by Sherif Awad
-I am an only child, born to a landscape gardener mother and journalist father. Although based in London, a lot of my childhood years were spent travelling, especially to New Zealand, where my mum was from and I have a lot of family. Travelling remains an avid passion of mine today, which helps with the working on location element of my career. I have been drawn to acting and the entertainment business for as long as I can possibly remember.
-Julia Roberts was and still is someone, whose body of work I aspired to. Her skill in avoidance of type cast roles thanks to her ability to portray both comical & serious characters was and remains inspiring.
-I was in every school play my primary school put on before nurturing my craft in GCSE Drama & A’ Level Theatre Studies at secondary school, going on to undertake a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Performing Arts at University.
-I don’t feel it’s ever a good idea to be satisfied with where you are in your career as it can lead to complacency. I personally thrive on constantly pushing my professional limits. And hope never to stop. It drives me to develop as a person in all areas of my life.
-I am lucky enough not to have experienced any such challenges in my career to date. I feel gratitude towards my predecessors for paving the way with the courage, bravery & resilience they have shown especially in the last few years in challenging various social conventions, which might have made things more difficult for people from a gender perspective within this industry.
-I think the dynamics seem to be somewhat shifting in regard to streaming services such as Netflix, in comparison to Cinema which is creating more opportunities than I would’ve thought possible. It’s a really exciting time to be in the entertainment business in any country.
I will analyse a new script’s content for authenticity, which I focus on while embroiling myself in the premise and storylines. I also extensively explore the role, to determine which skills I need to successfully bring the character to life and develop them thus effectively assessing the potential I have to benefit the production.
-My advise to newcomers: stay true to your beliefs and morals. Maintain your integrity. Treat everyone you work with, with the same dignity, kindness and respect that you expect to be treated with yourself to ensure a safe & professional as well as fun working environment. Try to enjoy the journey while focusing on your ultimate goals. It will make the whole experience so much more enjoyable.
-When I’m working on a project, I eat, live, breath and sleep it. My husband is very easy going and takes that in his stride. He doesn’t have anything to do with the industry so when I am enjoying my private life with him, it’s easy to do so without work discussions getting in the way of that. While we are both incredibly committed to our careers and able to dip in and out of work when we need to, be it via phone or computer etc, we are also able to indulge in our passion for foreign travel, visiting National Trust properties and enjoying meals out. As long as you consistently prioritize what you have going on, it’s not too difficult to maintain professional focus as well as enjoying your personal life to the fullest extent.
-We are currently in preproduction for a fantasy film loosely based on a popular fairytale. I can’t say too much apart from the fact that I’m really excited because it is the first project of this nature & genre that I’ve ever done and can’t wait to get started filming once the current international health situation is safely over.
