Engineering a New Actor

Out of anything I have written in my life, this is far and away the most rewarding. Enjoy.


Engineering a New Actor (2007)

“I want drama! I want energy here, Fahim!”

The small, skinny kid from Bangladesh nodded. Fahim Hamid, a freshman at Boston University, took a deep breath and adjusted his neck. Then, he went to work, reciting lyrics from Immortal Technque’s rap song, “You Never Know.”

“She was on her way to becoming a college graduate!” Hamid exclaimed, pointing his finger to his right while swinging his arm from side to side. “Wouldn't even stop to talk to the average kid, the type of Latina I'd sit and contemplate marriage with…”

“Stop! Perform it with even more ‘umph,” said his theater advisor Colin Blatell. “Try it again. Repetition, Fahim, repetition.”

Hamid sighed, but then smiled because he knew his path to the School of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts has been bizarre ever since birth. In fact, he very well could have ended up an engineer. According to College of Fine Arts advisors, Hamid is the first engineering student to successfully transfer into the School of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts in the past decade and the only current Bangladeshi student in the curriculum.

Change of Course

Fahim Hamid was born on November 26, 1988 in Chittagong, Bangladesh and moved with his family to Brooklyn, NY in 1991 when he was two-and-a-half years old. Like many traditional Bangladeshi immigrants, Hamid developed a keen interest in math and science at an early age. He even preferred memorizing multiplication tables to performing in his elementary school play. Throughout his childhood, he and his parents looked at theater and performing more of as a hobby than a potential career. That all changed when Al Pacino gave him a different outlook on acting in 2005.

“I was never really into theater or drama throughout my childhood. I never was encouraged to act by my parents either,” Hamid said. “But I have always liked acting around and have always respected actors. And I remember after watching Scent of a Women, starring Academy Award winner [Al] Pacino, I wanted to try to learn more about actors.”

During his senior year at Stuyvesant High School, Hamid took an acting class, in which he “learned a lot and performed well” compared to his other classmates. This encouraged him to take BU’s acting class for non-majors in addition to his classwork. While taking the class, Hamid decided to inquire about transferring into the School of Theatre.

Before Hamid started pursing his acting interest, he was on the path to becoming an engineer. BU’s opportunity played a huge role in Hamid’s decision towards colleges. The highly ranked College of Engineering program won over his parents, but Hamid kept a certain secret to himself.

“The opportunities are endless and that’s one of the reasons why I chose to go to BU,” Hamid said. “When I was deciding between several schools, I wanted a big school in case I did want to pursue acting. I had it planned that I wanted to try out engineering for a semester or two and then check out the process of transferring [to the School of Theatre]. I just had to sell to my parents that BU was good for engineering as well.”

Instead of sitting at his desk or in the library studying for midterms and finals for his engineering courses, Hamid spends numerous hours in the College of Fine Arts buildings. Hamid says there are empty classrooms where he can practice memorizing and reciting his lines.

“It’s definitely takes a lot of time to get everything down to a point to where I am satisfied [with my work],” said Hamid. “But I’m willing to put a lot of effort into improving my acting skills.”

At Hamid’s rehearsal practice for his performance in Until it’s Gone, a show put on by the freshmen in the School of Theatre on Dec. 12-14, Blatell recommended different exercises for Hamid to try out to find the perfect medium between a dramatic performance and a more subdued approach. After he exuberantly performed Immortal Technique’s “You Never Know,” Blatell encouraged Hamid to look into a classmate’s eyes and “just speak with elegance.”

“Get away from trapping any tension in your throat, arms, and chest,” Blatell said. “In poetry, you can’t have any tension.”

For his piece in Until it’s Gone, Fahim often has stayed in the College of Fine Arts building until after midnight. He cites his work ethic has transferred over from engineering out of necessity due to the intensive acting program at BU.

“I live on the other side of campus, so it’s often a hassle,” said Hamid. “But the only way to get better or improve a performance is to practice. I don’t even know how long it takes to get a performance down pat. I don’t even know if there is such thing as ‘perfection’ in this profession.”

