| Official
Miss May 2004 Orli Shoshan Interview
BrianX
Magazine: Information about you has been somewhat difficult to come
by. We know the basics but nothing more... give us the scoop!
Orli Shoshan: I was born in Israel and raised on a moshav
there. My parents are of Moroccan descent and I have 2 brothers and
2 sisters who live in Israel. I originally left to
spend a few months working for the Israeli airline EL AL in
Chicago and ended up staying there for 2 years! I then traveled through India and Thailand, ultimately ending up in Australia.
[Editor's note:
A moshav is an Israeli cooperative village generally
consisting of small separate farms. They are common in Israel.]
How did you get into modeling?
While in Australia, I went through the yellow pages looking
for modeling agencies. I got work as a model and slowly built my
portfolio.
How did you get into fashion design?
I always wanted to make
my own clothes. When I was a kid I was very into sports, always running
and I was into gymnastics. This lead to my interest in fashion
and sportswear. I saw a gap in the market for really sexy
sportswear and with the help of some friends who run
clothing factories in Australia, I got started. My first fashion line
came out two years ago. The thing is, you have
to really keep up with seasonal styles and colors which is complicated
so I'm going to try denim which is less complicated and more
in demand since everyone wears jeans! For now you can find
my clothes in boutiques and sportswear shops around
Australia.
What
made you go into acting?
I got into star wars through my modeling agency. They approached
me and asked if I'd was interested in doing a movie. Star Wars was
the first movie that came up!
In Star Wars
Episode 2: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge
of the Sith, you
played Shaak Ti, an important Jedi Master. What
was it like working on the set of such
significant films?
Overall, I must say
that I'm very happy to be involved with the Star Wars movies and
franchise.
Something
strange about your role as a Jedi is that they took this sexy
model and covered your face so that you are barely recognizable!
What's up with that?!
I don't know exactly why but I think that it may be because I have martial arts experience.
My character required a lot of fight scenes. They liked how I did with
a lightsaber and I didn't need a lot of extra training. You don't
see a lot of fighting in the second movie due to all of the
editing.
How bad was the
make-up?
Each time I was on set it took 4 hours to prepare my character.
The make-up consisted of building a mask which was then glued onto
my face. The entire costume was heavy, with a long tail, 2 horns,
and a long skirt. It was hard to move!
...and George
Lucas?
I first met him to approve
my costume. We had some small talks. He's a nice guy. He liked my character
and so wanted to do more than was originally planned.
Wasn't Natalie
Portman (Queen Amidala in the new Star Wars Trilogy) also born in
Israel?
Ya, I think so. We didn't have a chance to chat or anything.
 You've been
making the rounds at sci-fi, comic book, and toy conventions
in the US and Japan. How's that working out for ya?
It's very flattering that people
travel from so far to see me and get an autograph. I actually expected younger people,
especially with all the toys and all. Based on own personal statistics,
I'd say that most of the people who come to get my autograph are
in the over 30 range. This really surprises me! In Japan I appeared
at a toy festival but expected more kids and few fans speak English so
it's harder to communicate. My character, Shaak Ti, is an action figure and
in Japan some fans had five of them. I would personalize at least
one and I know some others are to trade (or sell!).
How does it
feel to be an action figure and on the cover of a comic book?
Yes, I'm on the
cover of a Star Wars comic book by Dark Horse (publishing company)
and I'm a toy! Again, I was flattered to find out about these
things. I really underestimated how significant it would be to get
involved in the Star Wars world.
What's up with
Star Wars Episode 3?
I'm not
allowed to say anything but I can tell you that my part has
already been filmed in Australia.
Were you always
a Star Wars fan?
I didn't know nearly as much about the Star Wars universe before
being in the movie, so I watched the old movies and got into it more during
filming. Growing up we knew about Star
Wars but we weren't as fanatical as many of the fans I've met in
America and Japan seem to be. Star Wars just wasn't all over the
place where I grew up so it's a cultural difference. It's a good
surprise though.
What does it feel like to see people on the street wearing clothes you designed?
Flattering! The first time I saw people wearing my clothes was a little after
the first
New Year's day after my line was released. I went to a party and saw 2 girls wearing
my clothes. I was so excited to see them that I just
had to go tell them that I was the designer! The girls went
on and on saying " we love them, we just love them..."
That was one of the best things that has happened to me in
my life.
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Have people recognized you on the street based on your 'celebrity status'?
Ya, in Australia people occasionally come up to me and ask if
they've seen me here or there. Many of them recognize me from
commercials. It's nice.
What's your greatest talent?
To be honest… Shopping! I know how to spend my money
beautifully! I'm constantly shipping stuff to Israel and my mom says,
"we have no more room so stop wasting your money!" In
Australia they have garage sales so I sell samples of my clothing
line and some of my better clothes that I decided I wouldn't wear anymore. I use that money to buy new clothes!
What has been the best experience on the job?
Many good things have happened to me.
What has been the worst experience on the job?
I did a TV commercial for Beck's beer that was aired in Australia.
It featured a Survivor-type ad, with 6 of us on Magnetic Island
(in the Great Barrier Reef region of Australia). It was supposed to be
6 survivors in a boat but it rained all week! The sun would come
out for 5 minutes and then disappear. Each day we faced 10 hours of
rain and by the time we started getting ready to shoot when the
sun would come out, it would begin raining again.
Beck's is a German
company and their people came out for the shoot. The entire deal
left the whole cast stressed. It ended up being re-shot and looked inconsistent,
I got sea sick from sitting on the boat, people were bitching at each other, it was just a bad.
On the other hand, money-wise it was the best job I've had!
 What's the most common question that people ask you?
"Where are you from?" Based on my accent and look, people tend to
think I'm Brazilian, Spanish, and sometimes French.
What do you want the world to know about you?
It doesn't matter how famous I get, I'm still the girl from the
moshav.
[Editors note:
This is like J-Lo reminding us that no matter how big she gets,
she's just Jenny from the block!]
If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?
To keep traveling and take in new cultures. Hopefully with my work as a
designer I will be able to do so. It's always nice to see the different fashions around
the world. I was just in Japan where it's so different from what
I'm use to. It's just great! I'd love to keep doing it and see every country in the
universe! [Editor's
note: Spoken like a true Jedi!!!]
It's12:01am. What are you doing?
I'm not a party animal so I'm probably on the sofa watching a movie
and eating popcorn. I'm just a good girl and I don't really like parties.
Once in a while, but I don't do it a lot.
Thong vs. regular
undies?
I use both, but it depends on what I wear. Overall, I have no
preference, although I have designed underwear!
Upcoming
projects?
I'm working on a new fashion label. I'm going to call it "Shoshan"
and it will be for denim clothing. I'm currently looking into where
is the best place to produce it. I will also be doing more signing events for the next 2 months.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I plan on having my clothes become International labels.
Personally, I'd like to be married with kids.
I'm also really interested in acting on Israeli television. I've
never actually approached anyone there up to now since I've been
living overseas (in the US and Australia) since I began my acting
career. So hopefully something will come up in the future.
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