Samia Rida

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Samia Rida is an actor and writer of Saudi/Welsh heritage but London born and bred.

Samia won Best International Actor at the Olleh International Smartfilm Festival for her film Tell Me About Yourself shot by Robbie Ryan (DoP on The Favourite, American Honey and many other great projects). Most recently, Samia can be seen in Breeders alongside Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard, and in the Netflix/BBC Get Even series Rebel Cheer Squad.

Also a talented writer, Samia is currently on the WFTV Four Nations Mentoring Scheme, and was a member of the BBC Writers Room London Voices group for 2020. Her writing is darkly funny and ranges across all the big themes: family, identity, gender, relationships and sausages… and often with a protagonist only she could play. She writes from a fairly unique perspective (show me all the other actor/writers in a Saudi/Welsh venn diagram) and has a fondness for characters who are looking to reconcile a dysfunctional past with some kind of hopeful future.

Projects she is currently developing, with her to star in, include a comedy drama about a yoga teacher who blackmails one of her high net worth clients and find herself drawn into a world of financial corruption and insider trading; a comedy drama based on her own experiences of belonging to a British cult; and a drama about a father who kidnaps his own daughter – again based on her own experience.

She has been mentored as an actor/writer by Gareth Edwards (producer on That Mitchell & Webb Look, Ladhood, Upstart Crow and more) with whom she has developed scripts. Gareth has also persuaded her to do stand up comedy, which she likes to partake in when thrill seeking.