Outside Source
Neraida Bega is an Albania-born actress and model whose martial art and stunt skills are as sharp as the swords she can often be seen wielding. With a presence already in top rated TV shows such as Wandavision and video games such as Borderlands 3, her latest success has her front and center in the current expansion of the popular free-to-play game Apex Legends: Escape as its first martial art character, Ash!
Read on to learn more about the amazing woman who brought the deadly video game character to life!
Justin Lee Ford
First off, I’d love to delve into your martial arts background. Of course, I was able to hear some of the stuff you’ve done in the past, however I’d love to hear it from you yourself. Can you delve into your martial arts experience?
Neraida Bega
Yes, absolutely. My martial arts experience started in Italy. I have always loved martial arts, I’ve loved martial arts in cartoons and movies, I would watch all types of action movies. And then, when I had an opportunity to join a martial arts class, I ran [to it].
It was at the Fight Club in Riccione and I trained Muay Thai for several years. I absolutely loved it. I would train sometimes five days a week with professional trainers and we would do drills and boxing and kicks and stretching–all of it. So, that has been amazing. After I moved from Italy to the States, I wanted to continue martial arts and then, obviously, knowing Mr. Mike Chat, I transitioned to extreme martial arts, XMA, and I’ve been training [that] since the beginning that I came here–since…for some years now. It’s great. It’s a whole different style from what I did before, like Muay Thai, but it’s great. I love all types of martial arts and watch videos of kung fu and tai chi and all types of martial arts.
Justin Lee Ford
I love it. I love the enthusiasm especially. There’s always something to learn from each and every one of those styles, right? Well, XMA is such a unique thing. It’s, by nature, such a performative art and acrobatic art. Are there any particular aspects of it that’s helped you in your acting career, in your stunt career, your modeling career?
Neraida Bega
Oh, absolutely. XMA for me first was mental, because you know, learning something new, and performing it over and over in front of audiences, even when you’re like a white belt, and you don’t feel great about yourself and your moves. But then you still do it. The everyday training, and the mentality of “Yes, I can!” and the respect for the mat. All of those things are very special to me, because it shows you the martial arts is not about fighting. It’s first mental for discipline,
respect, consistency, and mental strength. So yeah, that is part of XMA. And then, it’s so cool. It’s so spectacular when you can learn how to do those XMA spins.
Justin Lee Ford
Yes! Absolutely. They look so superb. The latest project that we’re talking about today, your character with Apex legends–Ash, one of the first martial art characters in the popular game–amazes me! She comes across as so elegant, so purposefully, yet also cold and ruthless. And the movements are superb. How did you prepare for the role, either mentally or physically?
Neraida Bega
Oh, thank you so much. Yes. When the audition first came, I had her character description–like you said, she’s cold, ruthless, a predator, but also elegant and precise. So that was the part of figuring out how she moves, like every little move that she did had a purpose or it was very specific, you know.
And then for the action part and the martial art part, like I said, I’ve been training in martial arts, so it was pretty easy for me to figure out choreography and to come up with things with a sword because sword happens to be my specialty out of all the weapons. I had reached a pretty good [level of] proficiency in sword so I was able to do the moves but since the day I got the audition, I trained every single day [doing] my routines and sword, because in mocap, the days can be very long, eight or nine hours of movement. I wanted to be ready to handle the entire day, so I trained with Mike [and also] I trained by myself a lot every day until I did the shoot.
Justin Lee Ford
Phenomenal. You mentioned the sword was one of the things that you loved to work with. Was there any particular [reason] that you just adored working with a sword?
Neraida Bega
You know, I used to see swords in videos or these samurai movies and I wonder, how do they move it? How do they make it look so cool? Just learning how to use such an elegant weapon for me is very beautiful. Because it takes a lot of work and there are so many amazing sword people out there that I respect. I know how much training they do to look like they look–sword is just a very, very interesting weapon and [it’s] very powerful and very scary sometimes, you know [chuckles].
And that’s the beauty of it. For me, training either martial arts or doing a weapon…I love when I can focus on one thing and all my attention is on one thing. When you’re doing sword training, you have to be very careful and very focused because you can cut yourself or even hurt yourself. So…that type of training I enjoy.
Justin Lee Ford
You’ve done a number of different projects from film to motion capture, it blows my mind seeing all that you’ve done.
Neraida Bega
Thank you!
Justin Lee Ford
Respect is given where respect is due. How different have your experiences been when doing stunts or motion capture?
Neraida Bega
So, I have been training stunts. I have done very little work just for stunts–my job has been an actor that knows how to do these moves or is able to do the stunts of the job because now, more and more productions and even directors like to hire people that know how to move for TV and movies. So, it is great for me, it’s so good to know all the aspects of my acting and then when I’m required to fight, I know how to do it, and I feel prepared.
