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Vince Vaughn

Brian Thomas Smith
Brian Thomas Smith 820 410 Alyshia Ochse

Brian Thomas Smith moved to Los Angeles from Saint Louis in 2000. His acting journey has had many ups and downs, but he is the perfect example of the journeyman actor as he continues to book jobs in film, TV and commercials. Brian Thomas Smith’s acting credits span film, television and include over 100 commercials. Some highlighted commercials are playing Phil Shifley for DIRECT TV, wearing a European man thong for MILLER LITE and being trained by the brew master in a BUD LIGHT campaign. BTS was featured in Super Bowl ads for SAMSUNG and BUD LIGHT. He also raced around the world with his brother Greg in SEASON 7 of THE AMAZING RACE.

Brian’s film credits include: BABYSPLITTERS, THE WEDDING PARTY, LETHAL SEDUCTION, CONCRETE BLONDES and shared scenes with Al Pacino and Annette Bening in DANNY COLLINS. His TV guest stars include: TWO AND A HALF MEN, HAPPY ENDINGS, 9-1-1 LONE STAR, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, and CSI. His most notable roles are recurring as the over friendly Freddy on UNITED STATES OF AL and maybe most known for playing Zack, the lovable, dim-witted, ex-boyfriend of Penny on THE BIG BANG THEORY for 9 seasons. Soon you will be able to see Brian in Nickelodeon’s live action comedy series THE REALLY LOUD HOUSE as he recurs as MR Bolhofner. You can also catch him sharing the screen with Vince Vaughn in the upcoming Apple Plus series BAD MONKEY.

BRIAN THOMAS SMITH’S LINKS:

THAT ONE AUDITION’S LINKS:

039 Alain Uy on That One Audition with Alyshia Ochse

S2 039: Alain Uy
S2 039: Alain Uy 1500 750 Alyshia Ochse

Amplifying Voice & Leaning Into Failure

From bringing diverse and dynamic characters to life on screen, to flexing his entrepreneurial spirit through his production company Them Too, multi hyphenate actor, director, producer, and writer Alain Uy has become “one to watch” in the entertainment industry, and he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

This year, Alain can be seen starring in Hulu/Marvel’s upcoming thriller-drama series “Helstrom” opposite Sydney Lemmon, and Tom Austen. The show follows Daimon (Austen) and Ana Helstrom (Lemmon), the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer. The siblings have a complicated dynamic as they track down the terrorizing worst of humanity. Alain is a scene stealer as Chris Yen, Ana Helstrom’s confidant, business partner, and right hand man. “Helstrom” is the first series in Marvel Television’s Adventure into Fear franchise, and is slated for premiere on October 16, 2020.

On the film front Alain can next be seen starring in the indie action/comedy feature “Paper Tigers.” Written, directed, and produced by filmmaker on the rise Bao Tran, “Paper Tigers” tells the story of three Kung Fu prodigies: Danny (Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan), and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) who have grown up into washed up, middle aged men who are just one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. When their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and old grudges to avenge his death. “Paper Tigers” is currently on the national and international festival circuit.

Born in Dagupan City, Philippines and originally from Chinese-Filipino descent, Alain moved to Los Angeles at six years old with his parents and four siblings. Growing up, he had an innate love for the arts. Alain trained to be a professional dancer in high school until his dance career was halted when he fractured his hips in a car accident, and could not walk for over six months. While in recovery he began to explore other facets of the entertainment business, which led him to the study abroad program at Oxford University in the UK. There, Alain immersed himself in theatre, and when he returned to the states he began his professional career as an actor.

Additional television credits for Alain include: HBO’s “True Detective,” FOX’s “The Passage,” “Grimm,” “Pure Genius,” “The Last Ship,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” and Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” to name a few.

