Awkward’s Wesam Keesh Talks Actors Anonymous Podcast and His Dream Role [Exclusive Interview]

When actor Wesam Keesh isn’t busy playing Kyle on MTV’s Awkward, he’s sharing his passion for acting in lots of other ways.

Keesh, who has also appeared on NCIS, The Mentalist, and Touch, founded a podcast called “Actors Anonymous” that’s all about allowing actors to share advice and experiences.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Keesh about his character on Awkward, the podcast, and his dream role as an actor.

Keesh explained why he thinks Awkward is such a relatable show, speaking to the kinds of experiences most of us are pretty familiar with. “In my opinion, high school is a very unique time for teenagers,” Keesh said. “You go through so many changes and so many phases. You learn so many things about relationships [and] about yourself.”

Those kinds of changes will be particularly important as this season of Awkward moves forward. “There are changes in store, not only for me [Kyle], but for the other characters as well,” Keesh explained. “Especially with this season. It’s more mature changes. It’s getting out of the old habits, because you realize you’re getting older.”

Keesh’s character, Kyle, is not only fun to watch on screen, but he’s apparently also a lot of fun to play. “There’s just so many different ways to play him and so many different line deliveries. The producers and directors really let me have a lot of fun with the character.”

One of Keesh’s favorite scenes exemplifies this perfectly. “Kyle is holding a jar with a spider in there, and it’s filled with formaldehyde. He’s whispering to it, and he’s talking to it, and it just looks absolutely ridiculous. It’s pretty funny.”

In playing that role and several others over the past few years, Keesh has gained confidence in his acting that he wants to be able to share with other artists.

That’s just one of the goals of his podcast, which Keesh also hopes will foster a sense of community among actors. “I feel like that’s been lacking in the last few years. Especially when you first start out in Hollywood, as they say,” Keesh stated. “It can be tough. You can feel really alone sometimes.”

Keesh also offered one of his main pieces of advice to actors when it comes to auditioning: “I think the biggest thing with auditioning for most actors is to realize that you’re extremely unique. Your set of life experiences what you’ve learned in this life is absolutely unique, and no one else has that. That is the motivation for me, and it’s something that gives me confidence when I’m in the room.”

The other thing that he says is important? Having fun. “I used to doubt myself a lot and get really nervous in the beginning. But, slowly, that’s changed. I just love having fun in the room,” Keesh said. “That’s all you can do. Just have fun, and be yourself, and bring out the best of you in there.”

As for a role that Keesh would be especially excited to play, he said his dream role would be to play Alexander the Great. In addition to appreciating the story of Alexander the Great, Keesh also sees him as an incredibly important figure. “A lot of his life principles and the way he executed things I try to adopt in my life as well,” Keesh explained.

When Keesh has the time to relax and watch television, he loves to watch Game of Thrones. “The way they inter-tangle all those stories together is absolutely genius,” he said.

As a final thought, Keesh expressed how grateful he is to fans. “It really warms my heart whenever people respond positively to the show. Or, you know, any constructive criticism to any of my projects. I would love to thank the fans, and the supporters, and my family.”

You can catch Wesam Keesh on Awkward, airing Mondays at 9/8c on MTV. You can also check out the Actors Anonymous Podcast here.