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14 Stephanie Szostak on That One Audition with Alyshia Ochse

Stephanie Szostak
Stephanie Szostak 1920 960 Alyshia Ochse

The Importance of Mental Health As An Artist

French-American actress, Stephanie Szostak never thought of becoming an actress. She left France after high school to study business and play varsity golf at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Upon graduating college, Szostak landed a job in marketing at Chanel in New York and was eventually asked to model for one of their in-house brochures. It was at that moment that she decided to take a leap of faith and start a modeling career at 26-years-old. Three years later, Szostak took her first acting class in New York City and knew that she had finally found her passion. Soon after, she landed a role opposite Meryl Streep in the iconic film, “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Szostak stars as one of the leads in the ABC drama “A Million Little Things.” The series, created by DJ Nash and executive produced by Aaron Kaplan (“Divorce,” “Life in Pieces”) and Dana Honor, follows a group of friends whose lives are intertwined and eventually turned upside down when one of them suddenly dies.

Szostak has also appeared in guest roles on the TV Land series “Younger,” Bravo’s “Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce,” and CBS’ “Bull.” She also starred opposite Matt Passmore in USA Network’s “Satisfaction,” a provocative drama from Sean Jablonski (“Nip/Tuck,” “Suits”) that explored a modern marriage at its core. Additionally, Szostak appeared in the Ricky Blitt-directed independent comedy “Hit by Lightning” alongside Jon Cryer and Will Sasso, and co-starred opposite Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges in Universal Pictures’ “R.I.P.D.” In 2013, Szostak took on her first action role as the villain ‘Brandt’ opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in Marvel’s “Iron Man 3.” The film, also starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce, brought in $174 million domestically in its opening weekend and has since passed the $1 billion mark globally. Also in 2013, Szostak appeared in Ross Krauss’ “Gimme Shelter” with Vanessa Hudgens, Brendan Fraser and Rosario Dawson.

In 2011, Szostak played Matt Damon’s late-wife in the Fox comedy-drama from Cameron Crowe titled “We Bought a Zoo,” and in 2010 she starred as the female lead opposite Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell and Zach Galifianakis in Paramount Pictures’ “Dinner for Schmucks,” the American adaptation of the 1998 French comedy “Le Dîner de Cons,” directed by Jay Roach (“Meet the Parents” and “Austin Powers” franchises).

In 2006, Szostak rivaled Meryl Streep’s ‘Miranda Priestly’ as French Vogue Editor, ‘Jacqueline Follet’ in David Frankel’s beloved take on Lauren Weisberger’s novel of the same name, “The Devil Wears Prada.” The film received critical acclaim and garnered an AFI Award for ‘Movie of the Year,’ a Golden Globe nomination in the category of ‘Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical’ and was named one of the Top Ten Films of the year by the National Board of Review, among others.

Additional projects include the French film, “Une aventure New Yorkaise” (“A New York Thing”) alongside actor Jonathan Zaccai, “The Rebound” directed by Bart Freundlich and starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Italian comedy “Four Single Fathers, Motherhood” starring Uma Thurman, “The Good Heart” with Brian Cox, and Jeff Winner’s independent film “Satellite,” for which Szostak received a Best Actress award at the BendFilm Festival. Other television credits include the acclaimed HBO series “The Sopranos” and the hit NBC series “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Szostak has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the College of William and Mary and is an avid golfer. She lives outside of New York City with her husband and two sons.

Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“I’m going to tell this character’s story my way and if it’s not a good fit, then it’s not a good fit.”

“I do not know what’s going to happen in this next second.”

“What do I need to do to be a better actor? What does that mean for me?”

VIDEOS:

Credits:

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

099: Bridget Regan
099: Bridget Regan 1500 750 Alyshia Ochse

The Gift of Our Craft: Always Learning, Always Growing

Bridget Regan stars as the villain Rose AKA Sin Rostro on the Golden Globe nominated series, “Jane the Virgin.” This, as well as portraying the original Black Widow, Dottie, in Marvel’s Agent Carter (2015), and the multiple personality spy opposite Matt Bomer on USA’s “White Collar” made E! Online declare her “The Ultimate Kick-Butt TV Villain.”

From 2015-2018 Regan starred opposite Eric Dane as the bad ass, multi-lingual Navy Intel Officer, Sasha Cooper, on the TNT hit action drama series The Last Ship (2014) produced by Michael Bay.

A native of Carlsbad, California, Regan relocated to New York City to pursue her acting career upon graduating from North Carolina School of the Arts under the direction of Gerald Freedman. Regan fulfilled a life long dream to work on Broadway, originating the role of Cecile Leroux in the comedy ‘Is He Dead?’ written by Mark Twain, adapted by David Ives and directed by Michael Blackmore.

