 He considered casting the main character to be the most challenging, and at one point contemplated using two or three actresses to play the character, since the story spans four decades.He finally met Lubna Azabal, a Belgian actress of Moroccan—Spanish descent in Paris, intrigued by her "expressive and eloquent" face in "Paradise Now" (2005).Although she was 30, Villeneuve thought she appeared 18 and could play the part throughout the entire film, using makeup.