At a young age, Mayan El Sayed emerged as a rising star with multiple notable appearances. Mayan has garnered attention and acclaim.
Embarking on a remarkable journey of self-discovery and personal growth, Mayan El Sayed, despite her young age, has swiftly captured the spotlight. With multiple noteworthy roles, Mayan’s talent has not gone unnoticed.
In this exclusive interview, we explore Mayan’s passion for her craft, her personal growth journey, and more.
In your journey of self-discovery and realizing the importance of self-love, what experiences or realizations helped you shift your focus from seeking external validation to finding love and validation from within?
Mayan: Not so long ago, I went through a very tough phase. I was getting a lot of hate, a lot of negative comments about everything; my acting, how I look, and who I am.
People started talking about how I am unlikeable and a lot of other things that shook my self-confidence and made me feel insecure. They pointed out a lot of my insecurities, which made me loathe myself. It was such a low time in my life which led me to therapy.
For me, therapy is very normal for a public figure. Getting external help is necessary because that’s life and this is how you maintain your health. And thanks to that, I came out of this really tough phase even stronger. Now, I know validation and love have to come from within.
These are things you can’t expect from people. Seeking love and validation from others won’t make you satisfied. Not everyone will love you, and that’s the hard truth you have to learn.
I once lived for people’s love, applause, and validation. But after reaching that low point, I discovered they all have to come from within.
They have to come from loving yourself, knowing how to live with yourself on your own, and how to have your own time to reflect and relax. So I think therapy really helped me figure all of that out as well as turning to self-love and self-help books that gave me a new perspective.
I also started traveling on my own which helped me sit and reflect. I started reading, dressing, and even getting glammed up for myself. And all of that had to come with the love, appreciation, and support I really needed from family and close friends. The ones who were always there.
Cutting off negative people and those who don’t help you grow as a person is necessary. For example, I’m no longer reading any negative comments – it’s like I’m fasting from negativity and starting to love myself for who I am, and that will never change.
And if there’s anything that I need to grow and improve in, like my acting skills, for instance – I’m only going to be doing that for myself and no one else.
If you had the opportunity to send heartfelt love letters to five actors or actresses who have inspired you, influenced your craft, or made a significant impact on your life, who would they be, and what would you express to them?
Mayan: I already wrote letters to some of my favorite actresses and I still have more letters to write to a lot of people whom I’ve been watching ever since I was a little girl dreaming of one day becoming a skilled actress like them. A lot of actors and actresses have really inspired me to act, be creative, and be a real artist.
I wrote one to Youssra three years ago when I first started acting with her in “Harb Ahleya” and I got her a gift for her birthday. The letter I’ve written to her was expressing how much I love and admire her as a human being and an actress who greatly influenced me, and how very professional she is, and how much I love watching her every day, practicing her craft and doing what she loves.
She was so happy when I gave her that heartfelt letter, she read it and she loved it. And after three years, she still remembers the letter, which is something huge to me.
I also sent a letter to Mona Zaki on her birthday three years ago, when I acted with her in “Leabet Newton”. I wrote the story of how my passion for acting was first ignited because of the very first time I ever saw her on the TV screen. I remember it the play “Keda Ok”, and it made me laugh as a child and her performance made me want to pursue an acting career to be like her one day.
I also wrote to her about how big of an impact she has had on me since I was very young and how I find her one of the best actresses in the world. She also loved it and her reading it on the spot was very embarrassing because I was very shy about expressing how much I loved her, but it was also absolutely special for me. I’ll always remember this beautiful moment because it created a special bond and connection between us.
I wrote a letter to Donia Samir Ghanem as well last Ramadan when I was working with her. The letter was meant for her and her little daughter Kayla. Donia Samir Ghanem is one of the actresses that I’ve always wanted to act with because I’ve always admired her work. I told her in the letter how “Lahfa” made me push through a very hard time in my life.
