We recently connected with Mo Anouti and have shared our conversation below.

Mo, appreciate you joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

As a former professional athlete, a bodybuilder to be specific, I was often viewed by casting directors as an actor only fit for certain roles. Bodyguards, bouncers, and henchmen were almost exclusively the roles I got called for. One needs only to look at my earlier work on IMDB to understand what I am talking about. However, I could not blame them for typecasting me as my physicality was quite overwhelming. It didn’t matter that I was a trained actor and that I could speak and perform in four different languages. It took me a couple years to change my physical appearance by downsizing my muscularity. Now I can play a regular sized person and a big guy depending on what is needed.

Mo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began as a professional bodybuilder and transitioned to full time acting. I have appeared on a variety of TV shows including Seal Team, Stranger Things, Lucifer, Young Sheldon and many others. I still stay connected to the fitness world by staying in shape and posting workout videos and exercise recommendations on my Instagram page.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the opportunity to make people feel through your work. Evoking sentiment from your audience is the ultimate goal and the ultimate satisfaction for an artist. An artist’s work feeds the audience’s emotions which in turn feeds the artist’s performance.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Earlier in my acting career getting auditions let alone roles was a challenge. Upon the advice of my acting teacher at the time I decided to try and create my own stuff. I came up with an idea and approach a friend who is an accomplished writer to write a script based on my idea. Two weeks later the script was ready and having put a little bit of money aside I produced and starred in a feature film. It went on to win some festival awards and was picked up by a distribution company. It had a limited theatrical release and was subsequently released on Amazon and Apple tv. The title of the film is “Hero of the Day”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mo_anouti

Image Credits
Luana Maria Seu, Alexander Zamyatin, Mohamaed Mohsen, Matt Sheynis, Jeremy Cohenour