really helped me with understanding my passion for acting,
because both of them are just a deep curiosity for
(14:45):
human behavior and so they go hand in hand. And
I'm happy I had that degree.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Yeah, your background is definitely going to propel you in
this industry, especially with different roles, and you know, if
you want to get into seeing, directing and writing and
all the other creatives that that that that are in
this industry, you know, it's definitely gonna definitely gonna set
you up, you know, for success longevity wise in this game.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Yeah. I really hope so, because I do love it
and I think I think the biggest thing that I
have is staying curious, and that was seen in my
education and now that's seen in my acting career, and
I think they just intertwined. They might not be the
most related. You know, I didn't go to school for
theater or Bachelor of Fine Arts, but I have that curiosity,
that interest in human psychology, human behavior that I think
(15:37):
is just it'll last throughout whatever creative path I take.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeh awesome, thank you, thank you so much for sharing.
And Amber, what was your first professional acting role and
what were some of your fondest memories about that.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Professional acting role? First professional one was going to be
this one, the one that this is my absolute first one.
That I had an audition and I had a callback
and then you know, I it was done in my
acting career. You know, when I started, I've done other stuff.
Those are primarily at school, those are primarily with like
(16:17):
local theater groups and like local acting opportunities. But this
was my first professional gig. So it was yeah, no,
and I'm gonna I understand the the timing that had
to happen for this to be my first opportunity. I
(16:38):
understand how greatful, how lucky I am, and I'm very
grateful for that.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
That is pretty amazing. You know, get this right out
the right out the park. Being able to land this,
I think it's gonna be a really timely project. Especially
the time in which we're living in where ones are
not celebrating others in ones who are kind of different.
And that's one thing I love about this project that
(17:07):
it talks about this amazing story with some amazing women
from Afghanistan and just celebrating diversity. You probably had no
idea when you were doing this project that the landscape
that we will live in now and how this project
(17:27):
is going to be really impactful.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Yeah, the project came to my desk. Came to me
in twenty twenty two, the February of twenty twenty two,
and at that time, the Taliban had taken over again
in Afghanistan. They had promised to bring back girls education.
(17:52):
That was the kind of deal that they had made
in US withdrawing the troops. There was still some people
who had hope, and there were still some people who
saw the situation getting worse and worse with the Taliban.
And when I got this project, I think I was
just very excited to have a project that highlights the
(18:14):
importance of women's education in the region, that highlights the
importance of celebrating women, celebrating women of color, and something
that just is a positive, hopeful picture of Afghanistan. You know,
we were also in despair when the situation unfolded the
way that it did in Afghanistan in twenty twenty one.
(18:36):
That when we saw a project that showed Afghanistan and vibrancy,
it humanized girls, It showed women as being a powerful force,
as being intelligent. This was something new and this was
something that I was excited for Hollywood to be able
to see.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah, it's definitely timely, timely forward and is diving deeper
about the project and rule Breakers. Yeah, that is an
amazing title, rule Breakers. And when you when you first
got the script, when you're management team first said hey, Amber,
(19:15):
you got the job, what did you kind of do
to kind of prepare yourself. What were some of the
emotions that you had when you saw that you landed
this role.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
So my manager, the one who passed away, rest in peace,
she was the one who gave me the phone call
that I booked this role, and she was the way
that she had done it because originally this project, so
this project filmed in Morocco and Hungary, but originally it
was supposed to film in I think Romania and Ireland
something like that. And so when she called me. She
(19:46):
was like, are you ready to go to Romania and Ireland?
And I was like, you're kidding, Like you're kidding. You know,
I booked it. Is this for real?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
You know?
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I booked it? And there was a sense of like,
what was this happening? Because again, this was my first
edition and it was going to take me out of
the country, and I knew how lucky I was to
have this opportunity. I was. I was thrilled. I was
beyond thrilled. I just the first thought that came to
my mind was, you know, this is a project about Afghanistan.
(20:18):
My parents have been big supporters of my career in
wanting to support Afghanistan and also in my acting career.
So the first thought was like, oh my god, thank
you so much. And then I was like, I have
to go and call my parents, but I wanted to
call them and record their reactions, so I had to
wait until I was like in my apartment with my
laptop recording their reactions. We were all on a FaceTime call.
(20:39):
I told them they were thrilled over the moon and
it's been it's been a wonderful ride ever since we've
had We've traveled for nine weeks to five weeks in Morocco,
four weeks in Budapest. I traveled with the most amazing cast,
the most amazing crew. We had two sets of crews,
one in Morocco and one in Budapest that were completely
differ friend but both lovely and wonderful in their own
(21:04):
special ways. And it was just a project of a lifetime.
I think because of my passion for the topic that
we were filming, and because of my start to the
industry of what I hope is a very life like
long career. It was a beautiful journey.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
That's awesome. That's awesome. And what did you have to
do to kind of prepare for this role? What type
of preparation did you do?
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Yeah, the girls and all of us, we consumed a
lot of content about the original Afghan Girls Robotics team.
