With her roots in Iran and Germany, Elnaaz Norouzi starting her acting journey in India in Hindi language, which was new to her. Now, the actor is set to venture out in another film industry as she will be making her leading debut in Hollywood with Hotel Tehran, starring Zachary Levi and Liam Neeson, alongside her.

Ask her if it was more challenging navigating through Hollywood or Bollywood and she says, “Honestly its Bollywood, because yahaan pe you have an industry that’s not always very accepting of outsiders. Getting into that is another challenge and so is learning the language and dance. Hindi is my sixth or seventh language and I started acting in a language that was not my first. So that was my biggest challenge and still is.”

She adds, “Over there, when you give a good audition, they see you as a great actor. Yahaan pe aisa nahi hota hai and sirf audition ke hisaab se aapko nahi chunte hain log. There are so many factors. There you have this thing that it’s fair—you give the audition, and whoever fits the role right, they will be chosen. Unfortunately, here, I don’t feel like you have that. It’s not just about who is a good actor, or who gives a good audition. So, that’s a big plus in Hollywood.” The actor insists that she has felt sidelined at times here: “Of course, I have and that’s very normal because people are not accepting of someone who comes from outside. But that’s a whole different conversation.”

Venturing into the West, Elnaaz is inspired by actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who today is a global actor. She met her recently at Priyanka’s brother Siddharth Chopra’s wedding and is all praise for her. “I am a big Priyanka fan. I think she is amazing, and she has been so brave with everything that she has done, be it in Bollywood or Hollywood or her private life. She is our lady and she’s doing everything right,” she ends.