LOUIS VUITTON bodysuit, shirt, and skirt and BVLGARI earrings and rings. — **LOUIS VUITTON** bodysuit, shirt, and skirt and **BVLGARI** earrings and rings.

Let’s get the gushing out of the way, shall we? Shira Haas is a gem. Her tone of voice is enthusiastic, her demeanor kind and unassuming, her slight accent ever so charming. Here she is, sitting across from me in NYC, while I’m behind my computer in London, as we discuss the actor’s trajectory to date. The world has changed, of course, and yet part of the new normal has meant conducting interviews such as this one, incredibly intimate and engaging despite our being separated by a vast ocean and high speed submarine communication cables. Haas looks fresh-faced and pretty, all dressed in summer black with two gold chain necklaces and a pair of gold wire earrings in the shape of hearts. Her hair is longer than we’re used to seeing it, cascading onto her shoulders.

I ask Haas to try and explain the incredible success of Shtisel, the Israeli drama series that is now in its third season and streaming on Netflix. “I feel like people,” she considers, “maybe I’m optimistic, but they are a bit tired to only see themselves on screen. I think it’s much more powerful to see something that is supposed to be different from you—and to say, ‘Hey, it’s not that different after all.’” This may also help to decode why everyone I speak with these days, from a sixty-something male colleague to my twenty-something female friend, is in love with Unorthodox, the 2020 limited series, also available on Netflix and based on Deborah Feldman’s autobiographical book, published in 2012.

CHANEL jacket, top, and skirt and BVLGARI earrings and rings. — **CHANEL** jacket, top, and skirt and **BVLGARI** earrings and rings.

In Unorthodox, Esther Shapiro, “Esty”, played by Haas, is a Hasidic woman living in Brooklyn, who escapes her religion and her community to find herself in Berlin. It’s a rather specific situation. And yet something about this woman has fostered a connection with Jewish, non-Jewish, men and women, young and old, all over the world. Beyond Haas’ remarkable portrayal of Esty’s transformation, perhaps it was the timing of the mini-series, which began streaming just as the world started grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, with several countries already entering lockdown. Haas affirms, “I feel like the world has changed not only for the type of television, but also in the openness of people.”

Esty had an immediate appeal to Haas, and she explains why. “When I read the script, I had this sudden connection to Esty, and it surprised me, because even though I am from Israel, and I played in Shtisel—hers is a completely different world.” She goes on, “Maybe I did have an above average knowledge of this world, but still I didn’t know much, and it’s very different, as you can see, from me, and from my background, and from who I am.” And yet, the 26-year-old felt an instant, powerful connection with Esty. “I identified with her pain, with her need to find her voice, to be who she is in this world, and she even finds it through art, through singing eventually, which is something that I can relate to as an actress—where I find a lot of freedom, and possibilities, and creativity.”

DIOR jacket and top and BVLGARI earrings, bracelet, and ring. — **DIOR** jacket and top and **BVLGARI** earrings, bracelet, and ring.

These days, Haas can be seen in Ruthy Pribar’s Asia, which opened in NYC theaters this June. In the Israeli drama, which was the country’s official submission to this year’s Oscar race, she stars opposite Alena Yiv, as her daughter Vika, who suffers from an unspecified illness—one that resembles ALS. Asia swept the Ophir Awards (the Israeli equivalent of the Academy Awards) in 2020 and also garnered Haas a Best International Actress prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, where the film saw its world premiere. The jury, which included director Danny Boyle and actor William Hurt, released the following statement describing Haas: “Her face is a never-ending landscape in which even the tiniest expression is heartbreaking; she’s an incredibly honest and present actress who brings depth to everything she does.”

Haas has also struggled with illness in her own life. As a three-year-old, who was born in Tel Aviv, she was diagnosed with cancer. About her early struggle with the illness, she says, “It’s definitely part of me—I mean, I don’t remember my life before it. It’s not like it happened to me when I was older or more mature, so I could think of the before and after… it was really kind of like my starting point in life, so it’s hard to say what would have happened if not—lucky for us, we don’t need to.” It’s startling to hear Haas use a word like “lucky” when describing her childhood struggles. But it is lucky for us, as her depth as a performer seems forever shaped by these events.

She elaborates, admitting, “I think that it definitely shaped me into who I am. It’s part of me. I think it made me more mature for my age, I was even like this as a child—eight-years-old going on 40. At least that’s what my parents are saying.” She stops and thinks about it and then expands, “I mean, I don’t wish any child or any person to go through this, but I can tell you now, 20 something years later, right, that I’m almost grateful that it happened, because I’m sure that I would be a different person without it—therefore also a different actress.”

PRADA robe, romper, and shorts and BVLGARI necklace. — **PRADA** robe, romper, and shorts and **BVLGARI** necklace.

Did this challenge in her childhood help Haas to deal with the pandemic? “I feel I was like everyone,” Haas replies, “eventually, you know, I had better days and worse days, but I didn’t take it too hard, because I had this belief that it will pass. Even when we had the hardest time in Israel, I always had this hope and belief that it will pass.” Could this positivity, this hopefulness, come from her background? “Maybe it’s part of it, maybe it’s part of who I am. Maybe it’s this understanding that it’s this moment, and it’s horrible, but it’s not the whole life, and it will pass—it’s like you have a bad day, not a bad life kind of thing—and maybe that is part of who I am and what I’ve been through.”

