Student starts acting career after degree at top UK school

Maltese-German actor Daniel Hintner recently obtained a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Acting from Guildford School of Acting (GSA), one of the UK’s leading drama schools. The two-year postgraduate course included intensive training classes and performance projects – both for stage and screen – aimed at developing students’ fullest potential as actors and theatre-makers.

Commenting on the course, Hintner said: “After graduating from the University of Malta with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Theatre Studies, I came to GSA not only to refine my craft and skill set but also to serve as a stepping stone into the British theatre and film industry. Undoubtedly, I would not have been able to pursue my training without the support of the Malta Arts Scholarship Scheme, financed by the Maltese government.”

Daniel Hintner. Photo: June Thomas

The training was almost entirely practical, delivered through hands-on exercises and activities that brought theoretical concepts to life.

“We spent most of our time in studios, theatres or on set,” he said. “The students were international, and with everyone drawing from their previous undergraduate studies or past performing experiences, this created a rich soup of distinct global practices and knowledge; a very multicultural perspective to actor-training.”

During Hintner’s two years at GSA, he practised different aspects of performing, from actor-musicianship in certain projects, to singing, movement and even extracurricular dance sessions.

“As part of my studies, I performed across a range of short films, performance projects, student-initiative shows and public productions, including Shakespeare’s seafaring tale Pericles and a contemporary musical adaptation of Jane Eyre,” he said.

Besides the UK, Hintner also performed at the Verona Shakespeare Festival in Italy and the International Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk, Poland. He even found himself at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania, which he described as “an incredible display of the best European theatre currently”.

There, he performed in Flying Ant Day, a new play written by Joey Ellis and directed by Gráinne Byrne. The show was also subsequently performed at the Lambeth Fringe Festival, and last month ran at the Union Theatre in London.

During a rehearsal for Black Waves at the Union Theatre. Photo: Fiona Winning

In a review published in the Review Hub London, Scott Matthewman wrote: “The play showcases some talents that are worth looking out for. That is especially true for Hintner and Pirvu’s fascinating double act. Like the flying ants, one yearns to see this pair fly long, far and free.”

After completing his master’s course, Hintner last September, signed with Shelley Barrett Management, a Cardiff-based acting agency representing some of the most-promising up-and-coming stage actors across the UK, where he intends to remain as a starting point to slowly build his career.

“That said, I am very eager to branch out into Europe, exploring other international opportunities on the mainland,” he added. “Networking is a big part of an actor’s life and so there’s really no telling who you’ll meet and where you’ll end up,” he said.

“Malta, however, always remains very close to my heart and it continues to shape the stories I tell as an artist. I am very passionate about physical theatre, bilingual theatre, especially in the context of Malta, and European cinema.

Hintner is grateful to his parents for having introduced him to theatre at a very young age, when they would take him and his brothers to watch the annual Christmas pantomimes at the Manoel Theatre, and for their unwavering support and encouragement to fulfil his dreams.