It has helped me tremendously in everything that I have worked on, like the first video game that I did, Borderlands 3. [In] my audition, I had to fight in front of a camera with other people and just come up with fight moves and kicks and punches and then to see it come out. To see the final result, how all my movements paid off, it was very nice. And the same with Apex legends, or the same with Wandavision, I got to act and I got to do stunts at the same time because I was trained to do it. So I think it’s a good skill to be trained in stunts for those who want to do action movies, like me.
Justin Lee Ford
Well, you look so dang professional when you’re doing it. My hat’s definitely off to you.
Neraida Bega
Thank you, I train with Mike Chat, I have to be–he’s the world champ. So, you know, I have to raise my bar here [laughs].
Justin Lee Ford
Each person that ends up in the entertainment industry or the performance industry, they seem to have their own unique story for how they got into it. It doesn’t seem like there’s one true way that you break into it. I’m curious, how did you get into the film industry?
Neraida Bega
Nice question. I love this question. I grew up with a family of artists, musicians, and actors–and I myself played violin for a short amount of time and piano–so arts and performance were a part of my life since I was very little. Like, I started playing when I was five.
Then fast forward, I was not living in Albania anymore. I was living in Italy and I…I had plans to become a dentist. Nothing with martial arts, nothing with acting. I was just doing local commercials or some modeling jobs here and there, but I was focused on my dentistry. Then one day, I received an audition for an action movie. I was like…Okay, I had never acted on
camera before for TV or film, nor done an audition really, but I knew how to do martial arts and probably deliver some lines.
During the process of the audition, I was like, oh my god, this is what I want to do. And in that moment, I think I changed my mind. I was like, will I want to be in a white little coat–a dentist–every day, or maybe I should try the acting career in America. I tried and I decided to go for acting. Like eight months after that audition, I had my O-1 visa and I was on a plane to Los Angeles. Here started my acting career. When I moved here [to the States].
Justin Lee Ford
Wow, that’s a very motivational story to hear actually!
Neraida Bega
Thank you. Thank you. I’m very, very grateful! You know, coming from a different country, you realize how beautiful America is and what the opportunities are. I’m so grateful that it opened the doors for me–just getting an O-1 visa, being accepted for that, for me to pursue my dream was a big deal. I owe the United States my–not my career, but I thank them for opening the doors to me.
Justin Lee Ford
On the idea of travel and exploration, if you could travel anywhere to train in any martial art, where would it be?
Neraida Bega
I have trained Muay Thai in Thailand twice. I’ve been to Thailand twice and both times I went to the gym–you know, the outdoor gym where they do the real deal training, I’ve trained there.
Another thing that I would love to do is go to China and learn how to do Wushu. It’s so beautiful. I would love to do that, but where it’s very strict training and you train for many hours a day and you learn how it’s done. I would always dream of going a year in China and just training martial arts and meditate.
Justin Lee Ford
Yes, I’m sure that will come to fruition at some point in time in your life. You’ve already had so many amazing blessings, I’m sure that would just add to the list.
Neraida Bega
Thank you. Thank you.
Justin Lee Ford
Looking back at your journey from the beginning to where you are now–again, being the actor for characters in top review video games–I’d love to hear some of the lowlights and highlights you’ve experienced. First, were there any frustrating moments or challenges either in your martial arts training or your acting journey?
Neraida Bega
Oh, absolutely.
The biggest challenge in the beginning for me was not knowing the language, and trying to first understand what people are telling me. Google Translator was a great tool. And then, you know, trying to act in a different language–English happens to be my fourth language. So that was challenging because, you know, I wanted to perform a certain way, but my accent or my jaw, my tongue wasn’t used to saying American words.
So that part in the beginning was pretty, pretty frustrating–or going to acting classes and not being able to understand anything. And on the martial arts part, the frustration is…there’s one thing about me: sometimes I expect myself to learn things very fast. Especially being around great martial artists–Mike Chat, also. I see him perform and I want to look like him, and I forget that he has so many years behind him. [It was] the frustration of going from a certain technique to better technique to a better technique, and wanting to be so good right away…but I’m over that now. In the beginning, [it] was “I want to kick like him. I want to do all these cool things” but I couldn’t do them because obviously you need a lot of training.
Acting [and] everything in this industry–in the entertainment industry–has ups and downs and disappointments. We are, as the actors–at least I can speak for myself–I’m so used to the nos now because you audition for so many projects you do and you get a lot of nos and it’s part of it. And sometimes we–I–forget about it. Sometimes it’s more frustrating. But you know, this is a journey and it’s never known what’s gonna happen. I just try to enjoy it, you know, the ups and downs are normal and the failures are normal. But then the good stuff happens, like this one: Apex Legend. *chuckles*
Justin Lee Ford
Absolutely. Well, I’m going to switch over to the highlights in a second, but something you said is blowing my mind: what are the four languages that you know?
Neraida Bega
I speak Albanian. I speak Italian. I speak Spanish and English.
