HOLR is chatting with 2022’s star to watch, Madison Shamoun!

Meet actress on the rise, Madison Shamoun. The talented star is best known for her iconic roles in ABC’s Black-ish and Netflix’s BlackAF, but she has some new exciting projects on the go that she’s sharing with HOLR!

Madison can currently be seen in Season 4 of the hit CW series All American as ‘Skye’, and, this summer, she’s starring as the LEAD role of ‘Billie’ in Amazon’s The Lake opposite Julia Stiles (out June 17^th).  Shot in Ontario, Canada The Lake is poised to be this summer’s new fan-favourite series!

Check out our conversation with Madison below to learn all about the star, her newest roles, and the advice she has for following your dreams.

Talk to us about how your passion for acting, dancing, and singing started at a young age, as well as your overall journey in the entertainment industry, to date.

Honestly, I feel so bad for my parents who were probably so overwhelmed by me! I came out of the womb singing, dancing, and bouncing off of the walls! They were like, “What do we do with this child?” So they put me into any sort of activities that were performative-based, such as dancing, musical theatre, ice skating, and all that sort of stuff.

From there, I started taking commercial workshops and doing theatre, and I told my parents very distinctively when I was 13 that I wanted to be an actor. They told me I needed to go to college for that and so I went to UCLA and studied Theatre, Film, and Television there and got my Bachelor’s. I’ve been building a team and auditioning ever since.

You are an actress on the rise! Not only did you star in shows such as ABC’s Black-ish and Netflix’s BlackAF, but you are also in Season 4 of the hit CW series All American as ‘Skye.’ Plus, this summer, you are starring as the LEAD role of ‘Billie’ in Amazon’s The Lake opposite Julia Stiles (out June 17^th). What are you most excited about in regards to your new projects?

I think I’m anticipating The Lake the most just because it’s taken up so much of my life! You shoot these shows and movies a year or so before they actually come out and then you do ADR and voice-overs and press so it feels like it’s been a year and a half of time since I got the audition.  I’m excited for people to see this one because a lot of work went into it!

In addition to being the recipient of two National Youth Theater Awards for Best Supporting Actress, for your performance as Lucy in “13” and Motormouth Maybelle in “Hairspray”, can you talk to us about some of your proudest accomplishments to date?

Honestly, something I’m really proud of is that in my freshman year at UCLA, they told us that we couldn’t go out and work or audition or be in any shows because it was going to be such an intense program going from high school to college. As a result, they wanted all of our attention to be on academia, which is understandable.

Then, we had some MFA directors that came in and begged our professor to let us audition for them and do a show with them. So, they allowed it, and it ended up being some truly absurdist theatre and I ended up getting one of the roles in the show. That was my first show at UCLA, doing this crazy project- we were rehearsing until 2 AM after taking like 20 units of classes. It was wild! I’m super proud of my 18-year-old self for getting through that.

You recently graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting for Theater, Film, and Television- congrats! What advice can you share to those navigating a similar career path and is there anything you can pinpoint from your studies that you will take with you in your career, moving forward?

I think what benefitted me- or what I really loved- about my program, in particular, is that because it was a Bachelor’s Degree and not a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, I was able to do all sorts of things! For instance, I could study abroad, take minors or learn languages and do internships- sometimes that’s not always the case when you’re just on track for your program. I think this makes you a well-rounded actor and person!

I would say do as much as you can, and do everything you can! Add it all to your toolbox because it will come in handy later.

Published by HOLR Magazine.