Today I got the privilege to interview a very interesting new actor named Hussein Dika. This twenty-three year old gentleman not only has unique taste in music, a friendly appearance, but interesting passions. It wasn't that hard for me to keep the questions rolling with his kind of life story... that has just only started! From Hussein telling me about him going homeless for ten days to his many journeys discovering himeself I was completly intrigued and you groovy nuggets shall be as well.
1. What is your full name?
Hussein Mohammad Dika
2. Where do you live?
I live in Beirut, 'kfarchima' 'kfarchima' in Lebanese means the village of Chima.
below is a picture of Beirut
3. What inspired you to be an actor?
I was initially inspired by a local actor named Fady Ibrahim, a name I grew up on as a child. A friend of my father's and a neighbor, influenced by his forceful dramatic presentations I studied acting but eventually my influences went offshore.
4. Where do you act?
As a new actor I would take part in any decent production available, regardless of the genre.
5. What other actors do you look up to?
I've had the chance to work with most of the class A Lebanese actors and I find 'Rafic Ali Ahmad' techniques to be beyond our small country, he was chosen by a french magazine as one of the 100 most impressive Lebanese characters. With his deep voice and expressive eyes he has the ability to portray the unexpected.
6. What short movies have you done?
I have participated in about a dozen short movies, I even did comedy in short movies and comedy is not my preference, my main preference would be drama.
7. What kind of acting would you like to do in the future?
The kind of acting i'd love to take part of in the future is non-commercial acting, even acting can be commercial nowadays. When a production is aimed to sell and only sell i'll opt out if a part was offered.
8. You were in a heavy metal band when you were younger...why did you stop playing and turn to acting?
Music is a major asset I grew up on and still very basic to this very day. As a teenager metal was my resort, was a very efficient way to express myself, to grab a guitar and play whatever I could play back then was a push and a motivation in a sense to carry on. Every good music is my music, I hate classifications and metal is good music. I covered genres from heavy/thrash to death metal & there's always an inspiration obviously. I was 13 when I attended a metal concert in Beirut, afterwards I met a lebanese/international metal vocalist & guitarist that represented Lebanon on several occasions and I must give the credit to him. The energy and spirit he had on stage was very appealing to me, Bassem Deaibess is his name, some call him 'sir black' others 'The Lebanese Dio"' for his high pitch that is similar to that of Ronnie James Dio. The catch is I ask for his advice acting wise nowadays, as a great vocalist he has the secrets to projection when it comes to theater.
below is Bassem
9. What did you play in your heavy metal band?
Heavy metal was the trend I'd say, covering renown bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Pantera, Judas priest and many more.
10. What pubs did you play at in Lebanon?
Many pubs, small gigs every now and then but the main events we performed at were at the Lebanese university main campus, we have a political situation here and religion sects taking over the country, as a non-professional band we were the first to perform metal songs in the Lebanese university in 2008 after many attempts to do so they finally approved us but soon after banned us from performing there again.
11. You said you prefer method acting...what is that?
Method acting is a bunch of techniques used to immerse yourself in the character ought to be played, initially created by the Russian actor/director Constantin Stainslavsky and then adapted in America by Lee Starsberg. what is known as the actors studio, Lee Strasberg institution is based out of New York with another headqueater in Los Angelos. It's an acting school that to some only adds up pressure and hard work to the actor but it has shown great results giving bith to the world's finest actors and I personally use it's techniqes.
12. You mentioned you were inspired by Al Pacino and Robert Deniro...why is that?
Al & Deniro are all time inspirations to many but my list goes further to Woody Allen, Marlon Brando, Micheal Douglas, Joe Pesci, Tom Hanks, Eddie Griffin, Larry David and the list goes on. I relate to Italian American actors though maybe because they have similar features to the Lebanese and the middle easterns in general with their greasy hair and sun tans ha ha... I am no racist though not to forget that Al Pacino and his contemporary were chose as the world's best actors.
13. What resources did you take with you while being homeless for ten days?
Being homeless was a choice to experience the feeling as an acting exercise, I took what is basic to stay alive and a little amount of money to cover transportation and oh yeah two bottles of Jack Daniels to bare the cold showering December nights.
14. Do you have a favorite movie?
I loved Scorsese's Goodfellas, a 1990 production starring Robert Deniro and the Godfather trilogy is amazing I mean Francis Ford Coppola did a great job minding the slightest details from young vito to old vito to Micheal Coreleone. The way Marlon Brando scratches his beard, his tucked jaws and how he walks is literally similar to an ape, that's how an ape functions but he managed to make out of it a godfather how cool is that!
15. What did you do before being an actor? Did you go to school for anything else?
I worked for three years as a financial adviser while I was acting actually, and yes I have a marketing/advertising B.A along with my communication art studies.
16. If you weren't pursuing your acting career...what would you want to do?
Any performance related job, I recently learned basic contemporary dancing to help me control my body movements on stage... maybe a dancer or musician.
17. Can you give us some acting tips for people who want to pursue this as a career?
With my short experience I am not entitled to give tips to those who want to pursue acting but I can share the tips I've been given from professional actors. I had debate one with the Lebanese actor Fady Ibrahim, I told him that it's mere luck in Lebanon to act, if you have the proper money with the proper connections you'll make it here regardless of how talented one is. I was aggravated at that point for the lack of opportunities, I still remember vividly what he said to me. There is no such thing as luck, it's a myth. A chance shall pass by each and everyone of us and he who is well prepared is ought to catch it in other words the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
18. If someone is interested in seeing more of your work....can they contact you?
Yes, I can be reached by mail husseinthehuman@gmail.com
Below is a short clip Hussein Dika was in:
Thank you Hussein Dika for letting Before It's News interview you!
Stay groovy!
Sincerely,
Radical Rose
http://radicalrose.wordpress.com
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