I was in grade 12, my last year of school. It was a lot of studying and a lot of stress and pressure on me. I used to watch Lahfa and Laugh from my heart, and it helped me go through this hard time in my life. I also told her how a great comedian she is. She puts a big smile on my face every day, and I loved working with her!
I wrote a letter to her daughter because she was so sweet as she used to come every day on set to give me the biggest hug. That made me want to give it my all and tell her how such a sweetheart she is inside out. Kayla even sent me back a letter after that!
I find writing letters very intimate and beautiful. You kind of connect with a person through words. I still have a lot of actresses and actors to write letters to. I would love to write a letter to Viola Davis and express how I admire her work and her as a person and I would also love to write Nelly Karim a letter.
Tell us about the biggest obstacle you encountered on your path as an actress, a challenge that you initially believed would be overwhelming but managed to overcome nonetheless.
Mayan: I think the biggest challenge is being a public figure, it’s something that I’ve always had a problem with. When I started out, nobody really knew me. I was just doing the work and getting great recognition for it from people. But now, because my name is well known, a lot of people think they know Mayan as a person.
In fact, they don’t know me as a person, just as a figure…”The Mayan on social media”. Which made work m hard for me too, sometimes it makes me feel so in my head about all the things that I do.
This has put a lot of pressure on me to think about all the work I should be doing to please some people’s perspective of me and how they see and view everything I do which I now know is not right because I’m still an actress – I have to focus on my work and not on what others will say, so I’m trying to be more like that.
I’m just now trying not to get all the negativity in my head, I’m trying to live my life as I would like it to be!
I think comparing yourself and your career to others is something that I sometimes find myself doing but trying to fight because everyone has their own path.
And when I start comparing myself to others, I try to get more inspired by their choices, career, and talents. So, I don’t compare myself to anyone anymore.
What is the wildest rumor you have heard about yourself?
Mayan: I hear rumors about myself, monthly, it became a normal thing. I think the wildest rumors are when they get me married or engaged to other actors. I hear about it from people on the streets or even my family members. It’s always a good laugh, you know? Because it makes me think they kind of believe our acting. At this point, I got engaged to like ten actors now.
What are your top 5 favorite Egyptian movies of all time?
Mayan: My top five favorite Egyptian movies are:
- Khali Balak Men Zozo
- Eshaet Hob
- El Zoga El 13
- Saeedy Fel Gam’aa El Amrekeya
- Tito
- Sagheera 3al Hob
What are you currently watching or have just finished watching?
Mayan: Currently, my sister’s got me hooked on this Turkish show called “Fareed” – it’s so long but my sisters are like “You have to watch it!” so that’s what I’m doing right now. I also just finished “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, it’s cute!
What did 2023 teach you so far?
Mayan: 2023 has taught me how to love myself, how to be patient, how to be thankful and grateful for everything, how to be satisfied with what I have, and how to love my own company and not wait for others to complete me because I’m a complete person on my own. It also has taught me that whatever I put in my mind, I accomplish. I made up my mind that I want to graduate this year, which is what I did. I said I want to work on several projects, and I am doing just that right now. It has taught me a lot so far, and I think it’s going to be one of the years that will change my life forever.
You mentioned before that you have many stories to tell. Imagine you have a room full of all your fans. What story would you share with them?
Mayan: I would share with them how as a young girl in school, I was so shy and weak, I was a nobody and I didn’t have a voice but I worked on myself to be able to reach for my dreams.
I’ll tell them that you can always work on yourself and do what you love and find your passion and turn it into a job and keep going no matter what people will say about it because recognizing your own self-worth is what matters and believing you’re worthy of all the great things in the world is the key.
Looking back at this young girl, she wouldn’t believe where I am right now and she would be super happy to know that I’m now brave, creative, and an artist with a voice and a platform of people from all over the Middle East. The transformation is amazing!
But you’ve got to stay humble and grounded along the way. I think my family and close friends helped me with that because they know me – the real Mayan, and that’s enough.
