By Travis Johnson
Ishak Issa wasn’t going to be an actor. Although he had enjoyed it as a hobby growing up, he had set his sights on a career in pharmacy and was working towards that goal. However, the bug never left him, and a little over a year ago he decided to defer his studies and try his hand at a performance career. Now, with a number of short films under his belt and a couple of small roles in higher profile fare such as the legal drama Janet King and fantasy epic Gods of Egypt, he’s about to break wide with a key role in the upcoming Channel 9 crime drama series, Hyde and Seek, starring Matt Nable and Emma Hamilton. We checked in with the up-and-coming young actor to see how he’s handling his rapid rise.
What prompted your choice to pursue acting as a career?
I wouldn’t say it was a choice really. I had been acting throughout my entire life. School plays, creating performances at home; it was all I ever did aside from writing and reading. However, I actually went ahead and pursued it as a career at the beginning of last year. I deferred my university studies and made the decision to just go for it. I think I had had enough of the people around me telling me what I could and couldn’t do, and I decided to go ahead and do something I knew I had to do.
Did you study acting formally?
I originally moved to Sydney to study Pharmacy at Sydney University. But I spent most of my time either absent from lectures or in them writing scripts instead. In terms of acting, I’d say my biggest teacher has been life. The experiences that I have been through and the interesting people I’ve met. I also studied drama throughout school, and did some short courses, accent training, and casting workshops after deferring university.
What was your first professional acting job?
My first professional job was last year on an episode of the ABC TV series, Janet King. It was a funny story actually, I was getting my hair and makeup done when the makeup artist asked me how long I had been in the industry for; and you should’ve seen her face when I told her I had only been in it for a few months!
Was there one piece of advice you were given that you found particularly useful as an emerging actor?
No. I wish I could add more to this, but that’s the blunt truth. The advice I’d give to actors is to go out there and make their own stuff. But they probably already know that.
Tell us about your experiences working on Hyde and Seek.
It was good. A fantastic crew and cast, and I learnt so much on set. I was shooting over the space of two weeks, and had the pleasure of being directed by David Caesar (Idiot Box, Dirty Deeds), who’s a great director and a cool guy too. I also had the chance to see the first episode during the wrap party and damn, shit is going down! It’s going to be messy, and you won’t be able to get off your seat for 50 minutes (give or take advertisements).
What’s up next for you?
Right now I’m overseeing the post-production process of my own film. It is a comedy film, and it mocks a variety of things prevalent in modern society and the film industry. I was inspired by some of the issues I saw or heard about in the film industry which I disliked and decided to tackle them in a light-hearted way. Aside from acting in the film, I was also the writer, director, producer, and I lent my vocals on one of the songs in the film-it was hilarious (and very soulful).
Hyde and Seek airs later this year.
Worked with this guy before, star quality if i ever saw it