Taking up the roles by storm is Donia Kash, an agender actor aligned with awesomeness. Donia really gets themselves out there as loud and proud and does everything in their power to get the best roles ever. Donia has wanted to be an actor for as long as they can remember. Ever since they were young, Donia performed in Karate in the Mall and has taken great kicks, chops, and other movements propelling their career forward. And some training with their acting coach Andrew Mcilroy.
But that’s not all Donia is capable of doing, they’ve also made a few short films of their own and received a Best Performance award at Emily Carr. So far, Donia’s latest roles have included the energetic and funny Jax in Hearts in the Game, Tattoo artist Meetra in A Million Little Things, and even a fun short film which I (or technically, they) will talk about much later in this interview. In the meantime, let’s learn about these other two roles and some of the great things Donia has been up to. You won’t believe it at all.
HNMAG: Let’s start off with your role as Jax in Hearts in the Game. What was it like playing a role where you were working with clients rather than being a client for publicity?
Donia Kash: Jax is whipsmart, two steps ahead, and loves assisting Hazel and her PR company. Jax sees positivity in everything. It was really fun to just be so good at something, so gifted, and thinking “This is it, this is how we can make something better and make something quick, and helping clients is the best way.” Even though Hazel (Erin Cahill) is hesitant towards a certain client who so happens to be someone from her past.
HNMAG: You also provided some comic relief. Was that fun to do and did you come up with some of your own improvised dialogue doing so?
Donia Kash: I sure did, I was surprised. Being a part of a film like this and being a part of such a supportive ensemble! encouraged me and Jax to just push the limit. I was really happy to see that it was accepted and some of it will be in the final edit of the movie.
HNMAG: And as a positive character in the movie, did you also make the set a more positive place?
Donia Kash: A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do this often. I’m a huge fan of independent filmmaking and we all know how hard it is to do passion projects and projects that your friends are making, so for myself coming onto this project, it was awesome to just be there and make people smile. Make them feel good about waking up at 5 in the morning and then going home late at night.
HNMAG: One of Jax’s bigger issues is rehabbing MLB player Diego (Marco Grazzini) who they used to date. Is it a difficult task for the character or did they take it all in stride?
Donia Kash: Jax had a problem staying cool in front of Diego because Jax is such a huge fan. As much as what happens between Hazel and Diego, Jax just wants to be one of the guys and wants to be part of the hype but at the same time still, be loyal and professional with Hazel. It was really hard for Jax not to geek out.
HNMAG: And you made a good connection with Erin Cahill too right from the start. Did you two feel you could just understand each other instantly?
Donia Kash: It was instant as if we’ve had Thanksgiving or Christmas together. Her kindness and her radiance are very infectious. I will say for someone who’s our leader, our #1, she walks the walk and talks the talk. She makes you feel important, onscreen and off. We met once before we started filming and we just instinctively knew that we were there for each other. I really hope the audience sees that through the movie.
One executive producer on the show said Donia brought both humour and heart and the chemistry with Hazel was magical. Even the crew managed to laugh and get teary-eyed during moments of filming.
HNMAG: You’ve appeared in a few other Hallmark movies. Did you feel this one was similar or was it a lot more interesting and fun to take on?
Donia Kash: This is the biggest role I’ve ever had in a Hallmark film, so I will say this has been a beautiful challenge and a great opportunity. The other Hallmarks I have been a part of have been equally important and I found that the other Hallmarks really showed that I could portray a character that is all about love. That’s something rare to see for people like me. Having that being my foot into Hallmarks and showing how beautiful, romantic, and fun life can be, now I get to play this fun comedic quick witty Jax character that is climbing the biggest mountain as an artist. It’s awesome.
HNMAG: Now for A Million Little Things. It’s been going for quite a while now, how does it feel to be in a show that’s gotten some recognition?
Donia Kash: Amazing, unbelievable. Didn’t even know I was invited to the party until I was invited to the party. I thought a million little things had a great concept from Season 1. I always wanted to be a part of it, and in Season 4 I got my chance. The executive directors, D.J. Nash and Joanna Kerns loved Meetra and they brought her back. I thought this was so beautiful to be part of a heartwarming and heartfelt show.
HNMAG: When you got on set, did you feel a connection with everyone right when you began?
