At 18 years old - Naya Federman has achieved what many people never do.
Her journey began at just eight years old when she quickly made her way to featuring in hit classic musical - The Jungle Book. By the age of 12, she landed her first movie, Guavas, and proceeded to feature in three-hit summer movies: The Treasure Across the River, Gesta, and On the Edge: Gesta 2. Along with her other impressive accomplishments, Naya performed as Debbie on the stage musical hit Billy Elliot and recorded the theme song as Disney's Princess Repunzel for the popular animated TV series Tangled! Naya even earned the role of Ori in Nickelodeon's three-season sitcom Dog House - a television show that is extremely popular all around the world.
"This was Naya's Favorite role," a source close to Federman said. "She mainly enjoyed the work with the cast, the director with a very strong comic sense, and the fun they had can not be missed on the screen."
Naya has always looked up to Natalie Portman - she was so utterly mesmerized by Portman's performance in Leon: The Professional, that she promised herself that she too would one day land a role on the big screen. The now 18-year-old actress is making big moves to live out that promise - and her acting career so far has an incredible resemblance to Portman's.
Although Naya's career is certainly on track, there have been circumstances where auditions did not secure her the part she was wanting - even when she nailed them. She has faced the disappointments that come with the cut-throat industry, but her success certainly outweighs any disappointments.
"There was a specific part Naya really wanted in an internationally acclaimed drama series," the insider said. "Naya was in Paris when she was called back for another, but last, audition to be chosen between herself and someone else. So, Naya flew back to Israel for a day, had a good audition, flew back to Paris only to hear that it was great, but matching limitations pushed the decision towards the other actress."
Thankfully, the young actress is strong and driven - and will not let any setbacks throw her off course, previous setbacks have only added fuel to her burning desire for success. She is now represented by ADD Content Agency and has some exciting projects in the works.
Naya plans to use her constantly growing platform to advocate for humanitarian crises and recurring issues - these are extremely important to Naya, and the more these topics are spoken about - the more chance there will be.
"She wishes one day to be involved in creating TV and/or feature movies that will increase awareness to meaningful issues, specifically child abuse," the source said.
Covid-19 has brought a halt to most production and film development - thankfully, Naya will be on the screen again soon. A source revealed that she is expected to be back on set for a drama movie in October, which will be released in 2021.
