The power of storytelling with Bilal Hasna

Before we even scratch the surface of his whirlwind entrance into the industry, Bilal Hasna expresses his gratitude. The 25-year-old British-Palestinian actor and playwright made his TV debut in the BBC’s Sparks in 2020, the same year he graduated from university. Ever since it’s been, as he puts it himself, “a bit of a rollercoaster”. “I’m grateful that it’s all worked out like this,” he adds.

Before he found out he’d bagged the role of Kash in the satirical superhero series Extraordinary, Hasna had prematurely accepted his defeat. “To calm my nerves, I ordered some vegan fried chicken,” he tells me. “The [delivery] guy was two minutes away from arriving and my phone went off… It was my agent.” For Hasna, it was a life-altering call. “I just burst into tears and my flatmate came in and hugged me.” Struck with such momentous news, the actor “didn’t know what to do”. Or did he? “Should we play the video?” he recalls asking his housemate. They proceeded to watch 2008’s X Factor finale in which contestant Alexandra Burke duets with Beyoncé. “It’s my favourite video of all time,” Hasna tells me. “We played that and cried — it was the beginning of a new chapter in my life, expressed beautifully by Alexandra Burke and Beyoncé.”

In the space of just four years, Hasna has rapidly established his comedy chops: as well as Extraordinary, he scored a role in the Amazon Prime mystery thriller Dead Hot. Sitting across from him today, however, it’s clear the actor also exhibits some discernment for the world around him. He jokes about the monolithic size of the iPad recording us before the conversation shifts to his latest project (and feature film debut) Layla. Having premiered at the start of this year at the Sundance Film Festival, Layla tells the story of a struggling Arab drag queen who, in their pursuit of love, gradually comes to terms with their true self. It’s Hasna’s role in this film that proves his ability to flip effortlessly between wit and sensitivity.

This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 33: Good People. Stay tuned for the full story.