In 2010, she completed her run bringing to life the heroine, Kahlan Amnell, in ABC Studio’s cult hit “Legend of the Seeker,” produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, shot in New Zealand. Her other television credits include recurring roles on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “MacGyver,” “The Good Wife”, “Person of Interest,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Beauty & The Beast,” “Perception,” “The Black Donnelly’s,” Lisa Gardner’s bestselling mystery thriller, “Hide” alongside Carla Gugino, “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Six Degrees” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Regan’s film credits include “Devil’s Gate” opposite Milo Ventimigllia, “John Wick” with Keanu Reeves, HBO’s “The Leisure Class,” “The Best and the Brightest” alongside Neal Patrick Harris, “Sex and the City,” “The Babysitters” and “Binders.”

Tune in

Listen On iTunes

Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“My only real ritual is preparation.”

“You have to let yourself off the hook, the truth is that an audition is just a sketch.”

“We have to accept that we’re always gonna be growing, we’re always gonna be learning. That is the gift of our craft.”

 

073: Chris Geere
073: Chris Geere 1500 750 Alyshia Ochse

Todays conversation is an open, candid, and humorous dialogue with Chris Geere who’s on-screen career began with a Coke Zero commercial in the UK, and ultimately lead him to a series regular role. He talks about getting cut from the final edit of Band of Brothers, how a clever self-tape landed him with an offer to work with M. Night Shyamalan, and honestly shares how even after booking the ever-coveted “series regular role,” he’s finding new depths to what is required of an actor and artist when a life and career changing opportunity comes to an end.

He’s most known for his hilarious and honest portrayal on the hit FXX show, You’re the Worst, as well as his work on Modern Family, After Earth, and in the soon-to-be-released film Detective Pikachu with Ryan Reynolds.

Chris Geere is a British actor born in Cambridge in 1981 and brought up in the Winchester area of Hampshire where his family still lives. He was initially interested in pursuing a career as an artist until a drama teacher encouraged him to play in his school’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, whereupon he admits that he was truly bitten by the acting bug. He gained a place at the Guildford School of Acting, winning out over nearly three thousand other applicants. Some time after graduation he had a spell as a bit part player with the Royal Shakespeare Company and since then has become familiar on British television, notably in the school series ‘Waterloo Road.’ In 2017 he moved to the States, appearing in Modern Family and taking the lead in the eccentric comedy drama ‘You’re the Worst.’

 

Tune in

Listen On iTunes

 

Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“I thought of every single audition as “grin and bank it.” If you get the job, you need to think of it in terms of how many months rent is this.”

“I just decided that I’m going to stop trying to be what I think everyone wanted me to be, and just try and be a nice affable person that people would want to work with.”

VIDEOS:

BONUS: Warner Loughlin
BONUS: Warner Loughlin 1500 1000 Alyshia Ochse

Warner Loughlin has been coaching on set and privately for more than 20 years. Known for her warmth and intuitive approach, her technique shatters the myth that an actor’s past emotional traumas must be the fuel or foundation for their work.

In her earlier days in New York, Warner studied theatre with Lee Strasberg, Sonia Moore, and Michael Kahn (head of the drama department at Julliard from 1992-2006). Once in LA, Warner focused on film and TV, working as an actor, director and producer. She opened Warner Loughlin Studios in 1996 and has since worked with and shaped the careers of some of the biggest actors in Hollywood. From Oscar, Emmy and Tony nominees and winners, Warner is a star among the stars.

Warner continuously works with Amy Adams, Ryan Reynolds, Zooey Deschanel, Ashley Williams, Valerie Cruz, George Lopez, Amber Valletta, Blake Lively, and Ginnifer Goodwin…just to name a few.

While the demand for her time and expertise is high, Warner will always have a place in her heart (and schedule) for beginning actors.

Warner studied Contemporary Literature and Shakespeare at Oxford University and received her Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tune into our Interview on iTunes HERE

 

Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“The perfection of acting lies in the imperfection of it all. Just like life.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“When I used substitution as my technique, it threw me into a depression for a few days and I realized I had to come up with a different way to form emotions in the brain for acting.”

“Ego is the great killer of creativity.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“I started applying psychology and imagery worlds to my characters and this technique birthed.”

“Actions speak louder than words, behavior patterns speak louder than the lines written.”

“I’m there to help the director’s vision come forth. I am a translator for the director to the actor and vise versa.”

“There is a scientific reason why smells evoke emotions.”

“As an on set coach, I am a translator. I can speak director ‘talk’ and I can speak actor ‘talk’.”

“I am there to be there to help an actor get to the emotion organically.”

“The best acting is when you are fearless.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“Content breeds confidence.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“Actors are a special type of bred who are vulnerable. And we all fear that we won’t do a good job.”

“There are ways to achieve fearlessness in your craft.”

“This is a 60 year career not a 6 year career. Enjoy the journey.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“The path you choose is the journey you take.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“I want actors to be abel to work in a healthy way and in a powerful way without torturing themselves.”

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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