The first season of the German series Tribes of Europa premiered on Netflix last February. Previously we made an article about this production also in this section, and if you have not seen it yet you should put it on your to-do list. We had the opportunity to interview David Ali Rashed, who plays the character of Elja, one of the main characters in the series.

David Ali Rashed was born in the city of Berlin, Germany in October 2002. He made his film debut in Tigermich (2018) by director Ute Wieland. We can also see it in Das perfekte Geheimnis (2019) and O Beautiful Night (2019). Tribes of Europa is his first work with so much exposure worldwide and precisely the first question is related to that. When you work with Netflix you have a big chance that your work is going to be watched around the world. How do you feel about this opportunity?

The range from Netflix is incredible. It is a crazy feeling, knowing that people in over 190 countries around the world can watch my work, it’s definitely something I have never experienced before.

We know that in some productions the castings are usually different, or in some cases like 3%, that we also had the opportunity to interview actors in the past, at first they did not even know which series they were auditioning for.  How does the casting process for Tribes of Europa was?

The casting procedure was quite normal. I went to auditions and after two or three rounds my agent called me, to tell me that I got the role. Of course, I was aware that Tribes of Europa will be much bigger than anything I ever did before, but the auditions I went to where not so different.

Actors always have a favorite scene from the productions they work on. Whether they participated in it or not. Which is your favorite scene from this first season?

It is hard to pick one favorite scene from this season, because there have been so many scenes I love. I really enjoyed watching all the scenes in the Boj-Arena, in Brahtok, because I liked the look very much, also I love all the scenes in the Kali, Bracker’s place, because I had a lot of fun shooting them and I was really happy with the outcome.

Just as there is a favorite scene, there are also traits that can be recognized in other characters beyond your own. Of the three siblings (Kiano, Liv and Elja) who do you think is the strongest?

It would be hard to point out one of them. I thinking’s that case it is a head to head race between Liv and Kiano.
 

A little bit about David…

Based on the above, David does not think that Elja is strong. However, he is a character with a very important mission: to return the cube to the ark. It has what is known in literature as the "way of the hero." That's when it becomes relevant to ask What does David and Elja have in common? Do you admire something from him?

Elja and I are definitely two very different characters, which was very interesting to deal with. But of course there are similarities too, curiosity would be one thing. And I admire his courage.
 

On some occasions the actors cast for another character or they simply identify with some other character and would have liked to play him. If you can choose another character from Tribes of Europa to play who it will be and why?

I wouldn’t choose another character to play, because there are already such brilliant actors for them.

From the above it is clear that David is quite satisfied with his character of Elja, but there is another decision that we can make him take, although his character may never have to make it. If you must choose between being a Crow or a Crimson what would you choose and why?

If I had to choose between Crimsons or Crows, I would join the Crimsons. I really liked the atmosphere in their camp. They look cool and disciplined, but they can have fun too.

 

Making an extrapolation of the main theme of the series which is a post-apocalyptic world where a catastrophe called "Black December" divides the European continent into tribes and considering that sometimes reality surpasses fiction. Do you think that something like the "Black December" can actually happen?

The “Black December” is a "Worst case scenario“. It is not very likely that something like this will take place, but I think if we don’t watch ourselves and continue ruining our planet like we are, a lot of bad things will happen. Tribes of europa is of course an entertaining Netflix show, but it is supposed to make us think about ourselves too.
 

The second season of Tribes of Europa is yet to be confirmed, let's hope it happens soon. Meanwhile we ask David, in which other series or movies, we will be able to see your work? Do you have any upcoming project?

I do have upcoming projects, but unfortunately I think it will be hard to watch them in Costa Rica. I played in two new TV Shows in Germany, which will soon come up I believe. If you follow me on Instagram, you will be kept up to date 😉.

I hope you enjoyed this interview in our Foreign Corner section as much as I did. We hope to keep you informed of any details we get to know about the second season of Tribes of Europa and of course also other German series that may be of interest to you.