Although already well known in Israel, Haas achieved worldwide notoriety at the height of the pandemic, and while the celebration or actioning on this newfound fame was met with unprecedented limitations, she views the experience with a certain kind of positivity. “I wish the circumstances were different,” she says, “but something about this Covid, being in quarantine, I mean, helped me through this whole experience. Maybe I’m still processing it, but to not be overwhelmed, you know, because everything kind of happened, and yet I was in a safe place, in my home, and in a way it helped me and my sanity.” Back in NYC after more than a year, Haas has already been confronted by her newfound international fame. “I was here before Unorthodox and seconds before Covid exploded here,” she says “and now I’m walking outside and people recognize me! I mean I’m used to it in Israel, but here it was only on social media. So now it’s all so real—I feel like I’m still like getting used to this new reality, in a way, you know, and I’m very, very lucky, that’s for sure.”

We purposely steer clear of talking politics during our chat. As former U.S. Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, loved to say “All politics is local” anyway. But I do ask Haas if she believes cinema creates a bridge across culture. “Definitely,” she answers, “it’s a bridge for everything… even Asia, for example, it really talks about life and about the connections we have and the relationships we have with the people that we love, and how we shouldn’t take them for granted—that is also a bridge, maybe not between cultures, okay, but it’s still between people and understanding life, and I think art is always about communication, because it brings stuff to the table.” She concedes, “I don’t know if art can change and heal the world, but I think it’s part of it.”

GUCCI jacket, top, and pants, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN shoes, and BVLGARI earrings and rings. — **GUCCI** jacket, top, and pants, **CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN** shoes, and **BVLGARI** earrings and rings.

I tell Haas that I’ve seen a lot of images lately where she looks quite glamorous, and this Flaunt editorial is proof of that. So what is elegance to her? “I think that elegance is when you really feel comfortable—it can be in different shapes, or forms, and when you really feel this energy of elegance, other people will feel it as well.” She could be describing herself, of course, so I wonder where she finds elegance in her own life. “Both of my parents are the most humble people in the world, they dress up really nicely, but not in the industry’s way of wearing elegant clothes or outfits; yet for me, they’re the most elegant people.” She continues, “They have this energy that I mentioned before, and this confidence, and also this kindness, a quietness almost, maybe that’s the word. I mean you can be very loud and fun and still have this, you know, it’s not about vocal quietness. So, I always had this center from my parents, and especially for my mom.”

Channeling her inner supermodel doesn’t come easy to Haas, who instead admits that during a photoshoot, “I feel like an actress—I have this outfit, and I have this character, and suddenly in my head I’m in this outfit. And then I feel comfortable wearing it, not because I enjoy being… I’m not a model, it’s not like the most comfortable thing for me, but once I have it in my head, I feel super comfortable in what I’m wearing. And I think this is elegance.”

Of course, we talk about favorite movies as well. The first film Haas remembers watching as a child is Finding Nemo. “I love animation movies,” she gushes. “When I grew older, I remember the first, say, realistic movie that I watched, and I was still pretty young, was Leon The Professional.” She’s referring, of course, to the Luc Besson film starring a very young Natalie Portman and Moroccan-born French-Spanish actor, Jean Reno. “That’s the movie that made me go, ‘Wow!’ Cinema is interesting, acting is interesting.” In a truly cinematic twist of fate, one of the first roles Haas was cast in was that of a young Portman in the seasoned actress’ 2015 feature directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, based on writer Amos Oz’s memoirs.

CHLOÉ dress, ALEXANDRE BIRMAN shoes, and BVLGARI earrings and rings. — **CHLOÉ** dress, **ALEXANDRE BIRMAN** shoes, and **BVLGARI** earrings and rings.

Haas mentions Portman as one of her inspirations. “When I worked with Natalie Portman, I had, like, the smallest scene, but she was the director and the actress, and I was like, ‘Oh great, she also directs, and also acts, and she’s a woman.’ It’s possible!” When asked what filmmakers she would like to work with now that she may have more influence in her choices, Haas admits that “Céline Sciamma and [Sofia] Coppola and Eliza Hittman—every time I’m asked that, I always think immediately about female directors.” This passion is not because she doesn’t have many male directors she would “die to work with,” but because female filmmakers, she admits, “always show me that it’s possible, and it has always given me a kind of inspiration to work with women, not because they are more talented than men, but just because I can take example from them, as role models.”

Finally, I want to know what Haas does on her days off, what brings her calm and happiness. “What makes me happy?” She echoes back, “I always thought I’d be a graphic designer before I became an actress, so I love making collages sometimes, whether it’s in real life or in Photoshop, but also reading, writing.” She concludes, “I love seeing friends, I don’t have too many, but I do have some really close friends, and family—I also enjoy being alone.”

Perhaps the most important realization this interview affords me is how real, how honest Shira Haas is. And how much she deserves admiration and adoration. Because within these various roles, spanning from the most tragic to the most empowering, we are catching a glimpse of this extraordinary woman as she opens her heart to the world. There’s no telling what might come next.