There are many ways to prepare for a first-ever lead role in a Hollywood film—but only one actress in the world can look into the eyes of the best director in the world - some would say the best in history - and receive personal inspiration from him. Daniella Pick, who stars in "The Perfect Gamble," the upcoming film by director Danny A. Abeckaser, shares in an interview with Yediot Aharonot how she nearly turned the role down—until her husband Quentin Tarantino stepped in.
“At first, I hesitated,” Pick says. “I didn’t want to be away from my kids for days of shooting. The thing I love most is being a mom—doing every little thing for my children. I’m the only one who drops them off, picks them up, cooks. Saying yes to a film requires a total shift in mindset.”
The daughter of Israeli music legend Svika Pick and wife of the Oscar-winning director, Pick reveals how she ultimately said yes after encouragement from both her mother and Tarantino. “I said no to so many projects, including TV hosting and judging roles," she says. "I’m an all-or-nothing person—if I can’t give something my full attention, I prefer not to do it. But my mom and Quentin both said, ‘Daniella, how can you turn this down?’ That’s when I called Danny A. and said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”
Rehearsals took place in the power couple's Tel Aviv home, in what Pick describes as a “professional but comfortable” setup. “Quentin played David Arquette’s role with me so I could practice. Of course, I couldn’t bother him all day, so I recorded him reading the lines into my phone and walked around the house rehearsing with his voice. It was like we were doing constant run-throughs.”
Pick, also a brand ambassador for lifestyle label SAISEI, opens up about life in Israel during wartime. “People ask if we stayed in Israel during the war, as if we don’t spend much time here. But for us it was simple: this is home. I’m Israeli. It never crossed my mind to leave for the U.S. or anywhere else when things got tough. So many people here suffered—and still suffer—during the war. Who am I to complain?”
For the first time publicly, Pick also addresses the loss of her father, Svika Pick, one of Israel’s greatest musical icons. “It’s still very hard to talk about. I can’t talk about it without crying. Time hasn’t made it easier—the loss is terrible, the grief is deep, and the longing never stops," she says. "I’m so much like him in personality. I know exactly what he would say about everything. We were extremely close, texting and talking all day long. He was the best father in the world, unbelievably devoted to his family.”