A young actress has taken it into her own hands to ensure she gets noticed by casting directors.

Mariama Bojang, 27 attends Matt Zina Acting in Shipley and has decided to put up a huge billboard of herself, and her contact details outside ITV Yorkshire in Leeds, to ensure she can’t ‘get ignored’ by the TV industry ‘any longer'.

Mariama has autism and says she’s landed parts in smaller roles, including a part in ITV series, 'Pray' but wants to make sure her condition isn’t hindering her acting career.

She said: “I’ll be blunt, it’s a bid to be cast in a TV role. I’m hoping that it will get me noticed by casting directors and producers. It’s mainly to put myself out there, raise awareness etcetera, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Actress and model Mariama Binta Bojang, 27, took action after struggling to find roles despite 100 auditions in the last seven months, and said the idea "hit her like a bolt of lightening."

She added that the billboard is located ‘just down the road from the ITV Emmerdale studios and she ‘chose that location for a reason.

Mariama said she first thought of the idea two months ago, when she realised, she was doing ‘all that she could be doing’ for her career but thought to herself she needs to start ‘thinking outside the box and take urgent action’ to promote her ‘personal brand’.

She paid £1,000 for two billboards - one in Leeds and the second erected at Salford’s Media City UK, near the set of Coronation Street.

The 48-sheet 6m by 3m billboard features her photo, contact details and says "Articulate Autistic Actor - Cast Now!".

She said: “My ultimate objective is to have a main role in a TV crime drama. I’ve played police officers, and therapists and I’ve had some modelling jobs, but in terms of actually acting it's been in the role of police officers which is precisely why I want to be in a crime drama, it’s my type-cast.

"I have not yet had the privilege to audition for a role on any soap operas, but if I had a choice, my personal preference would be 'Coronation Street' followed by 'Emmerdale'.

"They are the nation's longest running and most well known soaps which brought me great joy and comfort growing up."

Mariama added ‘this is just the start of it, I’m setting up a new digital campaign at Manchester’s Media City too.” 


Mariama started acting at the age of 3, originally, she wanted to do ballet but she was deemed ‘too tall’ so her mother enrolled her into acting classes, and ‘it went from there.

Mariama’s acting coach, Matt Zina added: "She’s put up the billboard to make sure casting directors have no excuse to not know who she is. At first, I thought she was a bit mad, but then I thought why not, it’s a way of promoting inclusivity. 

"I mentor Mariama daily, she is autistic and we’ve broken through a lot of barriers and it’s something she celebrates and she’s had a lot of success from it, but we feel she should get an opportunity at some of the bigger roles, but they're still appears to be some barriers regarding inclusivity.

"At the moment, the TV industry says they're inclusive, they’re happy to give her little parts and opportunities but would they be happy to give her a crack at a main role? At the moment the answer is no. 

"So I thought lets get the billboard to work for Mariama and her career and say to the TV industry, right over to you are you going to give her the opportunity she deserves? ”
“I would probably say she works harder on her career than any other actress in the country. She really deserves an opportunity. ”