Yasmine Al-Bustami arguably has one of the best acting gigs in show business.
As one of the stars of NCIS: Hawai'i, the latest addition to the two-decade-old hit television franchise, she gets to spend up to nine months a year shooting in paradise.
The well-received debut season is available for streaming on Starzplay, with season two set to return next month.
Al-Bustami's casting marks not only another important industry step towards achieving diverse representation on mainstream television, but a personal milestone for the Abu Dhabi-born actress whose father is Jordanian-Palestinian and mother Filipina.
She is well aware her role as series regular Lucy Tara, the tenacious investigator, could resonate well beyond the immediate fan base.
"What I am really happy about is the fact that I play a character that you can just insert any ethnicity or background in and it doesn't affect the role," she tells The National.
"No one needs to mention or add some kind of storyline that explains that they might be an Arab or an Asian because that's not the focal point of the story.
“The character is just who they are and it is the plot that we pay attention to.”
Quality over ethnicity
This is also the way Al-Bustami has approached her career.
After relocating to the US from Abu Dhabi, aged 3, with her family, she developed her passion for acting in university.
“But it was more on the business side at first because part of me thought that it couldn’t be a sustainable career,” she admits.
After taking part in a few amateur productions, she began to envision a life in front of the camera and by the time she was 25, Al-Bustami had landed a recurring role in the fantasy series The Originals, followed by a selection of regular television parts in the 2016 drama The Inspectors and the 2019 romantic comedy I Ship It.
Al-Bustami also featured in the powerful music video for John Legend's 2016 track Surefire, in which she plays a Muslim woman facing bigotry for a relationship with a Mexican man.
She says all of her roles have been chosen based on the material’s quality as opposed to making a broader industry or political statement.
"Honestly, I just enjoy reading the diverse things that come to me and whatever works sticks," she says.
"Thankfully it is very rare that I am offered a role where I felt that I completely couldn't do it."
Telling authentic stories
When it came to NCIS: Hawai'i, Al-Bustami says the cast and producers were compelled to represent Hawaii and its cultural life accurately.
It features a number of Hawaiian actors — such as Anthony Ruivivar, Moses Goods and Danielle Zalopany — and Al-Bustami says the plot lines are inspired as much by its people as the location.
"What I appreciate is the writers really set out to showcase Hawaii and bring in some of its history and culture in order to make the show a learning experience as well and not just a backdrop," she says.
"It is also a cool place and I wonder whether I am cool enough to be there. Everything about it is exactly how you see it.
“When you take pictures, you can only wish to capture what you see live. But with Hawaii, it is only when you are there, you really appreciate how beautiful and amazing it is."
Such moments make the career grind worthwhile, she says. Now she hopes to maintain her trajectory in the competitive field of television acting.
"Everybody has their own journey and ways of getting where they want to go. For me it has always been fun and I never felt that this was too gruelling, despite the hard days.
"I think it comes down to me understanding that what I do fulfils me in a certain way that other things in life can't.
“This is not to say that it was not tough at many times during my career, it’s just that I don't want to give this up."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Results
International 4, United States 1
Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods (US) beat Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann (International) 4 and 3.
Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im (International) beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (US) 2 up.
Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An (International) beat Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau (US) 2 and 1.
Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan (International) beat Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed (US) 1 up.
Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen (International) beat Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland (US) 4 and 3.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
How to donate
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
