Maya Jama Aims for Villain Roles as She Pursues Acting Career

Maya Jama, known for hosting Love Island, is pursuing acting with ambitions to play villainous roles. She reflects on early career challenges, her rise in presenting, and her mentorship efforts to support young women from underserved backgrounds.

From TV Presenter to Aspiring Actress

Maya Jama, widely recognised as the host of Love Island and a panellist on The Masked Singer, is preparing to transition from presenting to acting. The 31-year-old revealed to the BBC that she has found "a second wind of ambition" to succeed as an actor, a dream she pursued in her youth but struggled to achieve before establishing herself as a presenter.

"I dreamt of being an actor when I was younger and would try and do all these auditions and would get loads of no's,"

Jama is slated to appear in the second season of Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen, acting alongside Theo James and Kaya Scodelario, although details about her role have not been disclosed.

Zac Mahrouche Picture of Maya Jama in a grey jacket with a surprised look on her face — Maya Jama says she's ready to give acting another try after being rejected from roles as a teenager

Persistence and Early Career Challenges

Reflecting on her early attempts to break into acting, Jama admits she "wasn't as persistent as I should have been" and often felt discouraged, thinking "maybe this isn't for me." She auditioned for the cult series Skins at age 15, reaching the final stage for a role in the show that helped launch the careers of Daniel Kaluuya and Dev Patel.

At 18, Jama relocated to London, initially working in a production company where she "made teas and used their cameras on lunch breaks." Her early work primarily involved presenting YouTube and social media videos before progressing to television. She co-hosted ITV's game show Cannonball and the MOBO Awards in 2017, followed by reality show The Circle and ITV2 panel show Don't Hate the Playaz in 2018.

"I always remember when I started being like 'how on Earth am I going to get on primetime TV as a girl from Bristol doing YouTube videos' - it seemed like a massive reach,"

Alongside television presenting, Jama hosted radio shows on Rinse FM and BBC Radio 1 between 2017 and 2020. Her breakthrough came in 2022 when she took over as host of Love Island from Laura Whitmore.

ITV Twelve Love Island contestants in swimsuits stand behind presenter Maya Jama who is in the centre of the photograph. She is wearing a gold mini dress and has her hand on her hip. — Jama has been presenting Love Island since 2022

Desire for Diverse Roles

Jama explains that she naturally gravitated towards presenting because it allowed her to be herself and engage with people, but now she feels that opportunities in acting have reopened.

"I naturally fell into presenting when I was young because I got to be myself on camera and I'm interested in humans,"

"Now it just feels like the doors opened up again [to get into acting]."

She expresses a readiness to explore new challenges beyond presenting and is keen to avoid roles that mirror her real-life persona.

"My dream role is something completely opposite to me,"

"I've always said I don't want to be what people expect me to be on camera. I'd want to be the complete opposite to that so a monster or a mean, evil person. A villain maybe would be nice."

Perspective on Media Careers and Mentorship

Jama will return as host of Love Island in the summer. Her career trajectory contrasts with many contestants on the dating show, who often use their exposure to launch media careers.

"Some people go on TV shows and can start a [media] career that way,"

"But also understands that for the majority of those hoping to break into the world of TV, it's not that easy."

She acknowledges the difficulties faced by individuals from underrepresented backgrounds or those living outside London, noting that it can be challenging to gain access to industry opportunities.

"I feel like if you are from an underrepresented background or don't live in London it can seem really impossible to sometimes get in a room,"

Currently, Jama is leading a six-month mentoring programme aimed at young women from underserved backgrounds across the UK. The initiative seeks to connect participants with opportunities in TV production, broadcasting, marketing, fashion, and talent management.

Speaking before a networking event, she described the programme as "such a great opportunity to get girls in from all over the UK." Jama hopes the initiative will create a ripple effect, encouraging more young people to enter these industries and pursue careers within them.

"Hopefully there can be a spiral effect of welcoming more young people into these spaces and giving them opportunities to have a career in those fields."