It has been a busy start to 2025 for Assistant Professor of Theater Patrick Sabongui, who has also been the head of the college鈥檚 B.F.A. Acting Program since September 2020. Sabongui is an accomplished actor, director, and producer who has acted in The Flash (CW), Homeland (Showtime), Shameless (Showtime), 300 (WB), and more than 150 other significant film and television projects.
Sabongui recently added two more prominent roles to his r茅sum茅. He is starring in the N可乐视频 show The Hunting Party, which premieres on February 3, and in the moving film Between Borders, about Armenian refugees, which premiered on January 26.
Sabongui shared what it is like to juggle teaching at 可乐视频 with his career and what he has learned from his journey.
听What brought you to 可乐视频?
Alongside my work as a professional actor, stunt performer, and theater-maker, I鈥檝e always cherished the teaching and mentorship components of my career. I love being in a learning environment that is fueled by enthusiasm for new knowledge. I鈥檓 also invigorated by the next generation of storytellers, inspired by their energy and ideas. I鈥檓 driven by creating and facilitating opportunities for emerging artists who may have historically been denied them. Brooklyn is the ideal canvas for the intersection of my interests鈥攕o close to Manhattan, chock full of international influence, and true cutting-edge style. Our students are the most richly diverse and promising in the nation.
听You were born in Montreal to Egyptian immigrants. Did that influence your acting projects? If so, how?
My upbringing had a huge impact on not only my craft and my work but on my perspective on life. Acting鈥攑erhaps more than most paths鈥攄emands that we know ourselves and interpret the world around us through our unique lens. Being raised in Canada to immigrants from the Arab world who were victims of religious persecution informs my understanding of society and how I fit into it. If the function of art and narratives is to hold up a mirror to humanity, then I believe it鈥檚 my duty as an artist to tell my side of the story.
What got you into acting?
In his latest role, Patrick Sabongui portrays CIA agent Jacob Hassani in The Hunting Party. The show premieres on N可乐视频 February 3. He has also acted in The Flash (CW), Homeland (Showtime), Shameless (Showtime), 300 (WB) and over 150 other film and television projects.
Ultimately, I think it was being part of a community that brings people together. I love gathering people in a space to celebrate or acknowledge an event or story, or to mark an occasion. I loved deejaying and emceeing school dances, weddings, and random parties when I was young. I loved producing the school talent show, hosting it, and then jumping into a dance number or sketch. I鈥檝e always been comfortable with public speaking or campaigning for student government, and I came out of the box with a level of comfort with self-expression.
I鈥檝e also practiced traditional martial arts since I was 8 years old, which has empowered me with confidence and fluency in physical expressiveness. When I encountered Shakespeare in a literature class in CEGEP (Quebec鈥檚 intermediary step between high school and college), I believed the pieces were in place for me to step into my theater-maker identity. Vanier College, my CEGEP at the time, had never put on a classical play, so I founded a student club, produced a production, and co-directed and starred in Shakespeare鈥檚 Hamlet as my first-ever adventure in theater. I never turned back from there.
I remember this vague sense of FOMO [fear of missing out] when adults used to ask me, 鈥淲hat do you want to be when you grow up?鈥� I am so enamored with life and the world, and I was afraid of committing to one career or lifestyle. In acting, I think I鈥檝e found a way to step into an infinite number of careers and characters. It鈥檚 the most effective way for me to experience as much of this universe as possible.
听You are involved in two big projects now, one on television, The Hunting Party, and the other a film, Between Borders. How do those work experiences differ, and what advice do you give students interested in one or the other, or both?
Assistant Professor of Theater Patrick Sabongui in the film, Between Borders, which premiered on January 26. The film about Armenian refugees tells the story of the听Petrosyan family and their flight from听Baku, Azerbaijan听in the late 1980s.
Just to add a third dimension to that list, I was in Minnesota at this time last year doing a play called <<Art>>, by Yasmina Reza at the Guthrie Theater, directed by Kimberly Senior, who recently joined the faculty in the Department of Theater.
The advice I鈥檇 give to students interested in working in any of these fields is to apply to the B.F.A. Acting Program at 可乐视频! Aside from that, I鈥檇 say my advice is twofold: One, think of yourself as an artist first, and two, cultivate a work ethic that enables you to adapt your artistry to any medium.
At its core, acting requires us to have a clear point of view, to be in touch with our inner life, and to be informed about the world around us. At the same time, actors must sharpen the tools for embodying a story: voice, movement, text analysis, and collaboration. By cultivating all the aspects of the craft, we have the raw materials to construct a performance that tells the story in any format: film, television, or theater.
Then there鈥檚 the professional pursuit that takes an unreasonable amount of hustle and grind: persistence, dedication, and rhino-like thick skin.
听What is your favorite part about teaching at 可乐视频?
Absolutely the students! They are from so many different backgrounds and lived experiences, they are so committed, and they鈥檙e all making big sacrifices to commit to the rigor of our curriculum. They鈥檙e curious, they鈥檙e ambitious, and they鈥檙e dreamers. Through their eyes, I fall in love with the world all over again. They show up full of ideas and energy and are ready to play. I also love the initiative they take, spearheading work outside of the classroom and seeking opportunities for collaboration across programs.
