Please tell us about yourself:
Hello, my name is Alex Dhima and I am 11 years old. I live in Milton, MA. I just graduated from my elementary school, Collicot, which I spent 5 years at taking French alongside English. I also do a lot of other things when I’m not in school: I love to play soccer, football, basketball, bike and swim. Plus I enjoy drawing, Lego building, playing the piano at an advanced level, eating a lot of Provolone cheese and a bunch of food, studying a lot of math, and most of all acting.
When did you start acting? What got you started?
I started acting 4 years ago when I was 7 years old. Initially it started as a part to complement my piano recitals and my parents thought that the acting part would help me connect better with the audience and also express myself better.
Hello, my name is Alex Dhima and I am 11 years old. I live in Milton, MA. I just graduated from my elementary school, Collicot, which I spent 5 years at taking French alongside English. I also do a lot of other things when I’m not in school: I love to play soccer, football, basketball, bike and swim. Plus I enjoy drawing, Lego building, playing the piano at an advanced level, eating a lot of Provolone cheese and a bunch of food, studying a lot of math, and most of all acting.
When did you start acting? What got you started?
I started acting 4 years ago when I was 7 years old. Initially it started as a part to complement my piano recitals and my parents thought that the acting part would help me connect better with the audience and also express myself better.
Alex on the set of WISHBONE Tell us about your acting experience:
While continuing with my piano recitals I decided to take acting more seriously and attended “Acting for the Camera”, a class taken a number of Saturdays at Boston Casting, to get more familiar in front of the camera. I got cast in 4 student films and one of them, WISHBONE, was nominated for “Best Drama” and I was nominated for “Best Actor” in the Campus Movie Fest in Los Angeles. I am also working on 2 web series; RED CIRCLES and FAMILY PROBLEMS.
I found out that acting in a theater setting is different from acting in a movie when I was working on “Real Realism” (you can read an article about it here). This was a contemporary theater play and I was one of the 5 characters, staying on the stage the whole time for an hour and ten minutes.
I enjoyed so much musical theatre with Boston Children’s Theatre over 3 consecutive summers performing in Footloose, Legally Blonde and currently Pippin.
In addition to the above, I also got cast for a Care.com commercial and an educational video.
While continuing with my piano recitals I decided to take acting more seriously and attended “Acting for the Camera”, a class taken a number of Saturdays at Boston Casting, to get more familiar in front of the camera. I got cast in 4 student films and one of them, WISHBONE, was nominated for “Best Drama” and I was nominated for “Best Actor” in the Campus Movie Fest in Los Angeles. I am also working on 2 web series; RED CIRCLES and FAMILY PROBLEMS.
I found out that acting in a theater setting is different from acting in a movie when I was working on “Real Realism” (you can read an article about it here). This was a contemporary theater play and I was one of the 5 characters, staying on the stage the whole time for an hour and ten minutes.
I enjoyed so much musical theatre with Boston Children’s Theatre over 3 consecutive summers performing in Footloose, Legally Blonde and currently Pippin.
In addition to the above, I also got cast for a Care.com commercial and an educational video.
What’s it like working on a webseries as opposed to a film?
Working on a web series opposed to a film is actually not that different, but for filming a web series you need to film much more often than films. Usually, I film episodes every weekend or every other weekend and sometimes we don’t do scenes from the same episode when we film. Each episode takes an estimated 8 or 9 days (8 –9 weeks) to film. In some ways, I would have a deeper understanding of my character in a web series because since you film often and for a longer time, it gives you a chance to learn more about the character than films (as far as my experience with student films).
What’s your method for “getting in character”?
The way I usually get into character is by thinking about what is going to happen in the scene. Mostly, I think of what my part is and how I become part of the scene and then I usually adapt myself to it.
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened while you were on set?
One of the funniest things that have ever happened to me while filming is me trying to “complete an obstacle course”. When we were filming once, I had to go out the door and the camera was right in front of me, so I bent down and went under the camera. Then when I came back in, I had to twirl around the camera, which was right in front of me again. After, the director yelled cut and said in jest to stop thinking it was an obstacle course. I started cracking up.
Working on a web series opposed to a film is actually not that different, but for filming a web series you need to film much more often than films. Usually, I film episodes every weekend or every other weekend and sometimes we don’t do scenes from the same episode when we film. Each episode takes an estimated 8 or 9 days (8 –9 weeks) to film. In some ways, I would have a deeper understanding of my character in a web series because since you film often and for a longer time, it gives you a chance to learn more about the character than films (as far as my experience with student films).
What’s your method for “getting in character”?
The way I usually get into character is by thinking about what is going to happen in the scene. Mostly, I think of what my part is and how I become part of the scene and then I usually adapt myself to it.
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened while you were on set?
One of the funniest things that have ever happened to me while filming is me trying to “complete an obstacle course”. When we were filming once, I had to go out the door and the camera was right in front of me, so I bent down and went under the camera. Then when I came back in, I had to twirl around the camera, which was right in front of me again. After, the director yelled cut and said in jest to stop thinking it was an obstacle course. I started cracking up.
Alex in the middle of filming a scene in WISHBONE
Nominated for "Best Actor" (Campus Movie Fest LA) What was the hardest scene you’ve ever filmed?
The hardest scene I’ve ever filmed was the first episode of Season One of FAMILY PROBLEMS which was the last scene we filmed. That day, it was one of the coldest days and I had to wear a short sleeve shirt. The worst part is that it also started to snow.
If you could choose, what three actors would you really want to work with someday?
Some day, I would really want to work with Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Johnny Depp (Heath Ledger if he was alive).
What is your dream acting job that you’d like to do one day?
My dream acting job is to be in a well known Hollywood Movie that would require my BEST acting skills and all my efforts will pay off.
What advice would you give to young actors who want to pursue their passion?
My advice to young actors is to keep going and not give up. If you audition for a movie and you don’t get the part, it doesn’t mean that you are a bad actor, it’s just there was someone better than you. So keep on acting and practicing and you’ll soon find yourself improving and being number 1!
Thanks for taking the time to be interviewed, Alex! Stay updated with Alex's acting ventures be following him on twitter. You can also view past and present episodes of FAMILY PROBLEMS on the show's website.
The hardest scene I’ve ever filmed was the first episode of Season One of FAMILY PROBLEMS which was the last scene we filmed. That day, it was one of the coldest days and I had to wear a short sleeve shirt. The worst part is that it also started to snow.
If you could choose, what three actors would you really want to work with someday?
Some day, I would really want to work with Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Johnny Depp (Heath Ledger if he was alive).
What is your dream acting job that you’d like to do one day?
My dream acting job is to be in a well known Hollywood Movie that would require my BEST acting skills and all my efforts will pay off.
What advice would you give to young actors who want to pursue their passion?
My advice to young actors is to keep going and not give up. If you audition for a movie and you don’t get the part, it doesn’t mean that you are a bad actor, it’s just there was someone better than you. So keep on acting and practicing and you’ll soon find yourself improving and being number 1!
Thanks for taking the time to be interviewed, Alex! Stay updated with Alex's acting ventures be following him on twitter. You can also view past and present episodes of FAMILY PROBLEMS on the show's website.
--Interview conducted by Audrey Larson
RSS Feed
