BEING THERE

Kosar Ali was thinking about lunch when a chance audition at school changed her life - four years later, she took home two Bifas for her performance in Rocks, the first hijab-wearing Muslim to win there. Now, she's exploring roles that tap the complexities of belonging in contemporary Britain - and her experiences feeling like an ‘alien’ in her own country

SAGAL MOHAMMED

For Kosar Ali, the idea of being British feels a little “weird”. The BritishSomali actor, best known for her breakout role in Sarah Gavron’s 2019 coming-of-age film Rocks, sees national identity as nuanced - something that can only be understood through lived experience. “My version of Britishness is putting the kettle on, then adding qorfo and hail [Somali for cinnamon and cardamom] to my English breakfast,” she says with a grin. “Or cooking baked beans but with seasoning.” As a second-generation immigrant raised in east London, Ali has grown up surrounded by many cultures. It’s 10am when she throws a hoodie on and turns her camera on for our interview. “I’m not a morning person,” she confesses over Zoom. But her fresh face and beaming smile tell me otherwise. “I…

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Dazed & Confused (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2023

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