Aside from his acting career, Alain is the Founder and creative force behind Los Angeles based production company, Them Too. Birthed during the financial crisis of 2008, Alain harnessed his desire to expand his entrepreneurial side while producing and directing, through the company. Since its inception Them Too has produced content for A list musical acts including: The Chainsmokers, Steve Aoki, Avicii, DeadMau5, and Calvin Harris. Alain has directed new media profiles, live events, and short docs for Pharell Williams, Questlove, Jay Z, Kanye, Drake, Travis Scott, Rev Run and comedian Jo Koy for Comedy Central. Them Too has also created short form commercial narratives for established brands such as Perrier Jouet, Adidas, Levi’s, Stussy, MGM, and Aria. In 2017 Them Too launched into fictional narrative content with the award winning comedy short “Companion,” which won Best Director (Matt Ferrucci) and Best Comedy TV Series at ITVFest. Alain and Them Too currently have a handful of projects in development, in the scripted film/television space.

Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“The reason why we fail it’s just an indication that we’re trying.”

“Failure is going to hurt, but it’s only going to bruise your ego.”

“I don’t look for lessons within the results, the lessons are in the journey.”

 

Credits:

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

032: Jonathan Kite
032: Jonathan Kite 1500 1000 Alyshia Ochse

Jonathan Kite is best known as “Oleg,” the hilarious, lovable, sex-crazed Ukrainian cook, opposite Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs on the current CBS comedy hit, 2 BROKE GIRLS. Kite credits Wilt Chamberlin and Ukrainian porn star Vlad, the Impaler as major influences when creating his character. Jonathan Kite was born and raised just outside of Chicago in Skokie, IL. He studied drama in high school and at the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. He performed many times on stage in Illinois before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in voice over, film, television and zoological criminology.

In addition to his role on the series, Kite voices many of the color impaired characters on the Adult Swim throwback, “Black Dynamite: The Animated Series.” When asked to list them, Kite simply said “just call me EVERY WHITE.” Before “2 Broke Girls,” Kite was seen in a number of notable supporting roles including the pilot of FOX’s hit “Raising Hope”.

Aside from a busy acting career, Kite is an expert impressionist boasting over 100 celebrity impressions that include: Vince Vaughn, Tom Hanks, Seth Rogen, Liam Neeson, Christian Bale, Jeff Bridges, Robert Downey Jr., and John Lithgow. In 2013, he began touring, and has performed and headlined at some of the top comedy clubs nationwide. He recently filmed his first stand up comedy special entitled “Back to School Special” at his high school alma mater Niles North, where it all began.

 

Tune into our Interview on iTunes HERE

 

Resources

LINKS:
QUOTES:

“My impressions spurred out of the writers strike because sketch shows became prevalent.”

“When I saw guys like Jim Carrey, John Lithegow, Michael Keaton…There was something very odd about them, they are not putting it on and I found myself in them.”

“For impressions you have to do a voice that is universally recognizable.”

“Auditioning is a finding a new ingredient for the recipe.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“You need people that believe in you and that’s sort of it.”

“If what I say I can do lines up with what they (agents) think I can do, then you are good.”

“Part of being a good actor is knowing your strengths and weaknesses and showcasing the stuff that is working and working on the stuff that isn’t working.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“Never lie about what you can do…unless you can learn something fast.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“When I am doing impressions, I study the person. I never look in the mirror or listen to my own voice. I study them.”

“Going to University was like the Hunger Games. At the two year marker they do cuts. We started with 20 students and our graduating class ended with 9 students. ”

“The cutting process in University is tough love. It’s a wake up call that you are always competing.”

“In this business you have to show up all the time. You can’t have a day off.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“You have to show up all the time because that’s what this business is. You can’t take a day off, especially with auditioning.”

“You have to treat acting like an athlete. You are constantly competing and training.

“This is a business first and if you get to act you are lucky.”

“I always want to leave people with them wanting to work with me in the future.”

“I never had a pilot season before 2 Broke Girls.”

“The audition was literally ten 90 year old women and ME.”

“Part of this job is just saying YES.”

“YOU have to do the work.”

“I like to create the weight of my characters emotionally through clothes.”

 

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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