ahmad mada

Actor

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Born in the Year of the Metal Horse, on a full moon Friday at 5 A.M. in June, Ahmad grew up as the fifth of seven siblings in a filled, lively home. His mother, a former school Social Worker, and his father, a Police Officer, nurtured a space where he felt safe to express himself confidently.Ahmad’s journey began with watching cartoons, sketching which evolved into expressive writing, and eventually led to playing. A turning point came at age 13, when he watched The Hours at the cinema—conjuring a feeling for Drama that never left him.He became part of anything that challenged his comfort zone: performing in school plays, being part of English debates and signing up for recreational summer programs—before landing his first paid acting job in a twofour54 web-series pilot. Over time, he built experience in screen acting through student films, independent projects and commercials.In his early 20’s, Ahmad joined Resuscitation Theatre in Abu Dhabi under Maggie Hannan, debuting in a title role for Horqos, adapted from Paulo Coelho’s Miss Prim and the Devil. He later worked with Beyond the Veil, a performance collective led by Zakaia Cvitanovich, and was honored with a Best Actor award by the Turkish Direklerarası Audience Awards for one of the two productions he was in. He later wrote, directed and played in a short play for the Short+Sweet Festival, earning runner-up for Best Actor.While completing his degrees in finance, fulfilling his national service, and spending a year working at a bank, Ahmad continued to train in the arts, including a summer school program in 'Shakespeare and Contemporary theatre' at London’s Guildhall, and a year of dramatic vocational training at a conservatoire in France.He appeared in Seasons 2 and 3 of the Emirati TV series The Platform, was the lead in the independent film Heen and played Jasha’ in the Emirati play Hamour Doesn’t Leave the Cubicle, which premiered to two full-house shows at the NYUAD Arts Center.Today, Ahmad Mada works as a versatile freelance actor across theatre, film and television. His work also includes storytelling for children and performed readings—surrendering to a growing curiosity in emotion and presence.