DUBAI: US actor, writer and singer Lionel Boyce found fame as the mild-mannered pastry chef Marcus Brooks in FX on Hulu’s “The Bear,” streaming in the Middle East on Disney Plus.

In a show that can often be chaotic and anxiety-inducing, Boyce’s character is an island of calm.

Season three picks up with Marcus grieving the recent loss of his ailing mother, and his eulogy provides the season’s most touching scene.

In an interview with Arab News, Boyce joked that he felt terrified he first read the script for the episode.

“I just started reading the script and there was just a lot of words. But, no, I think the first thing I felt was … you just feel for him and it pierces your heart a bit,” he said.

“I think it was cool that you’ve learned about Marcus’ mom in season two in real time, just where she’s at, but you’d never learned who she was and who she was to him before that. Because in season two, you just see how he’s her caretaker. And this eulogy shows how she was the caretaker for him and protected him. And, so, I thought that was really special.” 

Boyce avoided reading other famous monologues to prepare for the heart-wrenching scene, but he did remember thinking about a scene in the 2021 film “Judas and the Black Messiah,” featuring Daniel Kaluuya.

“Daniel Kaluuya is on a podium giving a speech. He starts with an emotion and he quickly covers it. I was watching it specifically because it has this arc to it, where he starts with fear and, by the end, he’s absolved of his fear. He’s releasing it. So, I just thought that was cool,” said Boyce.

“I think he reminded me that, in these scenarios, people are just trying to get through the words, you know. They’re trying to do hard stuff, push and suppress these feelings, you don’t want to end up crying. And it’s a hard thing.”

Asked to highlight some fun moments on set, Boyce said: “One of them was just the final scene of season three where they’re at a party at an apartment. That was a lot of fun. Because it was just like, you’re faking a party, but faking a party still means you have a real party. So, everyone is like listening to music, dancing and just like having fun. Even sitting around and hanging out felt very loose, free and fun.

“And then another one was purely because they had some king crab on set. And I love king crab. So, I gotta do some of that. And that was a highlight of my life.”

DUBAI: Saudi media personality Sara Murad has been a mainstay in Arab households for more than a decade, most recently as the presenter of MBC morning show “Sabah Alkhair Ya Arab.” 

“When someone tells me that I made a change in their life, it feels so rewarding and makes me want to give more,” Murad tells Arab News. 

As part of that effort to ‘give more,’ Murad decided last year to launch her own fragrance brand, By Sara Murad. 

“I’ve always wanted to be a businesswoman; I just never had the time or the right team to take the step. Putting everything together feels so exciting and gave me the drive to launch a brand,” Murad, who is now a Dubai resident, says. 

“Everyone loves fragrance, it’s embedded in our culture. And I have always been passionate about collecting them. But with By Sara Murad, I wanted to create something that would showcase our culture with a modern twist that could reach the world. And I wanted to create something with my name that I’ve been working on for so long,” she added. 

The first fragrance from her brand — Black Oud — is “a harmonious melding of French elegance and the pride of Saudi Arabia,” according to the publicity blurb, “blending notes of Oud, amber, wood and leather.” 

“Saudi Arabia is all the inspiration — including the change, the openness and invitation to the world, the inspiration that the country is giving to the youth and the empowerment that is giving us as women,” she says. “To see the Kingdom’s growth has been fascinating and makes me so proud. To see the opportunity that’s been given to women and men… it’s definitely a chance for the young to grow.” 

When she was a young adult, Murad would have never imagined she would find a career as a TV presenter. She graduated as a graphic designer and was interested primarily in advertising and production work. 

“I never thought of (trying to get) a job in front of the camera. I believe everyone gets an opportunity but sometimes it is so out of our comfort zone that we reject it,” she says. “When I got offered the job, I challenged myself to try it, thinking that I had nothing to lose and that it would be an experience. And here I am,12 years later.” 

Her success was hard-won. “Honestly, it’s not a field where you meet people who want to help you grow, so I counted on myself and learned a lot — most of it the hard way,” she says. 

In the beginning, there were people who were surprised to learn that she was a Saudi woman. “But now the whole world knows what a Saudi woman is capable of,” she adds. 

Juggling a full-time job with a new business is, of course, no mean feat, and Murad makes it work by being organized at all times. 

“My days are never (the same). My schedule is always changing. There is always something new happening, whether it is the show I’m presenting, or a photo shoot, or working on a new fragrance. There is nothing typical about my life. But I try to manage as far as I can to give everything my full attention. So, I’m very, very organized. And working with a great team also helps a lot to reach my goals,” she says. 

“When it comes to de-stressing, I try to take it easy. I shut down work. I mean, I never shut down, who am I kidding? But I play the piano — that helps,” she continues. “I like to read, that also helps. And I like to travel a lot and change scenery as well, even if it’s for work.”