We're lucky that this was based on a true story,
so we had a lot of videos to watch, news articles,
to read information to learn about the real team. And
I actually knew about the team beforehand. My parents and
(21:50):
I we had heard about them and we were all
very supportive of you know, this, this group of powerful,
intelligent women coming out of Afghanistan and We worked with
a dialect coach all of us in order to get
an accent that we wanted it. The accent to feel
still relatable and universal to the world, you know, we
(22:13):
didn't want to feel The director was very mindful to
make sure the girls didn't feel otherworldly, because that's what
media tends to portray women from that region as and
he wanted people to be able to relate. And so
there was a very conscious decision of taking the accent
and minimizing it so that we could have this kind
of universal esque feel to the film. And I appreciate
(22:38):
that that is something that also Roya and Alaha, who
the film was based off of, were really passionate about
having a universality to the film. So that was also
the decision of film it in English. I know, like
you know, there's a lot of Afghan movies or Farsi
and Duddy speaking movies out there that are about Afghanistan
(22:59):
and about Iran, but this one was the one that
we wanted to make in English. So dialect coaching. We
also did a lot of again preparation by watching videos
and consuming content and trying to understand what the girls
were going through. I met up with Roya and a
Laha in New York because I was in Philly. It
was a quick train ride and I was able to
(23:20):
meet up with them before filming, and that was very informative,
and you know, working with a coach one on one
just understand dive deeper into my character, into essence character.
But at the end of the day, it just felt
like I was being given the freedom to kind of
create my own young girl that I had to make
feel safe and nurtured. And I just I wanted her
(23:43):
to be able to be herself when we were on set,
and I wanted her even if she's an introvert, she's
not ashamed of being an introvert. She's not. She can
showcase her femininity, her grace, her humility, and not feel
like she has to be anyone else. And then I
think I was I'm very proud of the character that essence.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
And when you look at the character that let you portrayed,
what was kind of the biggest challenge of given that
character life, given that character, your own personal touch with
this character, and how did you kind of overcome those challenges.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
One of the big concerns that I think all of
us girls might have had when we first got the
project was making sure that we each had our own personalities,
making sure that that shined through. Because there are four
of us, we are very similar in culture and in
backgrounds and the stories of the girls. They're very different,
but they also have their similarity. So we just wanted
(24:49):
to make sure that the differences were highlighted. And I
think when you watch the film, you could very clearly
tell like, that's her character type, that's her character type.
That's her character type, that's her character type. But that
was did not come without its challenges. I mean, for essen,
for my character, it was just finding that balance between
being that strong type of rule breaker. You know, how
(25:09):
strong can she be in the society that she's been
raised in and how much of that shyness does she
also have in finding her voice. So it was kind
of balancing like, this is a rule breaker, this is
someone who is doing something very creatio courageous, but she's
also not a typical extrovert. She's very shy, she's very reserved.
(25:32):
She is finds peace in those that she already knows
and the people around her, And so that was something
that I was balancing, and I think through several conversations
with the director Bill, who's fantastic. I was able to
find deeper and deeper layers into essen and be able
to portray that on screen.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
It's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that. And
when you were able to see kind of like the
the finished product and see all the hard work come
to this culmination of this project, what were some of
the things that went through your mind?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
That's me, Like, oh my gosh, that's me on the screen,
Like that felt so weird to watch myself. I think
the first time I watched it, I just could not
get over the fact that that was my face on
the screen and my friends faces on the screen, like
we were on screen and they were actually editing this,
they were going through it, they were making adjustments. I
just couldn't believe that we were all part of this project.
(26:34):
People that I had gotten so close with, and myself
that I see myself every day, we're in a movie.
That felt like a total out of body experience. But
once I kind of adjusted to that into seeing myself
on screen, I think now looking at the overall finished product,
looking at how all the characters just like they go
hand in hand so perfectly. There is that chemistry, and
(26:55):
I know a lot of people have been talking about
how there's this palpable chemistry between the girls in myself,
and it really was there. So the fact that it
translates on the screen was such a beautiful thing because
I could appreciate that too as a viewer. And I
think when I saw the final product and how colorful
they had made Afghanistan, how Roya Allaha and the girls
(27:17):
from the real team, some of them were able to
see it, and they all had a deep appreciation for it,
and they really enjoyed the film and seeing that this film,
because we've done a couple of screenings, has had a
different message for everyone. Everyone can take something away from it,
no matter what community they're in, whether it's robotics or
STEM or being an Middle Eastern or South Asian woman,
(27:40):
or being someone who had a hand in the events
that happened in Afghanistan. Everyone's taken a different message. So
it's really it's fulfilling my soul. It's like that project
that fulfills my desire to be able to help my
community and be able to bring awareness and attention to
(28:01):
the situation Afghanistan and to the power that women have
from that region, but it's also fulfilling my creative desire.
It just feels like a beautiful piece of work that
we've worked so hard on. It's been two years in
the making and here we are.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
That was like some lasting memories Amber that she's going
to take away from this project, you know, traveling and wow,
I mean you probably experienced some amazing food, some amazing
culture out there that that no doubt's going to stick
with you.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
No, and more than all of the travel experience that
I had, I think I've made some really lifelong friends
in Nina and Sarah and Nudine and Mariam and Nicole,
Like they're just a wonderful group of people to be with.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Now, were you into robotics before you got this partner?
