We had the pleasure of chatting with the incredibly talented Tarek Ziad, a rising star whose work has been making waves across the industry. With a unique blend of creativity and passion, Tarek has quickly carved out a niche for himself in the acting and comedy circuit.
A Yale graduate, Tarek had to fend for himself at a young age. Whether you’re familiar with his work or just getting to know him, Tarek’s insights promise to be both inspiring and enlightening. Let’s go!
Before we get into the career section of this interview, let’s discuss your huge accomplishment of graduating from Yale University with a Theater Degree! What exactly did you do to gain entry into this Ivy League school? How many other schools did you apply to? Why did you choose Yale? Tell us the biggest takeaway you had from attending Yale.
My parents immigrated to St. Petersburg, FL from Morocco and had never gone to college, but they were very clear that I definitely had to. That being said, I was planning on just going to the University of Florida and calling it a day. Coincidentally though, I somehow turned out to be an incredibly competitive overperforming perfectionist who basically HAD to be the best or he was going to die. And that was totally self motivated; my parents didn’t care at all about being the best, they just wanted me to show up. But I did show up, over and over and over, and eventually I realized I was good enough to get into a place like Yale. So I applied early, got in, and didn’t apply anywhere else! I mean, it was YALE and I got a full ride, so it wasn’t really a hard choice. My biggest takeaway? There’s no way to predict why anyone gets anything amazing in life. All you can do is grind and try your best. Sure, I got in because of all my hard work and my diverse background, but there were also nepo-babies and legacy kids who were some of the dumbest and laziest people I have ever met in my life haha. This lesson translates pretty well to trying to be an actor—Keep your head down and grind on your own business, and don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s because there’s just too many factors.
You breakdance! Please share a video of you breakdancing. What are your favorite moves? Who are your favorite breakdancers?
Hahaha, I haven’t breakdanced in so long. I’m sorry but I don’t have a video on hand. Mostly I was whipping out some variations of the coffee grinder and head spins that my dad taught me when I was younger. I don’t follow many breakdancers, except for the viral 65 year old Benihana, or Ben Hart. But that’s mostly because I’m friends with his daughter, Madi Hart, who’s also a comedian and actor.
You were on The Equalizer television show. What similarities and differences did you find regarding working on the small screen vs. in a theater? Please share a behind the scenes story about The Equalizer.
There are so many differences I’m not sure where to start haha. Sure you’ve still got to be emotionally grounded, present, and attentive to your scene partner, but the way you have to use your energy is just so different. Your kinesphere can be so much smaller on screen compared to when you’re trying to fill an entire theatrical space. It was my first TV role, so it was definitely a lesson in the casualness required of some performances. A behind the scenes story? Well I met a pretty cool talent agent that day because she was coincidentally there as the chaperoning parent of her daughter who was a child actor in that episode (she was not her agent though, conflict of interest I suppose). So you never know who you’ll meet on set! Always good to talk to people!
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on so far?
Definitely NEON’s Stress Positions by Theda Hammel. It was my first time being on set for a feature film and even though my part was small (they wrote it in for me after going with someone else for the lead role), I learned so much just from being there. And I got to go to Sundance for the first time! Theda Hammel and John Early are real generational talents, so also just knowing them and getting to be inspired by them is such a treat.
Who have been the most influential people in your professional and personal life?
It’s hard to uncouple the two, because as an artist who surrounds themselves with other artists, anyone I know personally who’s been influential in a huge way has probably had an impact on my professional life as well. Deborah Margolin was a professor of mine from Yale who later became my mentor in solo performance, and then ultimately became like a mother for me after my actual parents disowned me for being queer. We still collaborate together to this day—in fact, I just flew into NYC to be in a reading of her play Turquoise at The Yale Club. Other than Deb, I worked on a short film with Pun Bandhu a few years ago and that was so awesome. Beyond being wickedly talented and so kind and generous, he also has an incredibly stable, happy, and healthy relationship with his long term partner, which is a rarity for older queer men. He’s a wonderful role model and someone I strive to emulate.