Donia Kash: I play with Grace Park (Catherine) and we couldn’t stop making each other laugh. Her character used to be married to a man and then got divorced. She then starts getting into Meetra’s boss which is Cameron Esposito (Greta). I’m the spark in Season 4 and Grace and I wouldn’t stop laughing because she’s supposed to keep a deadpan face and I’m supposed to give deadpan comedy. Cameron and I had a great boss/employee relationship so I was really protective of my boss.
HNMAG: They even kept bringing you back due to your deadpan comedy. Was it originally part of their plan or have they been finding interesting ways to add you to the show?
Donia Kash: I think originally I was only supposed to be there for one episode, and because it was such a hit with the scenes I was in with Grace, they brought me back for a couple more episodes in Season 4. As for Season 5, since it’s the last season of the show, they brought me back to still be a part of the world. They constantly thought of ways to bring Meetra back into the orbit of the main cast.
HNMAG: So Meetra became more of a central character?
Donia Kash: Not a central character, I wish! Meetra’s role grew from Greta’s employee to a close friend that gets to come to an important party.
HNMAG: Do you feel Meetra should get a spinoff series somewhere in the future?
Donia Kash: Ask any actor if their character should have a spin-off….the answer would always be YES!
HNMAG: What has been one of the greatest moments on set for you
Donia Kash: I have 2! Nailing almost 5 pages on monologues in 2 takes plus a third to have fun, during the shoot of our movie “Hearts in the Game” and… Having the executive producer D.J. Nash tell me having someone like myself on this set and having different storylines that intertwine with a family member of theirs is really important. I’ll always have that with me moving forward.
Donia has made quite a lot of roles in all kinds of shows and movies, even guest-starring roles as well. You can see the whole list on their IMDB.
HNMAG: It’s also my understanding that you’re a filmmaker as well as an actor. Do you find filmmaking more fun?
Donia Kash: Yeah, it is hard and I love it! (laughs) There is never a dull moment! I recently wrote and directed my first short film Ketchup with Me. It all started off with the idea “Man this would be fun” and it turned out to be a mini-production. My friend Adrian Neblit believed in the story and other people believed in the story and it all came together. Everyone’s moved on to such amazing things from this project and I think filmmaking is the thing we do. We love doing it and sometimes we do it with nothing and sometimes we get fortunate to have the ability to do it with some funding.
HNMAG: Do you plan to do any features?
Donia Kash: I’m co-writing a feature film with my friend Ayla Wren. It’s about how adults struggle with friendships. We all struggle to find a friend, keep a friend, and question what friendship means as we get older.
HNMAG: What are your favourite kinds of films to make?
Donia Kash: I would love to make a comedy and more stories about culture because my parents and I are Persian and I’d love to share that with the world someday. I also have a fun idea of an action comedy sci-fi tv series that I’d like to make as well. I have several projects in development which I’m very excited about.
HNMAG: Besides the 2 roles I mentioned earlier, are there any roles you really enjoyed doing?
Donia Kash: I recently did a short film called Magic Trick that’s won a couple of awards, and is still in its Festival run. It’s based on a meat cube with a little bit of a magic trick inside it. Hopefully, we’re going to use that for a sizzle for a feature film and it talks about relationships and dynamics of how people come into each other’s lives. I thought it was such a quick and cool fun way to show an independent short film with all the lights of the restaurant turning on and the LX team making all that happen by magic.
HNMAG: Do you have a dream role you would really like to do or have you done it?
Donia Kash: Power Rangers. I would love to be a power ranger or some sort of X-Man. That would be awesome, who doesn’t want to be in X-Men?
HNMAG: As an agender actor, what are some of the biggest challenges you have found yourself coming across?
Donia Kash: I would say people pigeon-holing me would be one of the greatest challenges. As a performer, I’m a chameleon but I think sometimes when people see you in a certain light or think of you in a certain light they don’t notice your potential. I know as an artist, it’s my job to break those barriers. Sometimes you want to showcase art because we’re artists, we’re actors, we transform. Tilda Swinton has broken the barrier of pigeon-holding and it would be awesome to have that career path.
Wow, was this amazing or what?! I learned a lot from Donia and this interview. I can’t wait to see what else they do. Maybe Donia will actually be in a Power Rangers reboot or be a new member of the X-Men. Those would be some exciting movies to watch for sure.
Watch for Hearts in the Game on the Hallmark Channel. You can see it at one of these times:
Thursday, May 4 8/7c
Sunday, May 7 1/12c
Friday, May 12 6/5c