These days Shira Haas is grateful to be a night owl. The star of Netflix's Unorthodox—for which she just received her first Emmy nomination—is currently at home in Tel Aviv, where she's filming the third season of Shtisel, the popular Israeli television drama that was her big break. It involves a lot of long days and nights, but Haas doesn't mind. “I like going to sleep very late anyhow,” she tells me. “It works well.”
That mentality will serve Haas well when she tunes in for the Emmys on September 20. “It will be like 3 a.m. in Tel Aviv, but I'm not going to wear my pajamas,” she says, with a laugh. “It's still a once-in-a-lifetime event. I'll wear a dress or a nice outfit, or maybe I'll change throughout!"
She adds, “I'm still processing everything that's happened. It's a dream, really.”
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A very real dream. Haas's portrayal of Esty Shapiro, a young Orthodox woman who leaves the constraints of her strict religious upbringing to start a new life, is equal parts heartbreaking and powerful. She learned Yiddish (“I knew nothing before, so I spent hours—hours—studying so I could be as fluent as Esty”) and shaved her head for the role. After her hair change, Haas says, people started comparing her to Eleven, Millie Bobby Brown's character on Stranger Things. Haas found it flattering. “People would say [Millie and I] are braver and stronger beyond our years,” she says, “plus the ambitious nature of both our characters.”
It's a trait Haas likes to embrace. “Esty is very different from me, but I also felt like I saw myself in her,” she says. “I am so proud of the show because [it shed light] on a culture I didn't really know before. People could relate to Esty's journey, and have empathy for her.”