The Transfer Process

Just after spring break in March 2007, Hamid spoke with Assistant Director of the School of Theatre Paolo DiFabio about the possibility of transferring. DiFabio then told him about the audition process and the application he had to file. But after hearing the odds of getting into the School of Theatre, Hamid had a little doubt in his mind.

“I was really intimidated because I never went to a true audition,” Hamid said. “He said that they get about 70 applicants and accept between three and six. He definitely warned me about the process and the fact that I would have to ‘repeat’ freshman year.”
As a result, Hamid spent countless hours preparing and practicing two pieces, one classical and one contemporary, for the audition. This really tested Hamid’s desire to go through with this process since he had several engineering finals during that time period.

“It takes days to get even a line to a point where you say, ‘Okay, I like this,’” he said. “I didn’t really have that much time on my hands so I was very stressed out. My pieces were constantly changing then, and the more they change, the better the piece will become. If you are not changing, then you aren’t making progress. But, with that being said, nothing’s ever perfect.”

According to DiFabio, Hamid was one of 75 transfer applicants to the School of Theatre, which includes both performance and design and production sections. Of the 75 applicants, nine were accepted, including seven intra-university transfer students. Hamid was one of four performance applicants accepted.

“Fahim brings a unique perspective to our program,” said DiFabio. “In my time here at BU, Fahim is the first College of Engineering student I’ve seen attempt a transfer into CFA. He is also the only one that’s been accepted.”

DiFabio says Hamid has “made strong growth and will continue to develop the longer he stays in the program. The one thing he does not lack is passion.”
Although Hamid acknowledges he is always willing to learn and improve, Hamid says he isn’t as “naturally artistic and abstract” as other School of Theatre students since he comes from a science background.

“I’m not as crazy outside of performing, so that provides some challenges,” he said. “But when I get on the stage, I go all out and don’t hold back anything. I get pretty into it.”

Breaking the Stereotype

Friends describe Hamid as “real” and “down-to-earth,” breaking a stereotype many actors value themselves above the normal population.

“A stereotype is just a stereotype,” said Hamid. “I’m not trying to copy the normal drama student. There are just a wide variety of personalities in drama. I just try to be myself whether I’m acting or not.”

Another stereotype Hamid certainly breaks is the perception of Bangladeshi-Americans pursing a career involving math and science. Popular professions include engineering, economics, architecture, and medicine according to an article written by J. Sydney Jones. Many famous Bangladeshi-Americans specialize in studying economics and technology, including M. Shahid Alam, an economics professor at Northeastern University, Jawed Karim, the co-founder of YouTube, and Faziur Khan, the lead architect of the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center.

According to The Europa World Yearbook 2007, at Bangladesh’s thirteen state universities, agriculture, Islamic studies, and engineering are the three most popular majors. Since Hamid was on a path that was widely accepted amongst the Bangladeshi community, Hamid said his parents, Mohammed Akhtar Hamid and Kahleda Begum remain skeptical about his decision because it “breaks the norm.”

Fahim is well aware of this perception, but he says his mindset is all about pursing his interests and dreams, not just what he is good at.

“I entered in the College of Engineering because like other Bangladeshis, I have pretty good math and science skills,” he said. “I love acting and I think I’m pretty good at it as well, so I am just trying to be myself.”

But even Hamid knows he has to work very hard to scratch the surface of his potential as an actor. Even though Hamid says he “has an engineer’s mind,” he will have to continue to dig deep in his heart to find his passion for acting. By focusing on the task at hand and leaving tomorrow’s challenges for the future, Hamid can work hard at maximizing his abilities in the intensive BU acting program. But that doesn’t mean he lacks a long-term goal.

“Do I have a dream? Yeah, it’s to become a big movie star,” said Hamid. “But I know I will have to work hard.”

But in the words of Immortal Technique, “You never know.”