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He is a fighter who decided to follow his Hollywood dream despite all obstacles. Soufiane El Khalidy was born in Agadir, a coastal city in Southern Morocco. He studied to lead a career in the movie industry and when the opportunity presented itself, he went for it, packing for the USA.
«I was enrolled in a French school in Agadir and after graduating high school I stayed in France for three years to study medicine», he told Yabiladi. «I did not like it, so I decided to stop and come back to Morocco in 2008 for Al Akhawayn University where I opted for a bachelor degree in business, media studies and film production», said the 31-year-old man.
The Hollywood dream
While studying in Ifrane, Soufiane made himself busy, working as a creative writer for several magazines in the country. He has even done interviews, reviews and participated to big events, such as the Mawazine music festival. But his ambitions and determination had no boundaries.
«My Hollywood dream started when I was young … I was a huge fan of Steve McQueen, Tom Cruise, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergmann and all these giants even though it was difficult for me to get into this business», he recalled.
Soufiane’s dream will finally come true after a trip to New York with his Al Akhawayn professor. In 2011, the young undergraduate spent 15 days in New York University (NYU) to do a thesis on American artist, director and producer Andy Warhol.
«After my trip to the US, I knew what I wanted to do, so I applied for a school called Full Sail University in Florida», he explained, adding that the latter is «one of the best film schools in the US».
A movie director and a talented actor
Fortunately, Soufiane El Khalidy was granted a scholarship at the Full Sail University, where he earned an MA in Fine Arts and Film Production. Quickly after joining school, Soufiane unleashed his hidden talents, directing his first short movie «Flags and Masks Down».
The movie was a success for the young Moroccan as it was nominated in 32 film festivals around the world. «I won the Best Director Award in a Los Angeles festival for short films in 2015 and one year later I was nominated for the Phoenix film festival in Melbourne, Australia, where I was considered as one of the top 20 new filmmakers in the business», he proudly told Yabiladi.
After graduating the Full Sail film school program, Soufiane El Khalidy had to make up his mind about the classic decision every actor and movie director goes through : moving to Los Angeles. Once there, his career took a different turn. «In May 2016, I moved to LA, and was able to take part in new projects», he recalled.
Soufiane embraced his talents as an actor in LA, starring in a commercial and a prank video. «It was my first job as an actor, my first paycheck as they say», said the young director.
After these two projects, Soufiane signed with his first agency and started considering acting for a living. The Agadir-native starred in 56 movies and TV shows, one of them is the famous NCIS : Los Angeles. «Season 8, episode 12», he pointed out.
A screenwriter who does stunts
Soufiane participated in music videos with rock stars, such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and One Ok Rock. But the multitalented Moroccan was up for everything while in Hollywood. Apart from directing movies and acting, he also worked as a screenwriter.
«I write scripts and three of them were nominated for almost 20 film festivals in the US», he explained, adding that the last script he wrote was nominated for the Chicago Horror Film festival. «It is called ‘Jukebox Zero’, a vampire story that renders homage to rock bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin and others».
But surprisingly, Soufiane is also a stuntman who did stunts for several movies in the industry, including «Shockwave : Countdown to Disaster» and «Stray», which will be released in 2019.
With his busy schedule and multiple talents, Soufiane managed to make it in Hollywood. He is starring in a new movie called «Gulag Magadan» directed by Michael Kingsbury. He is also featured in a science fiction TV show called «Riley Parra», where he plays the role of an angel called Redone.
Soufiane is also a member of the British Actors Equity Association (BAEA) and was invited to take the Preliminary Auditions of the Actors Studio in New York to become a permanent member.
But to achieve all of this, Soufiane had to work hard, even harder than his American peers. «When I went to LA during the first months it was hard because I had no family and friends there (…) So I had to make sacrifices, waking up at 5 am to audition and writing every morning a script and sending it to production companies and competitions», said Soufiane.
But fortunately, Soufiane's experience as a student helped him get noticed quickly. «When I was a student, I directed so many movies and because they have been in so many festivals, I had a good base to start with», added the young man.
Soufiane’s dream now is to continue working in Hollywood and further his skills in the film industry.
