Rising Star Actress Neraida Bega On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Edward Sylvan

Having an accent is not a problem! I used to stress so much about the fact that I had an accent when I first moved here (I could barely speak English) and I believed it was a disadvantage, so I worked very hard to get rid of it and now I have an American Accent. Now I realize it’s not a major problem, as I’ve been able to work with both American and original accent and it feels great.

As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Neraida Bega.

Neraida Bega was born and raised in Albania until the age of 8 years old when she and her family were forced to flee the country via boat due to the Kosovo War. Relocating to Italy, she found a fondness for the arts and became prominent in theater and a classically trained pianist. Though she loved the many ways she could express herself with the arts, her initial professional goals led her to medical school, where she would train to become a Dental Technician.

When given the opportunity to audition for her first role, Bega jumped at the chance, and soon after would leave her home of Italy to relocate to the United States to pursue her acting career. Since, the uniquely beautiful actress would sign with Wilhelmina Models and land roles in the Borderlands 3 video game, Dog (starring Channing Tatum) and Marvel’s wildly popular series, WandaVision. The actress has utilized her heritage: Greek, Turkish and Albanian, to secure her space within a crowded industry. She can speak Albanian (her first language), Italian, Spanish and learned to speak English as her fourth language upon arriving in the states 6 years ago.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I spent the first half of my childhood in Albania, before immigrating to Italy. I spoke Albanian, Italian, English, Spanish and a little Greek. After 50 years of communism, came the Albanian Civil War in 1997. My childhood overlapped with this period where I had to flee the country with my father and older sister. My mother had to stay and take care of her parents. After the civil war, my parents went back and forth from Italy to Albania often, leaving my sister and I, in order to provide a better life for us. My mother was the chief doctor at the primary hospital in Durres, Albania and my father, a private company construction engineer who also built city buildings for the government before immigrating to Italy and experienced extreme hardship and struggle to re-establish themselves in Italy.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Growing up with a family full of artists, actors and musicians sparked the love of performing in me at a very young age. I grew up playing piano, violin and performing music on stage in front of audiences. I always enjoyed the feeling that came with it.

However, I also loved anime and the best part for me was the martial arts. I loved all the action! I remember watching tons of anime, action movies, Marvel/DC films, The Matrix, James Bond films, etc. and I would start dreaming and imagining myself in these tv shows and movies. I always felt like I belonged there. I was so in awe.

Fast forward, while living in Italy I got an opportunity to audition for a role in an action film. I had been training Muay Thai 4 days a week for 5 years. I had never done tv/film audition or acted on camera before. While preparing for my audition, I had this “AHA!” moment and realized that I wanted to move to the United States of America and pursue this career. I didn’t know how or what exactly I would do, but my adrenaline surged, and it was such an incredible feeling running through me! A year later, I was approved for my O-1B entertainment visa and was on a plane to Los Angeles to pursue my dream.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

It was meeting Denzel Washington and hearing him speak about acting. This was at a screening of Fences followed by a Q & A with the cast. Coming from Albania, these things just don’t happen. The chances of leaving the country, going to America, and showing up in Hollywood at a screening with your favorite movie star, who you’ve seen so many times on screen and then actually come face to face with him, it was a dream come true! Making it to the same room with Denzel and Viola Davis, inspired me to work even harder, hone my craft, so one day, maybe I could share the screen with them.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?

I love to prank people! I could watch prank videos for hours on end. One time I wanted to prank my friend at an audition and scare her but who walked around the corner when I popped out, the casting director! Oooops! Yup, didn’t do that again at a casting office. But watch out because I love a good prank!

Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Don’t prank people at casting offices…I didn’t book that one :( hahaha

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m working on a role for an AI, Artificial Intelligence, character. I’ve been wanting to do this kind of role for a long time now. There’s a lot of cool martial arts action involved and that’s all I can say for now!

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

We all have a gut instinct for a reason. If you strongly feel that this is the path for you, and you love it then do everything you can to make it happen. Change your city, country, drop your job if you’re not happy with it, because it is better to try, and give it a shot than to look back later and regret not trying at all. Failure is inevitable. It is part of the process. We become stronger by overcoming hardship. We must change our perspective on failure. It is important to view it as a positive learning part of the process, not negative.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

More than ever TV and film is such an important part of pop culture. People from all over the world look up to and are inspired by those they see on screen. It’s important to have diversity represented in film and television so that people can see those that look, act, and speak like and have the same issues as them. Diversity allows for more stories to be told and we can learn more about different traditions and cultures.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

• Proximity is power. Your environment and who you spend your time with are very important. You have to spend more time with people that are the best and relevant to what you want to achieve.
• Having an accent is not a problem! I used to stress so much about the fact that I had an accent when I first moved here (I could barely speak English) and I believed it was a disadvantage, so I worked very hard to get rid of it and now I have an American Accent. Now I realize it’s not a major problem, as I’ve been able to work with both American and original accent and it feels great.
• Acting is not just a creative process, it’s a business. It is very important to learn about the business side of the entertainment industry.
• No doesn’t necessarily mean no.
• Write your thoughts, dreams, and goals in a journal. When you start writing down your goals, you embed them deeply into your mind. There’s something magical about it. I find it very creative and therapeutic. I wish I had started this sooner.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Discipline and schedule your time and priorities. We get so much more done when we are on a schedule and have routines. High-performance people have consistency and are very disciplined with their time. Working out consistently is also very important for our mental and physical health. Lastly, make sure and have fun in the process!

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Training in martial arts has so many benefits for people of all ages, young and older. I would love to help implement martial arts programs in schools across the country. Martial arts help to develop respect, strong mindset, better focus, discipline, accountability, structure, fitness, along with all the mental, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual benefits.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am very grateful for more than one person. I have different mentors and my family has been a big support for me.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The time is always right to do what is right” — Martin Luther King. This reminds me of what my father used to always tell me, so it resonates with the way I grew up and how I chose to live my life.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Meryl Streep, The queen of acting. I would love to just watch her work. She’s a living masterclass. I would love to be in the room with the best in the world at what she does and ask her questions about her craft.

How can our readers follow you online? Instagram, tik tok, facebook, twitter

Instagram — @neraidabega

Twitter — @neraidabega

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!