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Maggie Lawson

027 Bonnie Somerville on That One Audition with Alyshia Ochse

S2 027: Bonnie Somerville

S2 027: Bonnie Somerville 1500 750 Alyshia Ochse

Finding Her Second Act

Bonnie was raised by her mother, and her mother’s large Irish Catholic family in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She started acting and singing at a young age and moved to LA at the age of 22 where she quickly assembled a band and got an agent. She sang backup on Joshua Radin’s first album, We Were Here. Her song “Winding Road” was included on the Garden State soundtrack.

Bonnie’s first major acting role incorporated her love of singing when she was cast as the lead in CBS’s musical miniseries Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story. She then starred in the TV series Grosse Pointe and achieved international recognition when she was cast in a recurring role as Ross Geller’s girlfriend, Mona, on Friends. She was a lead in the final season of NYPD Blue, Kitchen Confidential opposite Bradley Cooper, and ABC’s dramedy Cashmere Mafia.

She also had roles in Spider-Man 2, Without a Paddle, Bedazzled, Shades of Ray, The Ugly Truth, Labor Pains, and the lead in The Best and the Brightest.

Bonnie is currently creating her own pilot and is in the final stages of launching her own podcast called SECOND ACTS.


Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

ON REJECTION: “It just made me stronger, and harder, and better.”

ON LUCK: “Some people don’t want to admit that they are lucky, like when you screen test and you go up against three amazing actresses that are all beautiful and talented and smart and funny: you’re all great. So yeah, somebody’s getting lucky that day.”

ON CREATIVITY: “That raw creative thing: it can get beaten out of you in this business. It gotten beaten out of me and now I’m finding it again.” “I’m one of those actresses who work best in a pinch.”

VIDEOS:


Credits:

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

Amanda Schull on That One Audition with Alyshia Ochse

079: Amanda Schull

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Amanda Schull is an American actress and former ballet dancer, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She’s known for her roles in Pretty Little Liars, Suits, 12 Monkeys, and in Nicholas Hyter’s 2000 drama, Center Stage. She began her performing career as a dancer, studying at Indiana University and apprenticing with the San Francisco Ballet, where she ulitmately joined the company after the completion of Center Stage. She retired from dancing in 2006 and has since built a career as an actress. She has also appeared in One Tree Hill, Hawaii Five-0, The Mentalist, Grimm, and Bones.

Her story is full of both personal inspiration and practical tips for managing an artistic career—from walking away from a network test, bombed auditions, and difficult directors, to working on multiple hit TV shows, creating relationships with empowered artists, and learning to trust in her voice, how she stands up for herself and her work, down to her first three steps in an audition.

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Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“When ego comes into play when you’re disappointed, it effects you differently, it wounds you. When you’re disappointed, it’s an opportunity to learn why you’re disappointed and try to improve on that and try to get a better outcome.”

“Nobody is going to hand you an opportunity without you stepping up to it. You are your own boss right now.”

VIDEOS:

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ALYSHIA OCHSE

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

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