- 6 weeks ago
PANEL: discussion with today’s newest leading ladies and leading men in front of the camera.
Meet some of your favorite actors and actresses who've been entertaining audiences over the years and are now FIRST ON THE CALL SHEET! Hear about their journey and how they climbed up the "on-screen" ladder to become the new leading faces in film and television.
Meet some of your favorite actors and actresses who've been entertaining audiences over the years and are now FIRST ON THE CALL SHEET! Hear about their journey and how they climbed up the "on-screen" ladder to become the new leading faces in film and television.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Become leading men and leading ladies in their roles, so we're calling them
00:04leaders of the new school and we're gonna bring them out so they can all
00:08talk to you about their journey. So first to come to the stage is gonna be Jabari
00:13Banks from Bel Air. And next we have Dominique Fishback who you may know from
00:25the new series Swarm. Next we have the really dangerous, the really dangerous
00:39Joseph Socorro who y'all know as Tommy from Power.
00:43Amber Stephens West is next. You know her from Run the World and everybody's favorite,
01:01Jacob Lattimore from The Chi. So you guys are gonna get a very intimate
01:17conversation with them. As I said they are all the leaders of the new school. They
01:23all are leading men and leading ladies. And Jacob says they look really good. Jacob let's
01:29start with you. How long did it take you to get to your, to be first on the call
01:34sheet? Um, took a while, took a minute. But you know I think I never really, I didn't
01:41even know what number one on the call sheet was coming into film. I came from
01:45music so I was just happy to be on screen. I was happy to have a line or just to
01:52get some camera time. But I did started to understand what the pressures of what
01:58being the lead means. You know, and just leading your cast and, and making sure you're
02:03on your P's and Q's, knowing your lines, getting your rest, studying, being on time. All those
02:07things really show and you really influence everybody around you. When you, when you show
02:13up for yourself, you'll see that other people are following. You know, and it's really important
02:19how you're treating yourself in the workspace as well as your personal life. So it just all kind of just happened. I'll just stay humble. I think that's what I'm going to do.
02:26I'll just stay humble. I think that's, that's what happened. And then, um, over time it's just, but you know, I was put in that place.
02:33Got there. Okay. Amber, same for you. Um, we know you from the Carmichael show and so many other wonderful things.
02:40I was not number one on the Carmichael show.
02:42Is this on? Oh, there we go. Hi. Um, I think my first time being number one was a film that I did called Love Jacked. And that was about seven years ago. And like you said, you get into the industry, you don't, you don't really, you think, oh, number one.
02:44Is like, they're just the really famous person, but it's the, there's a big responsibility that comes with being number one. It's not just that you're the star of the thing. It's that you, there's a trickle down effect of how everyone's going to behave on set.
02:57Um, so you kind of set the tone. Um, so you kind of set the tone. Um, so there's a lot of responsibility in that, which I don't take lightly. Um, I, if you ever get to work with me, it's going to be a lot of fun because I'm only there to have a good time. We're making, we're telling stories.
03:14You know, it's not, it's serious, but like we need to enjoy ourselves where everyone's going to work and they're leaving their families and they're making sacrifices to work 17 hour days.
03:35So if you are lucky enough to be number one, like I think it's important that you set the tone that everyone's going to, um, support one another and embrace each other and, and have a good time together.
03:48Um, so I've, I'm, I feel that on run the world now, I, I, I hopefully have set that a little bit, but also I work with like the coolest people ever.
03:58That's great. So piggybacking on that, Joseph, what's the tone on your shows when you're having your number one?
04:04Now it's your number one on that call sheet.
04:07Is your mic on?
04:08Not yet.
04:09Mic.
04:10Number two.
04:13That'll do.
04:14Um, yeah, uh, well, I, I do, I did know what it was meant to be number one on the call.
04:20I've been in the business, um, uh, for 37 years and, um, it's a risk, big responsibility, obviously.
04:29Um, but I learned really what not to do as number one on the call sheet, uh, from so many people that I've worked with, uh, the tendency towards narcissism, the tendency towards tardiness, the tendency towards taking all of the attributes and accolades.
04:45And, you know, all this is my show and the possessive words that I heard so many times over, which is really a huge detriment to everybody around you because you're like, you know, come on, Tommy from power.
