Natasha Behnam dishes on “bad girl crushes,” ‘The Girls On The Bus’ & Oscar-worthy TikToks
The Girls On The Bus a real diamond in the rough.The Southern California-born Behnam is a queer, first-generation Iranian-American star who followed her passion for the arts to college where she studied film and television, inevitably winding up at the heart of it all in Los Angeles.There, she cut her teeth in the city’s comedic institutions like UCB and The Groundlings and flexed her comedy muscles.
Before long, she was booking roles in some television favorite across a wide range of genres, from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to You to Mayans M.C.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.But this year’s dramedy The Girls On The Bus—the story of four political journalists on the trail of a very dramatic presidential campaign—represents her biggest role yet, and it’s the perfect showcase for Behnam’s talents.
As Lola, the TikTok-obsessed Gen Z reporter with an activist’s spirit, the actress brings so much of herself to the role: her radiant charm, her thoughtfulness, her warm heart, and, yes, her TikTok obsession.Much like Behnam, Lola also comes from an Iranian-American family, who get a spotlight in series standout episode “She Was Against It, Before She Was For It.” Being part of one of the first and only Iranian-American families on TV was an experience she could only describe as “sacred, special, and surreal,” speaking to the true power of representation on our screens.Surely only big things are ahead for this rising star, so we were eager to sit down with her for the latest round of our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It.
In our conversation, Behnam opens up about important lessons learned from the set of The Girls On The Bus, the movie character she had the biggest crush on, and how TikTok helped affirm her queerness.A post shared by Natasha Behnam (@natashabehnam)Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that you consider a big part of your.
