Today we’d like to introduce you to Mahmoud Mahmoud.
Hi Mahmoud, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Cairo, Egypt and my family migrated to the US when I was four to Parsippany, New Jersey. I grew up in two worlds. When I walked inside my family home, it was like walking into Egypt, when I stepped outside the house it was America. The food, language, and cultures were completely different. I made friends from all over because Parsippany is a very diverse town in New Jersey. I always had a love for performing, so I would be a part of school plays, the choir, athletic teams and would ask my parents to take me to New York because I would find these acting agencies that turned out to be pay to play organizations. When I returned to Egypt for the first time at the age of ten, the trip shaped my life in wanting to get involved in international humanitarian organizations.
However, I never lost my love for performance. Growing up post 9/11 as a Muslim in America also had an effect on my life especially because the name Mahmoud Mahmoud is so indistinguishable. So, as I got older I kept mixing between my life goals which are performing and humanitarian work. I worked for the United Nations in Kenya, Somalia and Egypt after I graduated with my master’s degree in Arkansas. I knew I didn’t want to work the rest of my life with the UN because I was missing the performance aspect so I returned to New Jersey and that is when I got involved in acting. I started working on small projects and student films to build a foundation all the meanwhile, I was working for an immigration and nonprofit organization resettling refugees into America. I simultaneously acted and worked as a community organizer around housing, education and safety issues in lower income neighborhoods across New Jersey and New York. I knew after those experiences that I must take off and come to LA if I wanted to be serious about acting. So, I drove from New Jersey to LA on an eight days road trip with my mother and came to Hollywood.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I have been rejected many times in auditions. I even wrote a book called the Beauty of Failure, where I outlined multiple setbacks in my life when I tried to go after my goals such as running for public office a few times and family setbacks.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known as a film actor. I have recently been on Law and Order: SVU, which is set to air September 6th. I have won best actor at the Sun LA Film Festival for my role in a movie titled “Method”. I am the lead role in the film about a Syrian father and his daughter about to cross the sea as refugees to escape war torn Syria. I have busted completed two back to back theatre plays – Vice, which was at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and Banned at the Broadway Fringe Festival at Theatre Row in an off Broadway show and I have just published a book titled “The Beauty of Failure”. I am the host of my own podcast titled “Life Happens”. I believe what sets me apart is that I wear multiple hats and have lived many lives and in many countries. Running for political office, working in entertainment, working for the United Nations and being an immigrant speaking multiple languages has provided me with a grounding and the luxury to be able to travel to 40 countries and experience many lives all in one.
What makes you happy?
Relaxing in a jacuzzi. Because it’s a place where I can’t and don’t want to focus on to do lists and what I am missing out on or what I have to do. I feel like I have this urge to constantly be doing something otherwise, I feel like accomplishments are slipping away and being in a jacuzzi allows me to stay present and just relax.
Pricing:
- The Beauty of Failure – $9.99
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Mahmoum1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MahmoudMahmoud1025
