What does it take for a football player to become a Hollywood star?
While many college football players can leave the impression of leading hedonistic and status-driven lives, fuelled by accolades and adoration, during the late 1960s, Hollywood actor Tommy Lee Jones had to juggle a dual existence; changing into costume after football practice and dashing out of the locker room for theatre rehearsals. Throughout his time at the prestigious Harvard University, he balanced his roles as student, athlete and actor.
This too is how Hassan Ibrahim managed to go from playing college football, whilst simultaneously sharpening his skills as a professional actor, all while caring for his cancer-stricken mother. The tenacity and grit he garnered from balancing these different roles was the perfect segue for his future career in the competitive world of Hollywood.
The steps to crack Hollywood
Ibrahim is a dreamer. From a young age he had monumental aspirations and his sights set on Hollywood. During his time at the distinguished University of California, Berkeley, he made it onto their football team as one of the California Golden Bears. And Like Tommy Lee Jones before him, he was able to take the discipline and hard work fostered on the football field and parlay it into his acting career.
His first role was in 2016 when he fortuitously and unexpectedly landed a role on the Shonda Rhimes produced How To Get Away With Murder. Whilst auditioning for another part, he was instead cast as a stand-in for Alfred Enoch. And so began his first experience being on set, meeting the crew and immersing himself in the experience of TV making.
From there, he appeared in several TV shows, including Sunset Glory: Doolittle’s Heroes, Kingdom, and Fear Of Love. This was followed up by a pivotal role as the main character’s brother in Perspectives, a short film that grapples with racial inequity and discrimination.
His most notable roles to date have been in various recurring roles in the critically acclaimed Netflix production 13 Reasons Why, created by Brian Yorkey.
Nepotism and the bitter side of ‘who you know’ type networking has been prominent in Hollywood since the beginning, with a vast array of names getting their leg up in the industry due to their successful family members and the connections they have. With these constant hurdles, Ibrahim understands how difficult it is to break into Hollywood and the mental and emotional toll it can take. But he is confident that now that the right doors are opening, he will find a place in Hollywood.