Hi. I’m Dina. I figured I’d just dive right into my life’s story. Well, part of it, anyway. The work stuff. And there is a reason for this, I promise.
I was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When I was seven years old, we moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 11, I got taken to my first street jazz dance class. I was terrible at it, but I told my parents that night that I was going to become a professional dancer, and they believed me. I was dancing in the professional company a year later.
READ: Amazon’s ‘Jack Ryan’ Proves It’s Time Again for an All-American Hero
I still see the people I grew up dancing with to this day. They’re my family. At 15, we moved to Beirut, and I was convinced my life was ruined forever. (It wasn’t.) But I didn’t have the dance company anymore, so that’s when I started acting. A year later, however, we we’re back in Dubai because war broke out in Lebanon. I jumped right back into the dance company, but now I had a new passion, so when it came time to apply for college, I decided to audition for musical theater programs instead of choosing just acting or just dancing. Unfortunately, I didn’t consider two very important things I needed: prepared monologues and a Broadway-caliber singing voice. I walked into those auditions having neither. Surprise—I didn’t get in any where. Not even close. They just looked at me in shock and asked me why I thought it was appropriate to improvise and mush together random parts of “Twelfth Night.”
From there, I applied to a small acting conservatory last minute. I got in! And I moved to New York City shortly after. Two years into that program, the conservatory had a company year that you had to be invited into, and I didn’t get in. I was devastated, but I didn’t give up. I then studied with Wynn Handman, a master teacher and an incredible storyteller, and after a year working with him, my boyfriend at the time convinced me to audition for Juilliard and New York University’s graduate-level acting programs. I ended up getting into both programs, and NYU gave me a waiver because I didn’t have a bachelor’s degree and I graduated with an MFA.
After graduating, it took me three years to book “Jack Ryan,” my first series regular role. It was an incredible experience and one that brought people into my life who feel like they’ve been there all along. During those three years, I studied with Bob Krakower, a genius at his craft. Most recently, I just did a play in New York with a group of artists I am in awe of.
And now, this moment. Having the opportunity to look at the big picture that led to today.
Taking it all in, what stands out to me is this: My parents that believed in me, my teachers, my friends, my boyfriend, the people I worked with, the things that didn’t work out that allowed for the things that did. The beautifully innocent “just did my first dance class and I’m gonna be a pro” confidence.
Do yourself a favor and take a step back, too. Look at the big picture of your life. Start at the beginning. Write things down—it helps! I have a feeling that some moments along the way might surprise you, and you’ll get to reacquaint yourself with that younger you that started this journey in the first place. When you do, you’ll realize that she never left you. She’s been right there, quiet, knowing, silently guiding you all the way to now.
Dina Shihabi currently stars with John Krasinski on “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” which premieres on Amazon Prime Aug. 31.