Was robotics something new new to you?
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Completely new? I'm going to be very I completely knew
it was something that I had never considered tapping into
because I want to be honest, I was very good
at math when I was growing up, very good at
math in high school when we when I skipped calc
AB thinking I could go to calc BC and I'd
be fine because I was that good at math. Okay,
(29:19):
took helth BC. But that was the hardest class I've
ever taken. And I took physics AP physics and that
was like equally one of the hardest classes I've ever taken.
And I think in my mind, I was like, yeah,
some people some people are are are robotics, you know,
some people are going to be the engineers of the world,
and then some people will be the people who help
(29:41):
propel funding for STEM and for women in STEM and
help to raise awareness. And I figured I was going
to be in the latter category after those classes. But
I do have a deep appreciation for STEM and robotics
and I always tell people around me, like I want
to take another class in calculus and in physics. I
just want to have another crack at it. Like I think.
(30:02):
I think now with this newfound interest to it could
be something that in the future I'll be a little
bit more in my skill set with robotics, so I'll
give it another go. But I had no history of
doing robotics. But it was cool because we actually had
college students who were in robotics teams come on set
(30:23):
and maneuver the robotics, show us how to touch and
use and like think about robots and it was great
to have them on set. That really helps bridge that
connection for us.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
That is so amazing, That is so awesome. Thank you,
Thank you so much for sharing that we get to
kind of get the behind the scenes look going on,
you know, this project and everything, and what's next for
you Amber, you know, you got your first one under
your belt. What's next?
Speaker 3 (30:53):
So nothing I can share right now, but there will
definitely be more to come. I'm very excited for audiences
to hopefully see me in different roles that are equally
as dynamic and equally as complex and are really highlighting
the strength of women. So keep an eye out. But
right now, I'm honestly just really excited about this project
(31:15):
coming out. I've been doing a lot of work to
kind of show this project and this film to people
because it is one that is near and dear to
my heart and it's my first one, Like I want
to be fully present and everything that this project has.
And we have a couple of events lined up to
show this project to more members of the community, more
Afghan members of the community, more Middle Eastern and South
(31:38):
Asian members, more students in STEM. So we're hoping this
will have a wide reach, a wide impact, and just
give give inspiration to all those that no matter what
roadblocks come in your way, if Roy and the girls
can get through it, so can you just let that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Absolutely, Well, you do me a favorite amber since this
is your first one and I'm channeling my inner Jedi
right now, I'm foreseeing some great things for you. So
when that happens, you bet not big time, me am,
because if you big time, you and I gonna have problems.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
Don't worry. I won't. I am.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
I am.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
You know, I really hope I make it to the
big leagues. That's that is the goal. But I am
I think everyone who's in this industry, because they're following
what we are passionate about, what we are excited to
do in life. We are taking such bold risks and
bold moves like I think we've already made it, Like
we're fulfilled, we're happy, we're all in the big leagues now,
(32:37):
like we're doing what we love. So don't even worry
about that. I'm trust me. If you think I'm going
places like I think you're going everywhere, I think you've
already made it in my eyes, So don't even stress
about that.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Oh, thank you, Thank you so much, Jah, but that
that is so kind for you to say, and I
really enjoy chatting with you about them your journey. And
is there anything else you'd like to share with the
viewers or the listeners out there that we didn't get
a chance to cover about About this amazing project that's
going to drop on March seventh, Yes.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
March seventh, I guess I'll just say that it'll be
released in theaters around the nation March seventh. New theaters
are popping up all the time, and it is a
family friendly, super heartwarming movie, So make sure you bring
the kids, bring all of your extended family members. You're
gonna have a great time watching this and I and share,
(33:34):
Please share what you think of the film, because we'd
love to know like that that would touch my heart
to see how it impacted you, because again, everyone's taking
something different away from this movie that I didn't expect,
So I'd love to hear.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
That that's awesome. Rule breakers, This is the amazing Amber
of Zali. She is awesome, So y'all support her, check
her out, and we give you social media out. We
gotta get people a t ig.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Yeah at Amber of Zali just my name Amber and
then afz Ali. Yeah, and that's how people can track
all of the events that we're doing, all of my
new projects that will be coming out, and they can
also see some behind the scenes stuff going on.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Awesome, Amber, It's been great chatting with you and wishing
you nothing but success, my dear, thank you, thank.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
You so much, and thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
This was so fun, my pleasure. Really enjoyed chatting with Amber.
Amber is amazing. You can look at her and tell
she has it together and her background truly is going to,
I believe, propel her into this industry. When we get back,
we're going to be joined by actress Moe Collins. Yes,
(34:50):
Mad TV Parker Recreation that Mo Collins. She is going
to be joining us talking about her guest star role
on NBC. He's night Cork. So don't go nowhere and
we'll be right back after these messages.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Intro, let's go with another flow, ain't you averaging The
team is shown
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