Besides for starring in Weeds from 2006-2012, Meital Dohan has won an Israeli Tony Award, been nominated for 2 Israeli Oscars, and is a chart-topping musician. Meital was kind enough to answer a few questions for us here at Hip Daily:
What inspired you to focus on music instead of acting given you are such a talented actress?
First of all, thank you so much for your compliment! Acting and music are just different mediums of expression for me — I’m still acting and have some exciting acting projects I’m working on… The whole music idea came to me by surprise when I was shooting Dancing with the Stars in Israel and I was advised by a spiritual guide to become a singer. Of course I didn’t believe her, but then it all just happened.
Explain to me the inspiration behind both the song and music video of “I’m Too Sad To Tell You.”
This song was written by Amos Kollek for a movie he directed and I starred in. It’s a song about despair and the intimacy of loneliness. In a deeper way, it’s a song about the human condition because we all feel these things at some point. The creation of the video that accompanies the song was a collaboration with the talented artist Zoobs as part of his portrait video series.
What was it like working with Zoobs?
Zoobs is an artist I admire very much and working with him felt very organic and natural. I like how he combines elements of sexuality, fashion and human experience in his work. We had an immediate bond so it was a special experience working on this together.
What message do you hope to spread with your music, specifically your most recent song “I’m Too Sad To Tell You?”
My art is often centered around love, sexuality and the state of the modern capitalistic world. I’m hoping to get through to people about how we’ve lost the human touch, the human connection. Since this song is part of a soundtrack, I was trying to bring the not so perfect raw feelings we have as humans and bring into this art piece the fragility we all have. I was trying to bring those emotions out. So the message is “It’s ok, we are human, we need to be soft and sad and cry sometimes. It’s part of the experience.”
At what point did you realize that you truly are successful in the entertainment industry? Did that point occur while you were still primarily in Israel, or when you started to reach success in the US?
I had a lot of success in Israel before I ever came to the US — but once I came here I landed the role of ‘Yael’ in Weeds which was really cool and exciting. I think I’m constantly adapting my own ideas of success — for me it’s the privilege to be able to create great art and share it with an audience. This connection is important, and I have so much gratitude every day from just living and receiving love from my fans.
Be sure to check out Meital’s music video for “I’m Too Sad To Tell You” below!