Today we’d like to introduce you to Anwar Ali.
Anwar, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Illinois and raised in and around Chicago and its suburbs. My parents met in Chicago at a Reggae nightclub and the rest is history! I’m a hybrid, in a way. I’m first-generation on my father’s side. He is of the Nomadic Tigre tribe in Eritrea and his family settled in Djibouti, Africa in the late 70s due to war. Eventually, he found his way to the United States as a refugee and went from an 8th-grade education to a college gradate and US Citizen. My mother was born in North Carolina and moved to the Chicago suburbs when she very young. I like to think that my melting pot at home is instrumental in how I move and allow perspective to shape my work.
I grew up thinking I was going to be a filmmaker. My mother was a classic film buff and she exposed me very early to the magic of cinema and I found myself engaging with live-action films designed for grown ups from the moment I could talk. While I did watch family films and animation, I was especially drawn to the presence of adult human beings and the way they interacted. I found myself doing pretend “movies” with friends in the backyard and recording my toys with a camcorder and playing different characters with each. I would often reenact films I had seen.
I went through elementary school with this filmmaking dream but in the 5th grade, during a brief afterschool drama program, I realized how free I felt playing characters. There was a confidence boost when I could stand behind a character. I allowed myself to be as big as possible. But eventually acting opportunities were hard to come by and I just continued on with the filmmaking dream albeit not ever forgetting acting. After starting film school, I quickly realized that film production was not for me at the time and I left school completely to explore myself. I traveled the world, allowed myself the time to be still, and took classes here and there to just experiment. One day I decided that I would give filmmaking another shot and took a class. Our final project was to make a short film and an actor did not show up and I was asked to fill in. I was giddy and something clicked that day. I never looked back.
I started doing short films and taking classes around Chicago and eventually found myself at Brown University in Providence, RI getting my Master of Fine Arts in Acting.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road and the steps in my life have been ordered. I was exactly where I needed to be at every point of my life. I was born into a set of circumstances where having a career in the arts did not seem like a realistic dream or possibility. But through that, I always knew my life was meant to be something greater than my surroundings. I endured and persisted through deeply traumatic moments as a child that almost seems unreal today.
Through performance, I just followed the path that was presented to me and I allowed myself to listen to spirit and walk through that journey.
Throughout undergrad, I developed a resilience and hunger that still vibrates within me today. I eventually finished my degree at a small liberal arts school 40 miles outside of Chicago. While there, I auditioned for plays and was not often given access to the best roles. I also immediately got smacked across the face with micro-aggressions when I arrived and was told I got “too big.” I had a strong desire to be great but in my body, it was considered overly-ambitious and threatening. Being in such a white and midwestern environment really fueled me to strive for greater things in a more inclusive environment.
While at Brown, I was entrenched in rigorous study and, yet, life did not stop. My mother got ill and I moved her from Chicago to Rhode Island for months so she could recuperate. This coupled with more trauma led me to deepen my spiritual practices.
It’s a good thing I was spiritually prepared because the pandemic hit right as we were about to travel and perform our Acting Showcase in both NYC and LA. This immediately forced me to ground myself in finding my own path in this business and truly seeing my own worth. Luckily I landed in LA but it hasn’t been an easy adjustment out of school with less resources than usually given to students from my program. Within this last two years, I had to be separated from my mother due to Covid and she ultimately passed away only six months ago. But the journey continues. It all fuels the work.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As an artist, I am multi-faceted. I am classically trained as an actor and that is where my heart lies. Exploring the fullness of humanity and allowing my body to be a vessel to explore what connects us all as human beings. I, of course, am on the traditional grind of auditioning.
Currently, I am working with Free the Arts. It is a holistic arts initiative started by Larry Powell, a genius actor and writer and LA native. With Free the Arts, I and a selected group of Black LA artists are exploring texts and how we can tap into our deep wells and create transformative work. We are essentially workshopping materials and in the coming months will be filming what Larry calls a “film quilt.” A short film that weaves through different forms of media and showcases our unique gifts. This experience has helped me meet and collaborate with so many artists that inspire me daily.
I am also currently developing a one-person show about the effects of meth in the LA Queer community. Particularly Black Queer men. It touches on the dangers that one often faces in the search for community and longing. It started as a thesis project for grad school but has developed into a fuller piece that is very close to my heart.
I am studying to become a Yoga instructor and have a heavy spiritual practice that keeps me level and in tune with the divine constantly. I allow my spirituality to bleed into the work. I want my acting career to serve as a door to sharing what I have learned about healing and tapping into the higher self through books, community workshops, and interviews.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
My entire life has been about taking chances and pushing forward with the abundant opportunities that come from being a risk-taker. I turned down a grad school opportunity because it didn’t feel right for me. Some would say that it was a risk. That freed me up to explore and come out to LA to help a friend move out here. Something told me that this is where I was supposed to be and within a few weeks, I moved to LA. That was a risk.
There is also the risk of speaking your mind, standing in your own truth, and putting your energy out for the consumption of others. Which is what acting ultimately is.
Recently, I have begun sharing on TikTok daily and, for me, that was a huge risk. So many told me I would “blow up” if I used it. And I put it off. Yet something in my spirit told me to just do it one day. Until only a few months ago, I kept my thoughts and sense of humor and unique presence to myself and those close enough to me that I deemed “worthy.” Yet, I realized that if I do indeed want to make an impact on the greater world and be seen, I have to start now. I learned that I have to prepare myself for all the abundance that I am asking for. Turns out that through taking that jump, thousands want to hear what I have to say. I have been growing rapidly and steadily and it is a testament daily that I am enough just as I am. That my take on spirituality, pop culture, and stream of consciousness is valuable.
Risk-taking is ultimately the taking back of your own power. Showing up for yourself and saying, “I am here.”
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theanwarali/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theanwarali
Image Credits
Jelani Cornick Mike Sansone Jamaal Murray
