Unprisoned By Labels: Faly Rakotohavana Is Hollywood’s Most Refreshing New Truth-Teller
Darlings, every so often an interview comes along that makes our little editorial hearts sit up and pay attention, and this is one of those. Faly Rakotohavana, the rising star who captured hearts as Finn in Hulu’s UnPrisoned, is, according to A BOOK OF Magazine, on the brink of something extraordinary. Having read his words, here at Tiger Beat UK we are inclined to agree. This is a young actor talking about race, representation and resilience with the candour of someone twice his age, and doing it all while dressed in KSUBI and Dr. Martens, which, as life philosophies go, strikes us as impeccable.
Keep Calm And Carry On, California Edition
Let’s start with the humility, because it is disarming. Ask Faly how he’s coping with the whirlwind of publicity and his answer begins with a confession: “I’m so excited!” Yes, but also, “I still don’t think I’ve done much yet.” Darling, the man stars opposite two of the finest actors alive and describes the experience as being “blessed with UnPrisoned and its amazing cast and crew”, adding, with audible disbelief, “I mean, I get to go to work and have Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo as coworkers!”
He wouldn’t even accept the premise of fame, insisting he isn’t famous “by any means” while acknowledging the industry is pretty crazy. His prescription for staying sane is gloriously simple: surrounding himself with grounded friends and keeping his family close, which he credits with keeping him in a good mental place. In an era of meticulously engineered celebrity personas, this level of realness is rarer than a quiet red carpet, and Tiger Beat UK salutes it.
Perseverance, Or The Art Of Waiting Beautifully
If you want to understand resilience, look no further than his account of the early struggles. The hardest part of a young actor’s life, he says, is the sitting and waiting around, and nobody has waited harder. He sat through two years of Covid, which was difficult enough that he was ready to quit. But he persevered, stayed in his acting classes, and then, ding, UnPrisoned happened. Then came the industry strike, which he also describes as pretty difficult to get through, but once again he persisted, and UnPrisoned was renewed for a second season. His conclusion, delivered with the timing of a man who has earned it: “Good things come to those who wait.”
Somewhere, a motivational poster factory just went into overdrive, darling. But there is real wisdom here. In a business that punishes patience, Faly chose discipline and faith over panic, and it paid off twice.
Chemistry Lessons From The Greats
Now to the craft, because his reflections on playing Finn are genuinely instructive. The most important part of developing the character, he says, was the chemistry with his costars, Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo. Creating an authentic relationship between the three of them, he explains, is what helped him most in giving an honest performance, describing the energy as always great and calling the whole thing a blessing.
And from Delroy Lindo, he absorbed a lesson that separates working actors from great ones: “Being present is actually a lot harder than you would think.” It is the sort of insight you cannot manufacture, darling, only earn, and he earned it in the best possible classroom. Kerry and Delroy, he adds, have been amazing examples and mentors, and he wants to achieve success similar to theirs. Given the trajectory, we would not bet against him.
Living Everywhere, Running Anywhere
Beyond the set, Faly has been quietly building the most valuable resource an actor can have: a life. His recent routine includes gym sessions, rock climbing and travelling with his family, and he speaks about the value of varied experience with genuine eloquence. “Living everywhere broadens your horizons,” he reflects, and it is precisely this diverse life experience that he credits with shaping his approach to the craft.
There is a wonderful detail in the interview about how he studies too, balancing his education at Santa Monica College with his acting career, a juggling act Tiger Beat UK views with profound sympathy and slight PTSD from our own exam years. And then there is social media, where his honesty is, once again, completely disarming: “I’m not good at social media.” The only thing he really uses it for is funny videos, though he tries to reach out and connect with people whenever he can. We repeat, darling: a Gen Z actor admitting he is not good at social media. An actual unicorn.
The Answer Of The Year
Every interview has one moment that lingers, and ours comes from the closing question. Asked what book he would be and why, Faly chose Maze Runner, reasoning: “Because I am always lost and have no idea what is going on.” And then, unprompted, he kept going: “Also, I just like to run sometimes. Not running like an exercise, but like running at the beach or down a hill… just to remind myself that I have freewill.”
Darling, we have read thousands of celebrity answers, and few contain such unguarded poetry. Reminding yourself you have free will is, whether he intended it or not, a rather perfect thesis for a conversation about refusing to be imprisoned by labels, racial or otherwise. A BOOK OF Magazine titled their feature accordingly, and Tiger Beat UK tips its hat.
The Tiger Beat UK Verdict
Thoughtful, humble, mentored by legends, resilient through the industry’s cruellest waiting rooms and allergic to his own hype: Faly Rakotohavana is precisely the sort of star the next decade of Hollywood deserves. UnPrisoned showed us the talent. Interviews like this one show us the character, and character, as a wise man once nearly said, is destiny.
Keep it locked right here at Tiger Beat UK for everything Finn related, darling, because this one is going the distance. He has the free will, after all, and evidently every intention of using it.