04:57You were always Tommy from power.
04:59And it's like, yeah, that's, uh, you know, that took me 25 years to get Tommy from power.
05:04Um, I was mainly doing a regional and local theater in Chicago and New York.
05:08And, um, it's a long battle, you know, uh, um, being there, the responsibility really means like Amber said to reiterate that spreading that love and having fun.
05:18There's a great, uh, passage, uh, Yogi told me once is that you take yourself seriously, but lightly.
05:24And here's the other thing that I love is that you have so many people who are vying for that number one position rather than just supporting themselves rather than just trying to lift themselves up.
05:34And that is if you try to force your flower to blossom, you'll break off the petals.
05:38Um, so it's like, you know, it's get there, do there, but don't, don't, don't position yourself like a football player.
05:45Put me in cause I'm going to tackle somebody and take this away from you.
05:48It's a collaborative process and an ensemble that we should all be trying to better each other and lift each other up.
05:54Thank you for that.
05:56Hi, Dominique.
05:57Hello.
05:58Thank you for being here.
05:59Oh, of course.
06:00Thank you for having me.
06:01Yeah.
06:02So talk a little bit about your journey to being the star of so many different wonderful projects.
06:08Aw, thank you.
06:09Um, I started in theater as well from Brooklyn, New York, and, uh.
06:13You're from Brooklyn?
06:14100%.
06:15I'm from Brooklyn.
06:16You're?
06:17Whole room, okay.
06:18You're from Brooklyn too?
06:19I'm from Brooklyn.
06:20What part of Brooklyn are you from?
06:21I'm, I'm actually from Williamsburg.
06:22I promise I grew up there.
06:23My parents grew up there.
06:24I'm not a newbie.
06:25Okay.
06:26I'm from East New York.
06:28Okay.
06:29Yeah.
06:30But, um, so I started in, I started in theater and then I did a show called Show Me a Hero,
06:36David Simon, who wrote The Wire.
06:38And then after that, uh, I did a show called The Deuce.
06:42Right?
06:43And it was with like Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco and all these like amazing people.
06:46And then I started to do a little bit more film and it was like Jamie Foxx and all these
06:51people.
06:52And I, and I loved learning from all of these people.
06:55But at the same time, I was, a lot of times I was playing like 16 a lot, 16 to 17.
06:59Now I'm actually 32.
07:00Wow.
07:01That's good.
07:02Yeah.
07:03So I was kind of like, so when, so I was really looking for an opportunity to show.
07:07I've been acting since I was 15 years old.
07:09It was actually Jamie on a set of Project Power.
07:11Um, shout out to New Orleans cause we, we shot that here.
07:14Um, but he talked, he talked about, I asked him like, um, do you ever, do you, since you've
07:19been doing it for so long, do you ever feel like, uh, like it's not a challenge or do you
07:23ever get nervous still?
07:24And he just told me, he was like, you know, there's a difference between, uh, film and
07:28movies.
07:29And he said, um, do you watch basketball?
07:31I said sometimes he says, when Steph Curry runs down the court and he shoots a three and
07:35it goes in, he doesn't question himself as to why it went in because he's been doing it
07:39for so long.
07:40And it's the same with you.
07:41So you don't have to question yourself showing up to the, these sets because I was like,
07:45Oh, it's kind of getting a little bit, kind of a little bit easy.
07:48Is that bad?
07:49Am I coasting?
07:50Cause I, you know, I want to honor every opportunity that I get.
07:52So when, when Swarm came along, it was, uh, Donald Glover at, they actually wanted me
07:57to play Marissa, who is a Chloe Bailey's character in the show.
08:01And I heard about it, the show.
08:03And I was like, man, I got to play Dre.
08:05I really want to play Dre.
08:06So I got on the phone with Donald and he's like, well, why you want to play Dre?
08:09And I said, you know, um, I never want to catch up to my own self as an actor.
08:13I don't even want to know what I'm going to do next.
08:15And he was like, well, if that's the role you want, that's the role you get.
08:18And he just gave it to me like that.
08:20He said, he said, I know you could do it.
08:23And I was like, Oh wow.
