I had the urge to face my own limitation, and I needed to be bigger. I needed to be more professional and be in a more competitive environment because I wanted to grow as an artist. That's why I went to Europe.

It's interesting to be at once an insider and outsider. It's a way of learning how to find your way freely without the need of conforming or belonging.

For me, a taxi is like a public space because so many people get in that space.

The Arab world is mediatised in a way that gives too much space to these people - puritans, extremists, whatever you want to call them. There are a lot more people like me in the Middle East than you might think.

I believe in a higher power. I believe in inspiration.

I do have motivation. A lot of motivation.

I'm so fortunate in my career to be able to share with viewers my travels and experiences with some amazing and talented people and to bring that inspiration to television, books, and the digital world.

Sci-Fi is the genre that explored both possibilities: the end of our existential crisis and the end of our existence. My novel, 'The 5th Wave,' explores the latter scenario, because, frankly, I believe it represents the likeliest outcome of an extraterrestrial encounter. In short, if they're out there, we better hope they never find us.