As any aspiring actor knows, all it takes is one yes in an ocean of rejections to get your big break. 29-year-old Beshoy Mehany, well-known on the Internet for his entertaining prank videos, has received his: a featured role in Gain, a $40-million movie scheduled for release in 2022. He is both thankful for the new door that is opening in his career and reflective about the journey he has taken from living in Cairo, Egypt, where he was born, to being a respected actor in the United States. We sat down with Beshoy to hear more about his life and to get his thoughts on what it takes to make it in an industry that routinely crushes the dreams of thousands of hopefuls each year.

“I was born on January 7, 1992, so I was about nine years old when the acting bug bit me,” Beshoy remembers. “My father had just died, and I think I probably needed some sort of outlet for what I was feeling. I was fascinated by the very idea of stepping into the mind of a completely different person and acting out their emotions and story. Before that, I had dreamed of being an engineer, but this was something completely different. It grabbed my imagination and just wouldn’t let go. It’s why when I got into high school in Jersey City, I headed straight for the theater department and signed up.”

To break into the acting world, even when you’re young, you must have money and connections, two things Beshoy didn’t have. “They were definitely obstacles that seemed so large and immovable,” he says. “I had a choice even at that age: I could sit there and stare at the problems, or I could find a way around them. With the encouragement of my family, I set out to create a path to my dream despite having no money or knowing anyone.”

At age eighteen, Beshoy was ecstatic when he was selected to be on TV. “It was a reality show called Bear Swamp Recovery,” he states. “ I was very polite and calm as I spoke to the casting director, but when I got off the phone, I started yelling and jumping up and down. My mom probably thought I was nuts, but when I told her I had gotten a role, she went crazy, too!” 

Beshoy worked hard for the TV show and learned so much from its crew and his fellow actors that he left the show convinced that acting would be the only career for him. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, honestly. When I enrolled at New Jersey Institute of Technology, I started taking all these acting courses even though they wouldn’t count towards my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. I simply had to learn everything I could to become a better actor.”

In 2019, Beshoy became more strategic about his career path and decided to begin making prank videos that would be shared across social media platforms. “I knew that Hollywood is an extremely competitive industry,” he explains. “I needed to get my name out there so that a production company would notice me, so I began to put out a lot of content so I could show them what I can do. My videos received millions of hits on different platforms. I also worked as an extra in a lot of TV shows and movies to get experience, always knowing that I was one step away from getting the one chance I was looking for.”

His strategy paid off. Beshoy was offered a featured role in Gain, and he jumped at the chance to act in a major movie. “I am so incredibly excited to be doing this,” he reveals, smiling. “Just like any actor, I may have had to put in several years of hard work to get here, and I have received more rejections than I care to remember, but it’s all been worth it. I am going to keep going forward and have faith that the next door will open at exactly the right time. And the next one. And the next one after that. By working hard and staying positive, I will get to where I want to be in the movie industry.”

Beshoy is thoughtful when asked about the advice he has for other young actors who want to get their start. “It’s definitely an industry that rewards persistence,” he answers. “You can’t ever stop trying, and you’ve got to believe in yourself. If you stay determined and develop yourself as an actor, you will eventually achieve your dreams just like I am doing.”

For more information on actor/influencer Beshoy Mehany and to watch the videos enjoyed by millions on the Internet, please visit:

Website: www.beshoymehany.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beshoymehany/?hl=en 

IMDB: www.imdb.me/beshoymehany