08:24Which it was a sense of, um, ownership over the character.
08:27Cause I think, you know, if I would have had to audition, it would have been, you know,
08:30it could have been really good.
08:31But to the way you had to sit in a character like that, it was so nice to say that somebody
08:36gave it and said, you can do, um, what, what you essentially what you want with it.
08:41So that's kind of how the journey went when people say, Oh, what does it feel like?
08:45I feel like it's still, it still feels like I'm working.
08:47Maybe it's an, I don't know if a New York thing or it was like a black thing where you're
08:51like, okay, what's the next thing?
08:52Like you like, do you ever actually sit in what you achieve?
08:55So right now I'm learning how to sit in everything and say, Oh man, this is good.
08:59Like pace yourself and not look for the next thing all the time.
09:02Okay.
09:03So Jabari, I'm thinking you may not have been doing this for 15 years.
09:08Yeah.
09:09No, I appreciate that.
09:12Yeah.
09:13No, I, uh, Bel Air is my first show.
09:15And so like kind of going from zero to a hundred, you know, being number one on the call sheet,
09:19you know, it's, it was, uh, it was an interesting journey.
09:21It's been a rollercoaster since I started, but I just, I'll say that it's always about,
09:25you know, and I'm just going to repeat everything that everybody else has been saying, but it's
09:28just, it's an energy thing.
09:29You know what I mean?
09:30It's an energy thing when you're number one and, and when you show up and you show up for
09:33yourself, you show up for your cast and you show up for the crew, especially because
09:36you have to realize that people come to work two hours, three hours before you do.
09:40You know what I mean?
09:41You become less important, right?
09:42And you, and you start showing up for the process.
09:44And I think, I think when you let all of that go, all of the ego goes, all of that, all of
09:48that stuff is gone.
09:49You know what I mean?
09:50And then you, and you just show up as yourself.
09:51I think, I think from there energy flows and everybody respects it.
09:54And then that's a, it's a, it's a light environment.
09:56And that's what you want to work in too.
09:57Like, you know what I mean?
09:58Like I don't know anybody that's, man, I want this to be a, you know, a tough spot.
10:01Like I don't want anybody talking like, you know what I mean?
10:03At least I never worked on a set like that, but you know, I'm just starting out, but you
10:06know what I mean?
10:07I just feel like, um, yeah, yeah, you probably, yeah, man.
10:10It's a, yeah.
10:11So like, that's, that's what I would say.
10:12It's just, it's an energy thing.
10:13You know what I mean?
10:14It's just keep it short.
10:15Where did you learn that with this being your first acting role?
10:19I learned that I had a lot of mentors coming in.
10:22Um, I had a lot of mentors and they were telling me like, you know, you are with number one,
10:26you set the tone, obviously, as we were all saying, you know, you set the tone and, and,
10:31um, I didn't realize that for a long time.
10:33You know what I mean?
10:34Because, you know, I came from theater as well.
10:37Right.
10:38And so with theater, it's a collaborative process, right?
10:41Like, you know, you're sitting with the director and, and, and, you know, this, everybody
10:45is, you're, you're close with the, the lighting people and, and you all crafting this thing
10:49together.
10:50And sometimes when I was, when I had started, it didn't feel like that.
10:52Like, it felt like there was a lot of responsibility on me to like, be this person.
10:56And, um, and so I had to realize that like, like, it's, it's all the same thing.
11:02You know what I mean?
11:03Like, and, and so like, I felt like from there, I just, I just like, it's all, it's all the
11:06same thing.
11:07Like theater, um, TV, movies, it's all the energy thing.
11:10You know what I mean?
11:11And like, it's, we're all, we're all a family forget.
11:12And we're all just like creating this thing together.
11:14So that's why I just, you know, that's, that's how I learned it.
11:16But, oh, the question was the mentors.
11:18Oh yeah.
11:19Mentors.
11:20Yeah.
11:21Just, um, yeah.
11:22You know, a lot of people was telling me that.
11:24You know what I mean?
11:25We enjoy hearing it.
11:26It's okay.
11:27Jacob, did you do theater as well?
11:30No, I actually haven't done theater yet.