What do you think sets you apart from others in your field?
I think the amount of life I’ve lived and the experiences I’ve persevered through and grown from have given me a certain charisma, charm, and humor that’s one of a kind. When you go through the things I have at such a young age and come out the other end, you’re either goofy as hell or incredibly morose. It’s how we cope! I personally went the goofy route and it makes it so that whenever I’m on stage doing a play, stand-up, or improv, or on screen, I have an energy that radiates off me in a way that just stands out. I was recently told “the room shifts around me” when I’m performing. Sure, growing up in abusive households and having problematic parents is one thing, but how many people do you know that have been attacked by a bear?? Like UNDER the bear. It’s usually just me haha. I also grew up idolizing Jim Carrey and Maya Rudolph so the crazy things I can do with my face and voice are pretty top tier in my opinion.
How did receiving the SNL Scholarship at the Groundlings Theater impact your career, and what was the most valuable lesson you learned from that experience?
It’s been such an amazing opportunity to get to do improv again. It’s expensive to do comedy at these schools, so the last time I’d done improv was at Yale when I was the director of my nationally touring college group. Getting to be at The Groundlings for free has been huge. I get to tell people, “Hey, not only am I an improviser, but I’m at the Groundlings, and not only am I at the Groundlings, but I’m doing good freaking work there, to the extent that I have a scholarship paid for by SNL to cultivate talent exactly like mine.” That’s so baller! It’s really gotten people to take me seriously as an improviser and comedic voice. And as they should! I’ve been doing improv for like five years and I’ve been funny since I could talk. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned there has been finding the truth, or the “why,” within whatever wacky characters you come up with. Because sure anyone can change their voice and make a funny face and call it a character, but unless you really understand that character’s background and who they are, it’s hard to live in them convincingly.
You’re the lead role in the AFI Thesis Film Teen Mary. Tell us about your audition. Give us some insight into your character and the storyline.
This is actually a great example of how you never know what goes on with auditions, but at the end of the day, what’s meant for you is for you! Teen Mary is a comedic retelling of the story of Jesus’ birth from the bible, but this time Joseph is a closeted gay guy and Mary is a young adulteress. They come up with the idea that she’s pregnant with the son of God to cover their asses, and then it all spirals out from there. I initially sent in a tape for the role of Joseph from the public casting notice and never heard anything back, which sucked because I was soooo right for the role. Then fast forward a few weeks and the creative team reaches out to me saying I was recommended by a friend of the director/writer (I’d only met the person who recommended me like twice prior). Apparently they were struggling to cast the role of Joseph until my social media handle was sent to the team, and then they immediately reached out. I did a live session with them, we all hit it off, and I was offered the role shortly after. What’s crazy is that as it would turn out, they’d never seen my original self tape! Somehow, it was missed amongst all the other submissions! That’s the power of having an awesome network and trusting in the process I suppose.
What’s your involvement, if any, with the LGBT+ community?
This is such a funny way to ask this. It’s like, “Ah yes, the LGBT+ community. I play board games with them once a week. They’re good people… ” Ha, in all seriousness, yes I am queer. I grew up in a really conservative Muslim household though, so I didn’t really come into my sexuality at all, let alone my queerness, until pretty late into college. That background is ultimately why I had this big falling out with my family after I came out. But understanding myself and being surrounded by people who truly love me has always been far more important to me than repressing any of my truth.
Anything else you’d like to say?
Just keep grinding! I mean it’s funny to do an interview like this when I myself often feel like I have nothing to be interviewed about because I’m nowhere near where I want to be in my career yet, but it’s all a journey. I’ve gotten so close to some big stuff, and it’s fallen through for reasons so beyond my control that all you can really do is vibe! Grind, vibe, repeat! Also follow me on Instagram, LOL.
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