Justin Lee Ford
That’s absolutely incredible.
Neraida Bega
Thank you. I’d love to learn more languages.
Justin Lee Ford
What would be next on the list if you could learn one more language?
Neraida Bega
I would love to learn, probably…Chinese.
Justin Lee Ford
That would help out with the training in China goal.
Neraida Bega
Probably, but it’s such an interesting–it’s so different from the languages that I know because, you know, Spanish, Italian, are Latin based. I would love to learn all languages. That would be amazing. *laughs* But French is also Latin based. I just want to learn something that sounds completely different and is out of my comfort zone, and is very difficult to understand if you don’t know it. Yes, that would be interesting.
Justin Lee Ford
Well, let’s touch on the highlights now. What are some of the moments you just felt incredibly grateful for or you can hardly believe happened? Touch on some of your favorite moments on this journey you’ve been on.
Neraida Bega
I have…I have a lot of them but I will stick to two.
Justin Lee Ford
Okay.
Neraida Bega
One is, I believe it was my first year here in the States and I had booked my first little commercial. It was such a big deal for me because I got my first paycheck. And it was not about the money. I was like, oh my god, this is the first time I’m getting paid in America.
Because I came here with a visa, you know, it felt so surreal, and like, how am I going to get any jobs? How will I do it? You don’t know in the beginning how to do anything. So, when I got this job, and I also got to see myself on TV for this commercial, I was like, Oh, my god, this actually happening and made me feel more confident about my choice and having changed careers and moved countries. So that was one that I will always remember because it was a stepping stone, a big deal for me.
And the other one–the other one is, I saw Denzel Washington in person.
Justin Lee Ford
Oh my gosh.
Neraida Bega
I am–I am not obsessed. I respect and adore Denzel Washington. I’ve been seeing his movies for a long time and he’s my favorite movie star. So, I went to the Fences screening, one of the screenings with a Q&A, followed by the cast. I could not tell you my excitement. I sat second
row, I believe I found a spot, I don’t know how. I watched the movie pretty much looking up. *laughs*
But this way, I was going to be as close as possible when Denzel, Viola Davis came out and the entire cast [as well]. I cannot tell you how dreamy that moment was like. I said, oh my god, I’m in the same room with Denzel Washington. I knew at the the end of the interview, they were going to say hi to some of the people and walk by and I had planned [for this]. I was like, I’ll say something to him, that I really love him, that even his speeches and everything he does inspires me. So he walks by me. I completely freeze. I say nothing. I don’t remember anything. I was–I was nervous and excited at the same time. And all I remember is seeing Denzel walk by and me just like having a little tear knowing that, oh my god, this just happened. I just saw Denzel Washington and he walked by me.
Because for me coming from Albania and growing up in different countries, it’s not a normal thing that happens to you in your life, to go to a screening and just randomly see Denzel Washington. It’s a big deal.
Justin Lee Ford
Yes. That’s such a precious moment.
Neraida Bega
It is. I was like frozen completely, but whatever *laughs*
Justin Lee Ford
What an emotional roller coaster I was on right there [while] listening to you.
Neraida Bega
Oh my gosh. You know when you’re so excited. I was like, oh, my God. That’s–he’s here!. I’m here! I called my mom, I was crying. I was like, “Mom!–because she also loves Denzel Washington–I was like, “Mom, guess what? I saw him!”
That’s a highlight. I have so many. I mean, it’s been great and it’s like a whole different world to live in Los Angeles. You can meet anybody at any time.
Justin Lee Ford
Are there any other upcoming projects we need to keep an eye out for? Of course, readers are really going to be eyeballing the newest character in Apex Legends, Ash, but what else is up and coming for you?
Neraida Bega
I have a movie called Russian Room, where I play a lead. I play an Albanian character like me, Vetone, and I’m telling you, she’s spicy, she’s dangerous, and she deals with all these big men that are drug dealers and money handlers. That is going to be a great movie, I believe, I hope. *laughs*
I love the story and I loved playing her. The name of the movie again is Russian room. I also got to work with Channing Tatum on his new movie called Dog. He also directs it with Reid Carolin. I cannot say much about my character, but it’s very funny. The trailer is out and I hope you all see it.
Justin Lee Ford
I cannot wait to hear more about that and see that soon. Riding along with that question, how can interested readers keep up to date with everything that you’re doing?
Neraida Bega
[I’m] not the best at social media. I do confess *laughs*. I’ve been posting more on my Instagram. Pretty much, that’s the app that I use the most, sometimes Twitter [too]. My Instagram and Twitter are both @NeraidaBega, my name and last name. And they can just, if they want, send me a message, say hi, or [send over] any questions. I’m happy to respond.
Justin Lee Ford
Sounds good. Well, thank you so much for this interview! Social Media: TikTok | Instagram | Facebook I Twitter I IMDB
This article first appeared at Black Belt Magazine
