We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Musa Aden. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Musa below.

Alright, Musa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

First time I took a risk was when I was offered the role of Abdelle in the movie “Malbatt Misi Bakara” in Malaysia. I didn’t have any PTO (paid time off) at my current job, and I didn’t know what to do. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I had to make a decision. My own manager couldn’t find a way for me to accept this role without losing my job. As a Somali Muslim actor, it’s not easy to get this kind of opportunity, so I had to make a decision.

It was a Friday, my day off, and I was just sitting at home, still trying to make the most important decision. Then I remembered I had a 1-on-1 meeting with the West Division President of Xfinity, David N. Watson, about a commercial that I did for my job. He asked me how my acting career was going, and I mentioned the opportunity that I had been offered. I still remember the first thing he said. He asked if I had a work laptop, and when I said yes, he said, “Okay, let me take care of this for you, but make sure to take your laptop with you.” And thanks to his support, I was able to act in an international Netflix movie.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Musa Aden, and I am an actor and father of three beautiful kids. I am also a filmmaker living in Utah. When I started acting, even my own Somali community didn’t believe in me. They thought I was just wasting my time. I remember when they said to me, “This is not for you. You are Somali, and this is for people who were born here.” But they didn’t know that I was built differently. Everything they said and did built me and made me who I am right now.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

My advice to all upcoming actors or anyone who wants to start something is to not give up. Just know that success is not an overnight result. Before you start anything, understand that you may face rejections, doubts, and setbacks. Nothing worth achieving comes easy, and if it were easy, everyone would do it. The reason why not everyone can do it is because they are not willing to face the challenges of rejection and doubt. But remember the initial feelings you had when you wanted to start something. Those feelings are genuine, and you need to hold onto them in every moment.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

What really helped me was surrounding myself with people who are just like me – people who support each other no matter what. If you feel like your current circle is not the right one, trust me, you need to cut ties and find another circle. It was hard for me to give up a lot of things that I used to do in order to follow my dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9448335/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musaadenofficial?igsh=eTVwcjdtaXNoNnps&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Musaaliaden?mibextid=opq0tG

Image Credits
Act 2 picture and Louis boaky