11:32I, um, I've, I've looked at it and I'm like, man, I'm gonna, I'm gonna jump in there.
11:36I'm gonna jump in there.
11:37I think I went to see, uh, uh, Ain't Too Proud to Beg.
11:40You know, I was like, I can get in there.
11:44I can do it.
11:45Theater is dope.
11:46Yeah.
11:47Um, I, I, I've been, I've been going to more plays this year too.
11:49Like, just like, you know, sort of just getting better, you know, and just keep, keep studying.
11:55Um, but yeah, like, yeah, it's, it's, it's something I'm gonna hop into.
11:59Okay.
12:00I don't know when yet, but that, that role is gonna call me.
12:02Well, we'll go see you when you do.
12:04Oh, that's love.
12:05That's love.
12:06Please, please do.
12:07Please do.
12:08All right.
12:09Amber, did you do theater?
12:12Sorry.
12:13No, no, I have not done theater.
12:16I, I did, uh, I played Mimi in Rent, uh, one time.
12:19Uh, and we, it was just a little pop-up thing that we did in Los Angeles for a few weeks.
12:23And it was still a top 10 highlight of my entire life.
12:27And we get together, all of the cast, uh, we did it for free.
12:31Um, but we loved it so much.
12:33And we talk to each other all the time still and say that it was a highlight for all of us in our lives.
12:37Just like you're saying, like in theater, you work together and you create something together.
12:41You get really intimate with these people, especially when you're doing really small theater.
12:45Um, every single person has multiple jobs, not just, you know, the actors aren't just acting.
12:50We're also kind of helping with other things.
12:52Yeah.
12:53So, um, I, there's a unique, special experience when you do that.
12:57Um, so I, maybe I'll get to do it again.
12:59I don't know.
13:00I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I don't know.
13:02We hope so.
13:03Joseph, um, so this panel is called Leaders of the New School.
13:06And of course, the number one person on the call sheet is kind of, I would imagine, the leader of the set.
13:12So, is there a sense of responsibility that you feel in terms of setting the tone and, you know, keep, you know, even keeping the show going, maintaining that spot?
13:21What is, what is that sense of responsibility?
13:23You know, I, I hope I don't pay for anything.
13:25Like, I'm, I'm a pretty honest person by nature, so I hope that my network doesn't hate me for anything I'm gonna say.
13:30I'm gonna just say it.
13:31Um, the integrity of the character I felt was so sacrificed in the first season of the show that I ended up having panic attacks that I thought I was having a heart attack.
13:40Cause I am a man of a certain age.
13:41I might be leading the new school, but I am from it.
13:43And, uh, so I went to a cardiologist and had to go through all these things, but I was having these panic attacks because the character was getting so sacrificed.
13:53They made my character who was established.
13:55I don't, I don't, I'm not gonna try to assume anybody watched the Tommy show, the power show, but like Tommy's from New York, you know, Tommy's from Queens.
14:02Hello.
14:03And all of a sudden now they're saying, oh, no, no, no.
14:07When he was four, he lived, up until he was four, he lived in Chicago.
14:11And listen, I love Chicago.
14:12I was born and raised in the north side of the city.
14:14I love it.
14:15But, uh, I was like, but no, he wasn't.
14:17We even said, like, Tommy shows his father and he said, I was, you know, lived in Flushing before we moved to Southside Jamaica.
14:22And I'm just like, why are you changing all this?
14:24And who's allowing this to happen?
14:25And then in Chicago, they first, they originally had this mob that turned into an Irish mob that makes, you know, kind of sense.
14:31They originally had it as a Polish mob.
14:33I'm Polish American.
14:34You know, I am Polish and I would love for my people to be represented like this.
14:39And I was like, that makes no sense.
14:41How do you, how do you sacrifice this?
14:43So we rectified stuff and we got more back on track.
14:46But I think that that's a roundabout way of saying that we love these characters that we play.
14:50You know, we, we, we get into it and we, we, we are the stewards of these characters.
14:56There is a negotiation in theater that we get, that is made between the director and the actor that once that curtain goes up on opening night, it is my character.
15:04And I will do with this character as I please for the most part.
15:07For the most part.
15:08In television, that is not necessarily the case.
