We recently connected with Catherine Otayek and have shared our conversation below.

Catherine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I grew up in Lebanon, where being an artist is generally not well-regarded and is considered an unsafe path. In a country torn by political instability and economic insecurity, where survival is the priority, being an artist is an act of resistance in itself. I knew I wanted to be an actress from the first time I stepped on stage at 12, but when I graduated from high school, attending acting school without first earning a “safer” university degree was out of the question for my family.
I had the grades to pursue any career I wanted—I could have gone to law school, studied medicine, become an engineer, or gone to business school to secure a safe future. But that wasn’t where my heart lay. After a miserable year in architecture school, I opted for a double major in political science and media and communications, aiming to work in the NGO sector or become a journalist. If I couldn’t be on stage, I at least wanted to use my love of storytelling for a greater good.
After I graduated, I landed an internship at UNESCO’s headquarters and traveled alone to Paris at 21! Working for the UN was everything I could have wished for, but I still didn’t feel completely fulfilled. It was at the movies that I decided to forget about safety and security, take a risk, and follow my dreams. I was watching La La Land and couldn’t stop crying throughout the film. Watching Mia fight for her dream hit home: What was I still doing? Why wasn’t I giving my dream a chance too?
I left my UN dreams behind and enrolled in acting school. At that time, I still needed money, and I remember working two jobs and heading to acting school in the evenings for the first six months. It was an intense period for me—I lost 7 kg in four months—but I knew it was the beginning of something beautiful.
I studied acting in Paris and continued my training in my dream city, New York. Today, eight years later, I am able to sustain myself as a working actress! I quit my job with an international organization a few weeks ago, which also feels like a big risk, but I’ve learned that as long as you listen to yourself and follow what your heart truly wants, there’s no risk that isn’t worth taking!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Catherine Otayek, and I am a French Lebanese actress and singer, living between Paris, Beirut, and New York. I studied acting in Paris and continued my training at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York. I began studying classical singing at the age of 16 and have recently expanded my training to include belting and other “non-legit” techniques (those used in pop music, musical theatre, etc.) to broaden my skills.

In recent years, I have performed in several plays, including at the Avignon Festival Off in France—one of the largest independent theater festivals in the world! I have also appeared in a few short films, though I am eager to gain more experience on camera.

Currently, I am touring France with a musical play titled “Nous étions la forêt” (“We Were the Forest”), written and directed by Agathe Charnet. This play explores themes of forests and resilience in the face of climate change.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I firmly believe that the arts, particularly theatre and film, have the power to shape mentalities and change the way we see the world. This is probably what I like most about my job: feeling that the story I helped tell moved someone, made them reconnect with a part of themselves, or changed their perspective on something.

Last year, for example, I performed in a play in Paris called “Pendant que les autres dansaient” (“While the Others Were Dancing”) directed by Gabriel Arbessier and Sarah Nusbaumer. The play follows the journey of a young girl’s reconstruction and healing three years after being raped by a colleague, as she embarks on an experimental journey into her own mind, confronting and reconciling with different aspects of her personality. Although the topic is heavy and difficult, it was approached with hope, humor, and music, and we made sure to avoid a moralizing tone. We had many women come to us after the shows, telling us they could relate to the characters and felt less alone. We even had a man admit that the play opened his eyes to some of his wrongdoings.

It is in these moments that I am reminded of the important role artists play in society. As a young girl, I did a lot of volunteering to give back to society, and I dreamed of leaving an impact on the world. I am happy that I have recently been fortunate enough to participate in projects that have the capacity to change things, one viewer at a time!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most challenging lessons I had to unlearn was to stop being a “good student.” In school, we’re taught to follow rules and instructions, but on stage or on film, good actors are those who are free and instinctive, who follow their gut rather than what is asked of them. Learning to trust myself and my instincts was—and still is—a process. Acting is about reconnecting with your inner child, the one that was constantly told to behave or stay in line, and allowing it to be free and playful.

Another valuable lesson I learned is the importance of people:

People are my first and most important source of inspiration. I love observing the small details of how someone drinks their coffee, pronounces certain letters, or fiddles with their shirt when they’re nervous. I draw from ordinary people—my neighbor, my aunt, a local politician, or a random person I saw in a café—to create my characters.
Additionally, leaving acting school is often very tough in the beginning. Unless you’re very lucky, you go from being on stage every day to struggling to find gigs. I found my salvation in my classmates. We built projects together and managed to create our own work. Acting taught me the importance of collaboration: you are never alone in the process of creating a play or a film. There’s usually a whole team involved, and even if you manage to create art on your own, you still need an audience to witness it! Generosity, kindness, and a love for people (all people: the ones you know and those you don’t) are the qualities I aspire to embody in my career.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @catherinelotayek

Image Credits

Personal photo:
Roger Moukarzel

Photos CO1, CO2 and CO3:
Virgine Meigné

Photos CO4 and CO5:
Alexandre Ayoub and Julien Lemaire