Sarah Shahi
Sarah Shahi
Aahoo Jahansouz "Sarah" Shahiis an American television actress and former NFL Cheerleader of Iranian and Spanish ancestry. She played Kate Reed in the USA Network legal drama Fairly Legal in 2011–12, she played Carmen on The L Word in 2008, and also starred as Sameen Shaw on the CBS crime drama Person of Interest. She has also appeared as the main female role Det. Dani Reese in Life, and in a supporting role in Alias...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actress
Date of Birth10 January 1980
CityEuless, TX
CountryUnited States of America
I did karate for about three years. When I was going into Miss Texas, my mom said, 'Let's not do karate this year. Let's not have any knocked-out teeth on the stage.'
To sit next to Walter Hill, and to be able to exchange ideas back and forth, and for him to be able to tell you that he likes what you're doing - I don't know. I kind of pinch myself.
My favorite workouts are the ones that don't feel like I'm working out! So, dance is a big one. Another is any kind of isolated moves, like ballet moves. Anything that works the glutes and legs - sign me up! And I like to blast the music. I have to get lost in the music. That helps.
Plyometrics. Hate them. Enough already. Jumping around, using your own body weight is so hard to me. How did we do it as kids?
You really have to take your time; you have to know your character and your scene. The line you are about to say comes from the moment right before. It's not what's said, it's what is in between the spaces, it's what's in between the lines; that is the most important to play.
The most important mark I will leave on this world is my son.
Once you're sort of pigeonholed into something, it's quite difficult to get out of it. I have no aversion to playing a gay character again, but it would definitely have to be the right role.
I just like to go where the material is, whether that's TV, or movies, or the stage. As long as it's great writing, it's pretty much something I can't resist.
I had a home birth because I really believe in the body's natural ability to give birth. The medical profession has kind of warped women's minds into thinking we don't know how to birth and we need doctors and epidurals and Pitocin.
It is therapeutic for me to act, to be able to slip into somebody else's skin, and know it's not you, but know that you bring a lot of yourself to it. At times in my life it's provided me with a lot of confusion. It's also provided me with a lot of discovery.
Once, I started cheering for the wrong team. I was hot, and I heard 'Touchdown!' and I started doing high kicks, and I looked around and nobody else was cheering.
I've learned a lot with every character, everything from being a cop, to a lawyer to a tattoo artist. And underneath that stuff, I've been really able to find myself through the characters. It's served as a cheap form of emotional therapy.
The goal as an actor is to constantly surround yourself with amazing artists who challenge you and make you grow.
Michael Emerson is just a prince. There's something about him. He's so sweet. I don't know how to describe it. There's something about him that's a bit royal.