Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune (and other syndicated outlets)
July 26, 2022
In the Apple TV+ series “Physical,” Della Saba portrays Bunny, a quirky aerobics instructor. “Bunny is Sheila’s (Rose Byrne) teacher, competitor and…victim?” “(Bunny) lives with her surfer boyfriend in San Diego, although she was actually born in Lebanon,” Saba said. Born and raised in England, Saba is now based out of Los Angeles. She’s also a voice actress who can be heard in Jack Black’s Netflix animated series “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.”
Q: Do you think Bunny would make a good travel companion?
A: I’m split on this. She does have quite a volatile temper, but she’s also an adventurer at heart. So maybe if you like to be kept on your toes, then you should invite her on your next holiday. Fortunately, she has a loving boyfriend, Tyler (Lou Taylor Pucci) who adores her company.
Q: Bunny obviously does aerobics. Do you try to keep active when you’re traveling, whether doing sports or hitting the hotel gym?
A: Yes, I do. For the last two years while I’ve been working on “Physical,” I really have worked my way through the whole spectrum of those mesmerizingly strange workout videos from the ’80s. Also, I do yoga, mainly to slow me down. Like Bunny, my default tends to be buzzing around trying to get things done.
Q: Was the United States a culture shock for you after growing up in the United Kingdom?
A: I am from London. I moved to New York first and that felt very similar to London – the pace of everything, the transportation, the people. In L.A., if you don’t know the city, it takes a while to unlock. I think the surface of L.A. felt foreign but when you’ve lived here a while, it is no different.
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: People are fascinating. I live in L.A., which can feel like this pressure cooker of creativity and ambitions. Traveling always resets my brain and reminds me there are so many other ways of thinking.
Q: If you could only pick one place to eat, would you choose a casual meal at a street cart or fine dining?
A: I love this question. How do I choose? Can I combine the two? It would be a casual restaurant. I love Dune in Atwater Village (in L.A.). It’s Middle Eastern food and they have this amazing beet sandwich with eggs. Doesn’t sound amazing but trust me. Or Shojin. It is vegan sushi in Little Tokyo. They have made art out of these vegetables. You go through the bustling Little Tokyo mall and you walk through these curtains and suddenly you’re in this tranquil little room. I’ve gone every year for my birthday for the last six years.
Q: What are your five favorite cities?
A: London will always be my number one. It’s where all my childhood friends and sister live. The theater, Hampstead Heath, summer in the city – you can’t beat it. Beirut. It’s where a good chunk of my family lives. Detroit. Marrakesh. New Orleans.
Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: Tokyo. I’ve never traveled alone, so my plan is to make that my first solo trip this year.
Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A: I am a horrible organizer. Most of my packing usually happens a couple hours before I’m leaving. I always bring a sketchbook and pencils. I love drawing. And headphones. But apart from that, I’m often that annoying friend who forgets some of the essentials, so has to borrow toothpaste or a warm sweater.
Q: What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A: Very little. I like to discover things there. But I tend to research restaurants and little hidden places to eat. Most of my traveling is centered around eating in as many places as possible.
Q: What is your best vacation memory?
A: My favorite vacation would be in Guatemala. It was a very spontaneous trip. I think I decided to go the day before. It was beautiful. We stayed all the way up in the mountains in San José Chacayá with this man, Vinnie. He had lived there for years. We would go on hikes and eat food by bonfires. He would tell us stories about the land. It was a very idyllic escape.
© 2022 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
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