Arrested Development

S2 019: Chris Diamantopoulos

S2 019: Chris Diamantopoulos 1500 750 Alyshia Ochse

Doing The DON’Ts and Winning

Chris Diamantopoulos is unique in both his Greek/Canadian heritage and his diverse career. He is currently shooting Netflix’s largest budget feature to date: RED NOTICE with Duane Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds. Chris wrapped the 6th and final season of the HBO single-camera comedy SILICON VALLEY as the infamous series regular RUSS HANNEMAN.

He continues to find success in TV, film, animation, narration and commercial work.

He can be most recently seen starring in Amazon’s THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS as well as Pop TV’s, LET’S GET PHYSICAL opposite Jane Seymour and Matt Jones. Prior, Chris starred in the critically acclaimed Amazon Studios series GOOD GIRLS REVOLT as well as performing on Broadway’s WAITRESS alongside Sara Bareilles. He recently brought his

musical theater talent to the screen when he starred in FOX’s A CHRISTMAS STORY: LIVE opposite Maya Rudolph and Matthew Broderick. Chris maintains a standout TV career, recurring on series like NBC’s ABOUT A BOY, and FOX’s 24. Additionally, Chris recently wrapped the new David Fincher project for HBO, VIDEOSYNCRASY and HIGH MOON for Syfy. Chris is proving himself to be a rapidly rising comedy star having worked on the Netflix revival of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and the final season of NBC’s THE OFFICE, as well as roles in COMMUNITY, EPISODES, and UP ALL NIGHT.

Chris’s animation work is as varied as his on camera roles. He is TBS’s 5th person in history to be the voice of ‘Mickey Mouse’ on the highly acclaimed Disney series MICKEY MOUSE, for which he received 2 Emmy nominations.

He has a starring role in Amazon’s highly anticipated, INVINCIBLE, opposite such powerhouse performers as Mahershal Ali and JK Simmons. He is starring in the Netflix epic, GODS AND HEROES as well as the musical CENTAURWORLD. He has played Green Arrow for the WB in both series and animated features. For Cartoon Network, Chris voices the acerbic Commander Beefy in THE FUNGIES and is the title character in Disney’s GO AWAY UNICORN, as well as the voice of a variety of characters on over 40 episodes of FOX’s AMERICAN DAD.

On the feature side, Chris can be seen in a tour de force role in the independent feature, MAN VS., and in Jonathan Sobol’s THE ART OF STEAL alongside Katheryn Winnick & Kurt Russell. Chris also had the pleasure of portraying the iconic Moe in THE THREE STOOGES (directed by the Farrelly Bros), and in the acclaimed Canadian film DR. CABBIE alongside Adrianne Palicki.

Chris has provided his voice talent on national network commercials for products ranging from cars, to banks, to pharmaceuticals. He has narrated for Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, HBO, USA, and was the official voice of the Esquire Network. Chris resides in New York City with his wife and children.


Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“Ultimately, it’s gotta be fun. You gotta have some fun.”

VIDEOS:


Credits:

  • WRITER: Erin McCluskey
  • SOUND DESIGN: Zachary Jameson
  • WEBSITE & GRAPHICS: Chase Jennings
  • ASSISTANT: Elle Powell
  • SOCIAL OUTREACH: Bebe Katsenes

Rebekka Johnson on That One Audition with Alyshia Ochse

081: Rebekka Johnson

081: Rebekka Johnson 1500 750 Alyshia Ochse

The Improv Dream: ‘Yes, And-ing’ Yourself.

This week’s guest caught the improv bug in college and hasn’t looked back since. Rebekka Johnson began her on-screen career putting her comedy skills to good use in an MTV prank show called Boiling Point. Since then she’s been a writer, producer, director, and actress—all in the name of making an audience laugh.

She shares with us how creating the work she loves with her best friends and collaborators has lead her to countless opportunities to shine. From an audition opposite Kristen Wiig, to finally booking her series regular role in GLOW, her story is an example of an artist who puts in the work and doesn’t give up, even when success feels impossible. From negotiating her own contract for a pilot, to how her years of grinding and preparation has empowered her to step into her strength and be fearless in her comedy.

Best known for her work in the musical comedy trio The Apple Sisters and on Netflix’s wrestling comedy GLOW, Rebekka Johnson has performed in various sketch and improv shows across the country for over 10 years, including The Neutrino Video Projects which was an official selection at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. She is a co creator of the award winning Apple Sisters which performed in the 2008 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Rebekka voiced many characters in the upcoming Comedy Central animated series, Ugly Americans. She currently performs with Bandit, a Mainstage Harold Team at IO West and recently directed her comedy film, CONSENT.

 

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Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“Even if you’re a good improviser, don’t leave it up to improv. Look at your script, write your jokes before, and then if something else comes up, great! The whole thing with improve is, no matter how good you are, how often can you nail it?”

“The way you’re going to get better at writing is writing.”

002: Ravi Patel

002: Ravi Patel 1500 1000 Alyshia Ochse

Ravi Patel has been in over 70 national commercials, films and TV shows, most notably Transformers, Scrubs, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Comedians, Master of None, and Grandfathered BUT Ravi never intended on acting. In fact, Ravi planned on a career in finance. After faking his transcripts to secure a more reputable job, Ravi discovered that the finance world was not his cup of tea. His journey into acting is filled with serendipitously spontaneous adventures paving the way for Ravi being a recognizable face in your living room. An impromptu emcee job led to casting calls. A Ryan Seacrest billboard led to a stick figure drawn headshot that put Ravi’s natural improv skills on display in Michael Bay’s film Transformers. The well-circulated press trailer for Transformers was mostly Ravi’s small, but impactful, hilarious scene that grabbed the attention of a theatrical agent and several other opportunities in television.

Ravi has since learned that making your own projects levels the playing field. Making acting his business changed his effortless “I don’t care attitude” about acting into an impactful, appreciative, invested storyteller that has secured his spot in the entertainment world. Meet the Patels, an autobiographical documentary he made with his sister, Geeta Patel, was a compilation and inspiration of all of Ravi’s favorite storytellers from Wood Allen and Wes Anderson to Arrested Development, Seinfeld, This American Life, and American Splendor. His acting career taught him how to appreciate the art, but how taking it seriously can lead to existential crisis.

Ravi currently can be seen in the WB’s Wrecked and the film Bandaid.

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Ravi Patel THUMBNAIn

Resources

QUOTES:

“The richer and more interesting you can make your life outside of acting, I think the better your acting can do.” CLICK TO TWEET

“Happiness is a hedge fund. Happiness in life comes from all different endeavors and sources. When you’re an actor it is very easy to put all your emotional eggs in one basket and that works against you if you want to be successful. So to put yourself in the best situation to succeed, try to fill up those buckets of happiness that you can that are outside of acting such as your physical health, your mental health, spiritual health.”

LINKS:

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ALYSHIA OCHSE

Los Angeles-based actress, bestselling author, host of That One Audition podcast, entrepreneur, & mother.

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