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Ridley Scott's Gladiator II has received criticism after actress May Calamawy's scenes were reportedly cut out from the film. The producers of the historical drama film are yet to share a response to the same.
Also known as May El Calamawy, the 38-year-old was born in Bahrain and grew up in Houston and Doha, as reported by Variety in February 2014. While her mother was reportedly Palestinian-Jordanian, her father, a banker, was an Egyptian. Apart from English, she can also speak Arabic.
Social media users claimed that the decision to remove her scenes was reportedly taken due to her support for Palestine during the Israel-Hamas conflict that started in 2023.
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A few others speculated that May Calamawy's scenes were reduced because of her Palestinian heritage, as stated by Middle East Eye on November 15, 2024. The outlet mentioned that Calamawy had reportedly shared social media posts, related to her support for Palestine, during the film's shooting in October last year.
However, some users alleged that May Calamawy's scenes might not have been removed due to her support for Palestine since the lead actors— Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Paul Mescal— have also requested a ceasefire in the past.
Calamawy was cast for Gladiator II in May 2023, alongside Fred Hechinger and Derek Jacobi, as per Variety. Another report by Deadline in the same month mentioned that director Ridley Scott conducted several auditions before casting Calamawy, since her character was an important part of the storyline.
May Calamawy started her acting career around 18 years ago
Calamawy has been featured in various successful projects, and her career dates back to 2006. She initially appeared in several short films like Paradise Falls and Passerby and later grabbed important roles in some popular TV shows.
May Calamawy is most popularly known for playing Dena Hassan in three seasons of the comedy-drama series Ramy.
Well-known model Bella Hadid was also cast in the Hulu series for two episodes of the third season, and May told Harper's Bazaar Arabia in 2022 that although they did not have any scenes together, she witnessed Bella's work on set.
"She is so wonderful and grounded. And she's like a funny dork in a way, like she's just quirky and makes fun of herself and doesn't take it seriously and is cute and very open. She's just a delight to have around," Calamawy said.
May Calamawy also portrayed Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight, which aired on Disney+. During her conversation with Harper's Bazaar Arabia, May opened up on the reason for being a part of the superhero series, saying that she was influenced by Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman's action sequences featured in Black Widow and Thor: Love and Thunder.
She addressed how she prepared for her role by saying:
"I went to Budapest in March, and I was thrown into a lot of physical training, which was a lot of fun, but challenging. I learned a lot about myself, from meeting this incredible stunt team that really took care of me… to breaking my finger in one of the scenes, it was definitely an experience."
May Calamawy's first feature film was Djinn, which was released back in 2013. She voiced for Fawzia in the animated show, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. She will next appear The Actor, which features a lineup of talented faces like Gemma Chan, Andre Holland, and Toby Jones.
