We were lucky to catch up with Max Cattana recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Max 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?

‘I have no idea what I am doing’. If I hear myself say this, either inside my own head, in conversation with someone or as I pace my bedroom talking to myself…it’s usually a good sign. The larger the gap between where I (the performer) exists and where the work (the play, the script, etc.) lies, the larger the ‘I have no idea what I am doing’ seems to scream inside my head. And that’s where the juice is. That’s the unknown. If the gap is small, and sometimes, when there is no gap. I find I am playing myself, I am playing the ‘known’, there’s no risk and the audience might as well come spend a morning with me while I walk around the streets of Bondi, sip espresso and rub the sleep from my eyes. I don’t necessarily mean that every character I play has to be a one-legged pirate with a stutter. Sometimes a character that is very much like me in appearance and background, can be equally terrifying by the complexity and difference to who I am in that moment, in my inner world. Every artistic pursuit that has felt worthwhile in my life, irrespective of its acclaim, has come from the invitation of risk. Looking at the page and audible saying, ‘I have no idea what I am doing’.

Max, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an Actor. Born and bred in Bondi Beach. I live here in Australia now but move between here and NYC (where I lived from 2020-2023) Bondi/Brooklyn…B/B. My 2 B’s. Those places are home to me. The work I do varies, Film, TV, Theater. They are all different – both technically and energetically. It’s hard to look at the type of stories and characters I am working on now and be able to define what ‘type’ of work I am drawn to. In hindsight it all makes sense. I truly believe that there’s an invisible thread between all the work that I do – and I’d say most actors and artists I talk to feel the same – but when I try to define what that is, if I try to put a label on it, the work becomes like a cardboard cut-out. It feels ‘planned’. Often it’s as simple as: I feel a strong pull towards a project, I open myself up to it, I do it and then years later I look back and go, ‘huh…’I see where that came from’. Time creates space for objectivity. But in the moment you’re not so self-conscious.

When I am not acting. I am obsessively thinking about the next art event I plan to put on. I think despite the overwhelming sense of ‘separateness’ in the world right now, me v. you, us v. them and all that junk, I’ve never felt such a deep longing from those around me to overcome it. It’s as if the world is turning up the heat on a cauldron of pressure around our ‘differences’ so that we finally become too hot and explode and wake up to craziness of it all. This is true across all domains of life and I think it’s important as Artists to act bridge this gap for people through Art. Art becomes a great medium for people with all varying opinions, feelings, tastes to let go of their own beliefs, look at something as a voyeur, to forget ‘themselves’ and through this experience open up their own self-imposed boundaries of who they think they are and what they can be, so that when they return to ‘themselves’, their own ideas of self may have loosened. Loosening the reigns on limitations, fears, doubts, insecurities. And when you do this in community, that’s when we get change. True change. Films or any art for that matter aren’t made to be watched or experienced in isolation. They are made to be watched in community and then for the hours, days, weeks and even years after, be talked about in a dialogue with people. I have put on events in community, celebrating art & films and will continue to do expand this out. The feeling from people here in Sydney around this is electric. I think in a World where we are so hypnotized by a sense of division, the desire for connection through art has never been more important. The desire is there, I just plan to pick up the tools and starting creating the spaces for it to bloom.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s pretty simple. When someone comes up to you and says that the film, the play, the character or any form of art you made changed them. Changed their view on an idea. Changed the way they think about themselves, the world around them, the people they share their lives with, anything, large or small. That’s gold. That’s imagination in action. Your imagination helps others to imagine. Without imagination there is no change. I believe it’s a formula. You can’t change into anything you can’t first imagine. I think that’s most satisfying reward of being a performer. When you’re able to cut through the chaos of the mind, to grab someone who is (as we all are) preoccupied with our work, with our problems, stresses, concerns, when you’re able to cut through that noise and reach someone. Art is here to remind us why we are here. And sometimes we all just need a reminder for why we are bothering in first place. Otherwise life is noise.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Go study nature. I think we need it now more than ever. As the world becomes more digital, disjointed and deranged. Go to nature. Study it. Observe it. Be it. To be nature is our nature. You’re quickly reminded that none of your so-called ‘problems’ exist out in nature. I don’t mean that to minimize suffering. It exists. I also think, and perhaps this is just speaking personally, most my suffering purely exists in my imagination. I think thats a privilege to say that. And so my solution is Nature. The ocean, the wind, the forests – they are all indifferent to whether your loved one left you or you just won a million dollars. Nature holds the space with no judgement. There is no good or bad in nature. There just is. And you’re part of it. Whenever I have felt lost in life, I return to nature. Crises of the soul can’t be solved through Chat GPT. But I’ve found a long exhale, lying on my back, while the ocean holds me…that sets me right back on track. Without fail. Mother Earth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maxcattana.com
• Instagram: @maxcattana

Image Credits

Andrew Fraser, Yoav Erteschik, Devon Tayman, Kyle Porter, Cameron Johnson