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Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet Bashir Salahuddin, an actor, writer and comedian who is making waves as Hondo in Top Gun: Maverick, but he\u2019s especially proud to be a Hollywood multi-hyphenate.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I always felt really comfortable speaking in front of crowds in high school. When I did my first play, I was immediately hooked. It was the King and I<\/em>, and I didn\u2019t have any lines, but I loved the vibe and culture around the theater. When I went to college, I thought I was going to be a pre-med or pre-law type, but it turns out that I was on stage all the time.<\/p>\n For four years, I kept doing plays, and when I graduated college, I had to figure out what I was going to do. In my third year, I definitely knew I wasn\u2019t going to be a doctor, but rather, I wanted to play one. I did a training theater program in Ithaca, New York, and I learned so much; then I went to Los Angeles, where I began acting and writing in the evenings.<\/p>\n I just wanted to be an actor since writing was something that I enjoyed, but I never thought I would pursue it professionally. When I first went to Hollywood and transitioned from being a production assistant to a full-time actor, I wasn\u2019t getting the parts I wanted. Instead, I linked up with my writing partner, and we got together with a bunch of people and put together a sketch comedy show.<\/p>\n My writing partner and I then started a sketch comedy troupe, which was called Cleo\u2019s Apartment, and it was a success \u2014 not financially, of course, but we sold out every show. We were doing it at this theater on Santa Monica Boulevard and people were coming out to see us every weekend, and it was great. We still weren\u2019t getting the parts we wanted, so we had to create our own opportunities. We ended up making our own material, and we eventually got hired by HBO and AOL when they had a joint venture back in the day, and it was the first time we got to do what we wanted. We made 70 to 80 sketches, and we eventually got on David Alan Grier<\/strong>\u2019s radar, and he gave us our first writing job on Chocolate News<\/em>.<\/p>\n From there, we went to New York and met with Jimmy Fallon<\/strong>, who put us on his writing staff. We were also creating classic bits, like poetry and history of rap with Justin <\/strong>Timberlake<\/strong>, but he was also letting us write and sketch things that we could be in. It was a really beautiful moment to be in New York. We eventually went and did two pilots for HBO, and Amy Schumer<\/strong> booked me for my first feature as an actor. After that, Paul Feig<\/strong> put me in A Simple Favor<\/em>.<\/p>\n We then created the comedy show South Side<\/em> and I ended up getting bigger parts, including Hondo in Top Gun: Maverick<\/em>, which was unexpected. It just all kept coming together, and we just kept working and working. We had plenty of shows and things we championed that never went forward, but you have to indulge in the shows and movies that do get made.<\/p>\n I\u2019m very fortunate that I get to write and act. I always try to inspire people with my own narrative. I am very proud and blessed, as I get to dabble in many things. It\u2019s very satisfying, and it makes you feel lucky if you can be successful in multiple things.<\/p>\n