We were lucky to catch up with Sivan Maya recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sivan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew I had a creative spark when I ran around playing Lord of The Rings and Star Wars as child and built my own pod racer. We were a big fantasy and Sci-Fi family and between elves, werewolves and Jedi there was always spirited debate about whom was best, My Barbie airplane soon became the engine of my Pod Racer which was comprised of a laundry basket and a broom. I had my custom Harry Potter ” Cloak of Invisibility” in which I used always sing and dance around the house as a child. I could imagine myself at Madison Square Garden and the crowd . I would perform my heart out in our living room. I loved the fact that I could allow myself to go into a completely different universe and just loose myself in art.

But unfortunately my Singer/Dance career was short lived as I was quick to realize I wasn’t good at it but it didn’t stop me on any given evening. I was quick to find my true calling and passion when I was introduced to Grey’s Anatomy as a kid which was one of the American shows Sweden would actually buy for prime time. I loved the characters, action and realistic plots and when I did my research, I learned that I wanted to do screenwriting and acting.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Growing up I was always a big fan of sports I loved soccer and MMA. Before I started perusing my acting career I competed in Judo competitions and played soccer for 6 years. I was drafted to a pro league at the age of 13. Although I had a prominent sports career my love for the arts took over. I landed my first proper role at the age of 15 in a play called” Is it Really Peace That We Want?” From the moment the stage lights were on and it was my cue; my heart started racing and I knew this was what smiling! I had found my passion.

Through out high school I secured as many roles as I could in between class work . I eventually landed my first big role at the Uppsala Stadsteaern: a large city production. After I graduated high school I decided to take some time off and pursue another interest I had: which was aviation. Both my parents were airline employees and the bug bit me. So off I went . and became a flight attendant And finally it was time to pursue my acting career, I moved to New York City to pick up my training and study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Acting school may have been the most challanging and difficult thing I have ever done, but I’m so happy I did it!

Now that I have my company, Gordon entertainment, and it focuses on storytelling and media. Even though my company is brand new I have started fielding questions and requests from friends, seeking my help with getting their own projects off the ground, Whether that be helping them develop their idea, script formatting, writing strong characters and storylines. I think what attracts people to me is because I’m hardworking and passionate about what I do and my diverse life experiences.

The proudest work I have done as an Actor is having filmed for Under Armor and Adidas as well as performed the play Dolores written by Edward Allen Baker. Dolores that is a very challenging and hard play to pull of it requires real emotional intelligence like another role requires. But with Dolores the characters pain runs so deep and raw you really have put go to those unpleasant places we are scared to go to as actors sometimes. It required many of the techniques that I learned at the Institute to really do this play justice it deserves.

As filmmaker I would say my proudest and most rewarding work comes from the monologue I recently wrote and shot. I made beautiful imagery to match the words of monologue and will be released in summer. I would say I’m proud of all the scripts I have written and I can’t wait for everyone to see what I’m capable of!

My dream Is to become a well rounded and respected actress and Show runner. I draw a lot of inspiration from Taylor Sheridan, Shonda Rhimes and Issa Rae. To achieve my goal I set goals for each year that can take me to the next step, this year my goal was to get my company of the ground and book my first guest starring role on a Network show. And mapping out my next steps for next year. And I firmly believe I’m ready to take on filming my first pilot and booking more requiring roles. I would also love to collaborate with Jam Republic as I have a wild idea I would love to pitch to them!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is not just entertaining people but hopefully inspiring people, making people feel sometime type of way when they watch me or something that I’ve created. I want people relate to my artwork, to the character I’m portraying.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think growing up I always saw how hard my parents worked and I always knew that if I wanted something I’m going to have to work for it! I always worked twice as hard as everyone else and I knew I would have to do that achieve everything I ever wanted in my life! So there really isn’t a story behind my resilience it comes from my background and culture.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sivanmayaofficial/?next=%2F
• Linkedin: N/A

Image Credits
Noah Philipose Isabelle Cotney Mars Bajandas