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BRIGHT FUTURE: Zaraah Abrahams

SINCE THE age of 15, south Londoner Zaraah Abrahams has blossomed on our television screens, with her biggest roles being in Coronation Street and Waterloo Road.

But it is a short film, Black Girl in Paris, which has become the pinnacle role in Abraham’s career, so far.

The 2013 mini movie was shown at the HBO Festival where it was nominated for short film of the year.
After spotting Abrahams in the short film, legendary filmmaker Spike Lee cast her as the lead female in his new movie Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus.

The actress says: "Spike saw [the short film] there then he emailed me directly and said he liked what he saw and that he had a lead part for me in a new film.

“When I got the email I stayed quiet for five minutes and my fiancé said, ‘Are you OK? You seem a bit quiet’.

"And I was like, ‘Yeah, Spike Lee just emailed me’.

Unsure if it was really from Lee, and feeling overwhelmed, Abrahams didn’t reply to the email.

Eventually, he phoned her and then he flew to London to meet her. Abrahams recalls meeting Lee for the first time.

“He was pretty scary. We met up and he gave me the script and I was shaking, I was so nervous,” she says. "I had two days to rehearse for my audition and that was it.”

Spike, 56, who directed Do The Right Thing and the Oscar-nominated Malcolm X, was impressed with her talent. Abrahams landed the part of the agonised girlfriend of a troubled drug addict in Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus - her first Hollywood job.

She says: “I was really nervous to go over to America but [Spike] sent me a lovely email saying he saw something in Halle Berry that he sees in me.

"That was incredibly touching and comforting.”

WORK PALS: The British actress with US film director Spike Lee

Now the actress hopes to make herself a household name, as she prepares for her new role in the US medical drama The Knick.

Though she’s excited to move to New York for the filming, it’s not exactly been her dream to work in the States.

She tells Life & Style: “It’s just my dream to work on great projects. I just want to go where the work is and where the opportunities are really.”

And of course this is not the first time the actress has moved around for her craft, having upped sticks from her native south London to Manchester to film Coronation Street and Waterloo Road.

“It comes hand in hand. Things are filmed everywhere,” Abrahams says. “If it’s a role you’re willing to put your heart and soul into, it’s not a problem.”

Abrahams, 29, grew up in Brixton as the eldest of three children. In her teens she took an interest in acting and signed up to the renowned Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

UP NORTH: As schemeing Joanne Jackson in Coronation Street

Still in school, at 15, Abrahams landed her first TV job in the adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s Girls in Love as Magda - a surprising casting choice, as the book’s character was white.

“It was a huge deal, because I knew Magda looked very different to me, but I didn’t actually receive any criticism for being black.

“Of course there wasn’t Twitter or stuff like that, but everyone seemed really cool,” the actress says.

She continues: “The character still had the spirit of the person in the book so everyone was fine about it. I don’t know if it would be the same story now though with everyone having free range with their opinions on social media. But it was brilliant writing, and I think I captured the character.”

Two years later, at 17, the performer was cast as the scheming Joanne Jackson in Corrie. After two years on the ITV soap, she left and went on to play a schoolgirl in Waterloo Road.

For four years, she played teenager Michaela White, despite being in her early 20s. When she left the show, aged 25, her career began to struggle.

She explains: “Leaving Waterloo Road was hard for me to overcome. I had to leave behind being a child actor and for people to take me seriously as a woman.

“Getting a job is what made me feel good so I had to learn to feel good when I wasn’t getting jobs.”

SCHOOL DAYS: As teenager Michaela White in BBC’s Waterloo Road

She adds: “You can’t act all the time unfortunately. I wish I could, but I have had to work elsewhere sometimes. Instead of being ashamed of that, I’ve just had to get on with it.”

Having filmed Lee’s Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus, Abrahams now moves into her new role in The Knick, where her character is “strong, manipulative and really well-educated”.

“It’s nice to play a grown up and reflect my actual age,” she laughs. “As you get older, you learn lots of things and you want to put the things you’ve learned into these roles and challenge yourself.”

Follow Zaraah Abrahams on Twitter: @ZaraahAbrahams