We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Abdoh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Hannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
It took me a few years of growth to learn to appreciate everything my parents did for me. I often describe my parents as my best friends. Which I know sounds aggressively corny but it’s true. They are two of the most interesting my people I think I’ll ever meet in my life and I feel extremely lucky to say that. My mom has this quote that I try and live by and it’s “Interesting people are interested” and I think that’s one of the first things my parents taught me or perhaps what they nurtured in me and my brother growing up was innate curiosity. Curiosity about the world, people, cultures, languages, customs. Whatever feels unknown or uncertain, to move towards it. I don’t think I would have had half the experiences in my life without embracing that mindset.
Another thing my parents did right is from a young age they threw me into different environments. A lot. I grew up speaking French, Farsi and English as a young child. I often found myself in different cultural contexts due to my heritage and I’m especially privileged for that. But I remember the distinct feeling of knowing that my Iranian grandmother’s household was very different to my Canadian grandmother’s household and having the ability to switch on a dime. It gave me a certain sensibility in reflecting people and adopting different styles of communication; learning what made them comfortable. My parents taught me that because they themselves had such acute differences between their cultures and upbringings; their love story and knowing what I’ve come from is one of the things I’m most proud of in my life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I had never acted growing up and kind of started out of nowhere. I had moved to New York with the hopes of becoming a War Correspondent and was working with some incredibly impressive people in the field. I was interning on a documentary on Mexican cartels for National Geographic and my training had come to an end. I had thirty days left to my visa in New York with nothing to do. I decided to look up programs at studios in the city and came across Lee Strasberg and a few others. The first time I’d ever recited a monologue was in that audition room so it’s fair to say I had no idea what I was doing. Looking back, I am proud of myself. I think it would have been easy for me to never try and just continue on a path I was doing well in, that I’d spent years working towards and building connections – though who knows, maybe I had the right instinct and had I never tried would have always wondered. I want people to know that when they are working with me, they are working with someone extremely dedicated. I spend a lot of time building connections, I find coming up with different approaches to accessing the work the most exciting part. That’s the fun part about acting. There are no rules, there’s only what works for you to believe who you are, where you are, what is happening. I always want to go the extra mile and I’m very excited about what’s to come, the people I’ve met and will meet hopefully and what we’ll create together.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or when the work really pays off is when an audience is moved by what they are watching. Even if it’s one person in a crowd who laughed or was able to access something within themselves or was shifted in any way – to me it is always the most rewarding feeling after a performance because I think that’s where art’s power resides. And we as artists have the privilege to be the channel through which those things are connected. As humans, our greatest power is love but we are often operated by fear – art confronts that by creating the space in which the audience can drop their guard and let something speak to them, console them, confront, awaken, enrage them. But hopefully it does something, even if it provokes a negative reaction there is something within that, there is a root to be explored.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
That’s a great question. A lesson I’ve had to unlearn… Though I love my hometown, I feel like I grew up in a culture and society where people don’t like to ask much of each other. Growing up in London, especially in the environments I grew up in, asking for help felt frowned upon because of the misconception that if you did ask it meant “you couldn’t do it yourself”. I’ve tried to reframe that narrative for myself and accept that there is no image of myself that I am trying to upkeep and acknowledging that I’m trying to achieve big things. No man’s an island as they say, everyone needs help and no one wants your success more than you do. People often admire persistence and consistency. If you ask for advice or you want to collaborate, if you have an idea or you see an opening for yourself, go and get it! Don’t worry too much about coming off a certain way and don’t wait for people to offer. The important thing is that you remember the cycle and I’m a firm believer that we give back the kindness and generosity that was sent our way when we are able to do so. So, it’s not about receiving support and taking it for granted, it’s about understanding and appreciating what is given to you, being grateful and showing that gratitude by proving their investment and giving in return in whatever ways you can.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: hannahabdoh
Image Credits
Cortado Short Film 2023 Federica Borlenghi