Mojean Aria

At the age of 6, Australian raised Mojean Aria's pre-school teacher called his parents into the office and recommended Mojean take acting classes as he was constantly imitating everyone and full of energy. Mojean later began studying at N.I.D.A (National Institution of Dramatic Arts) whose Alumni consists of Cate Blanchet, Judy Davis, Colin Friels, Mel Gibson, and Hugo Weaving just to name a few.


His talent was so impressive they allowed him to participate in the adult classes at the young age of fourteen. In 2004 Mojean won a scholarship to the McDonald College High School of performing arts where he was able to study acting for 2 to 3 hours a day while finishing his schooling.





In the 2005 Mojean landed the lead role in the feature film ‘Cross Life’ directed by Claire McCarthy. ‘Cross Life’ premiered at the Sydney film festival. Through 2008-2012 Mojean worked on 25 short films. He studied screen writing and continued to devote his time towards acting study.


In January 2012, Mojean relocated to Los Angeles and a few months later, he landed the role of the young Jake LaMotta in ‘The Bronx Bull’ which will be released next month. Mojean continues to train and work closely with his acting coach Marjorie Ballentine.






AM:  Mojean, are you getting excited now that it’s getting close to ‘The Bronx Bull’ being released?


MA:  Very, very, very excited!!!


AM:  Can you tell me about your part in the film?


MA:  My part is the whole first act.  I play the young Jake LaMotta.  It’s the story of what happened before the rage.  This rage was embedded in him from his childhood and his family.




AM:  That must take a lot of acting skill to portray.


MA:  (laughter)  Well it was certainly a lot of work and research about Jake LaMotta growing up in New York during the depression.  I learned what kind of influence his best friend, his father and his mother were.  Those three people were the biggest influences in his life.


AM:  Were you familiar with him before you made this film?


MA: I’m a huge fan of the first film, 'Raging Bull.’   It’s regarded as one of the greatest films of all times.  I knew a little bit about boxing so I knew he had the famous tag line, “No son-of-a-bitch ever knocked me off my feet.”  Of course when I got cast in the film I learned a lot more about him.


AM:  Do you know how many other actors were up for the part?


MA:  I believe there were a thousand actors who auditioned.


AM: How does it feel to win a part over a thousand other guys?


MA:  It’s an honor.  I was very surprised.  It’s a privilege to be given the opportunity to do that part.  When I found out I had the part is one of the highlights of my career so far.  No doubt about that!




AM:  Can you tell me a little about where you grew up?


MA:  I grew up in Sydney, Australia.  I moved around a lot when I was younger.  I actually grew up living in a hotel which is a little weird.  I came to Los Angeles a couple years ago for a little while and then I went back home and decided to come out here for good.


AM:  Has it been a culture shock?


MA:  Certainly, but Los Angeles is a big melting pot of so many cultures.  I appreciate a lot of different cultures and I like to eat a lot of different foods, so that’s been a blessing.  The American way of life and the American government is so very different than Australia.


AM:  So how long have you been here now?


MA:  I’ve been here for 8 months.  I have my own place and a car so I am all settled in.  I feel like I’m on the right track but for me, Sydney will always be my home.




AM:  Do you have any plans to go back and visit Sydney anytime soon?


MA:  Not really, I’m focused on my work right now and I want to experience an American Christmas so I might go to New York to get more involved with the American culture.


AM:  You must be looking forward to making some more movies.


MA:  Yes I am.  This year has been my very best year so far.  I’ve got some things in the works but I’m not allowed to talk about any of it yet.    


AM: What actor do you want to work with?


MA:  There is no actor who I would get more excited about than Daniel Day Lewis.


AM:  What about a director?


MA:   There’s a few directors but my favorite right now would be Paul Thomas Anderson.  I love his work.  I hope one day there will be something I can do with him.