We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ali Alsaleh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ali, appreciate you joining 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?

Growing up a product of immigration, as a family of political refugees from Baghdad, Iraq to Nashville, TN in 2000, I was not afforded the privilege of taking risks. Specifically post 9/11, life for Arabs was difficult, and the name of the game was assimilation; fitting in, finding stability, and creating opportunity went hand-in-hand with survival. My parents instilled in my sister and I the need to build on the sacrifices they themselves made, the risk of uprooting their lives and starting over in America. Therefore, every chance was taken to succeed, to find community, to get good grades, to find a stable job, and to build a foundation for the next generation. And I did just that, staying on course, making sure not to sway the boat heading straight for charted land, eventually becoming a successful architect here in Nashville. I thought I figured it out.
Although itself a very creative endeavor, the mundane desk job part of architecture ate at me and I found myself searching for other outlets to fulfill my innate desire to create.
Then I found film. I consumed it. I began writing, watching, recording. I joined an acting studio. I started booking local projects. I joined workshops. I built a resume. I made mistakes. I got an agent. I booked an incredible job that took me out for 6 months, from Atlanta to Thailand. And I always came back to my desk job. I knew my time at the firm was limited but I was scared to jump. Even after all the successes I had in my 4 years in the film industry, I could not imagine swaying off course. I could not imagine disrupting the promised land of stability and a monthly income in favor of uncharted waters, a career I knew would ignite my passion if I gave it an honest chance.
After 8 years as an architect at the same firm, after 8 years of headfirst ambition towards stability, after 8 years of the need to please my parents and the image of success, I jumped.
Luckily, the ambition that my parents had instilled in me growing up, that creative need to survive by any means, are the same tools that keep me afloat in this vast ocean of possibility. It’s been 4 months and it’s been the best decision.

Ali, 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?

The most influential thing studying architecture had taught me was creative problem-solving. There is no one solution, and every problem can be attacked in multiple ways. That, coupled with a holistic approach to grow in all kinds of ways, has afforded me numerous skills. I am an an actor, a writer, a filmmaker, a co-creator of a production company, an architect, a graphic designer, and a furniture designer. I spend my days building branches, all rooted in the same tree: storytelling. Because whether it’s designing a paperclip, a house, or the secret to your great grandma’s recipe, we all have something to say.
And so when it comes to my clients’ needs or the next feature I’m writing, I’m inspired to tell stories that outlive us, rooted in relationships, in community, and in truth.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Yes is more. Every aspect of my growth can be rooted back to a time I said yes to an opportunity. But it wasn’t always like this. As a natural people-pleaser, I grew up with the anxiety of making sure I didn’t upset anyone. It was a survival tactic to assimilate, to help people around me, to dismiss confrontation. It turned into a habit I didn’t enjoy about myself, a personality trait that put the needs of others before me. And it took a lot of energy.
But as I built a reputation of someone who was always there to support, to listen, and to help (even if it meant at my expense), I realized what I had was really quite the superpower. It was a muscle that needed to be mature to my advantage. Throughout my film career, it became more prevalent, as I said yes to so many opportunities that have directly and indirectly led to more profitable avenues.
So for anyone struggling with saying no, pivot. Pivot your perspective to understand what it means to say yes, within reason of course. When you become someone who is open-minded, open-hearted, and known for doing good honest work, people will keep an eye out, and your name will come up in rooms you never thought you could be in.
Relationships are worth their weight in gold. And energy is the currency by which they are bartered. Luckily, how much energy you have is dependent on your resilience, your ambition, your hustle. What you put out into the world will make its way back to you. That I believe.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I thrive on knowing that my art has made someone feel something. Which is why writing for me is the most rewarding. Knowing that I’ve created a world where people can share their hopes and dreams, and their fears and anxieties, is the ultimate response. What better way to say how you feel, then to create a character that says it for you. That is writing. It is extremely therapeutic to be able to untangle the many little heartaches in my mind, lay them out on paper, line by line, and build and build and build until an entire universe is created in black and white. Then for that to translate to screen and received by someone who at that moment would cry, or laugh, or sweat, or love, or scream, it means everything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.typecastpictures.com/
• Instagram: @ali.a.alsaleh