15:10You got people trying to possess you and, and tell you, and I've been playing Tommy Egan for 10 years.
15:14And last season, we even had people who will remain nameless stars, don't worry, that were trying to tell me who this character was.
15:21And I'm not that guy who's like, no, I know everything.
15:23I don't know anything.
15:24But I do know what feels right.
15:26And I have to trust my gut.
15:28And when you're sacrificing why I'm trusting my gut, that's why we have a spinoff.
15:33Cause I trusted my gut.
15:35So, so there is that responsibility.
15:38There is that camaraderie and that ensemble, but there's also that negotiation to be a steward of integrity.
15:43Thank you for that passion, but I was going to add to that.
15:48Is that okay that I add something?
15:49A hundred percent.
15:50I was just going to say also, it can be the responsibility.
15:54Cause we have new directors that will come in for episodes and everyone's process is a little bit different.
15:59And sometimes they're stepping into our show where we've been running things a certain way.
16:03We like to be communicate with our directors a certain way.
16:06So I felt at least maybe not for everyone, but I felt that sometimes with the directors,
16:11I needed to speak a little bit on behalf of what, what we are creating as a group and how to address all of us.
16:17And there was at least one situation I can remember where I needed to go to a producer and say,
16:23the way that this is being handled with this actor and this director is not okay.
16:26And then making the, this actor feel insecure and uncomfortable on set.
16:31And they're not able to do their process because this director is coming in and saying that they need to do it this way.
16:36And, and so I feel as number one, it's, it's, I want to protect my other, my co-actors and make sure that they feel that they're able to do their best work as well.
16:47So since you are number one, you felt more empowered to go and do that than you would have if you weren't?
16:52I think so. Yeah. I think in the past I would have sat back and let someone else take the reins and just worried about myself.
16:58But I felt as number one, I wanted to make sure that our guest actors who came to the show felt seen and heard and empowered to do their best work.
17:07And so I feel that whenever a new guest star comes in, I make sure to introduce myself and make them feel welcome into the, into our environment.
17:15So you're all brilliant at what you do. We all know that. But other than your brilliance, what else does it take to stay in that number one spot?
17:24I'm going to start with you, Jacob, and then we're going to go down the line.
17:27You got it right. Yeah, that's all right. I'm sorry. I can repeat the question one more time.
17:32What else are you doing besides just being a brilliant actor to stay number one, to stay in that lead, to be that leader of the new school?
17:38I think you're more new school than, than Joseph, but.
17:42You know what? I actually, um, I was talking about this in therapy, right?
17:47I was like, man, being a young black actor in Hollywood, it does feel like there's a lot of pressure to kind of be perfect outside of your work.
17:57You know, like, you know, if you got a relationship or something going on and outside of whatever, it just feels like, you know, that has to be so protected and, and so private.
18:10And as soon as something gets public, you know, the industry will just tear you down.
18:15Your career is over immediately. You know, it's like, and we see so many other actors maybe get another chance or whatever, however it works out.
18:23But I do feel as I'm getting older and, you know, I'm going to different places and I'm definitely more watchful of who I'm around, the type of energy I'm around when I'm not at work.
18:33If I'm in a city for months at a time working, you know, we, we may go out to a restaurant, to a bar.
18:41And then you also got to be like, okay, I'm still, I can have a little fun, but I need to get back home at 10 o'clock.
18:47You know, it's just because you start to just feel like, man, I could lose it all.
18:51And for me, I don't have anybody to fall back on in my family.
18:55I'm breaking generational curses financially and, and, and, and with a bunch of other stuff.
19:00So it's just when, if I lose it all, those phone calls for me to help out with this or that is no more because this is all I have.
19:08So, um, it's, it's, it's a lot of pressure actually, you know, which I started therapy this year, um, once a, once a week.
19:16Thank you. Thank you. Um, and so with the strike going on, I have been enjoying the strike and it's allowing me to fall into redefine what my routine is outside of work, you know?
19:28Um, because you kind of just get, you go to the gym, you study your lines and then you go to work and then repeat.
19:34But now I can sort of, uh, create this routine for myself and my personal life that, that feels healthy and feels progressive in a way where, um, I can actually grow in my personal life,
19:45not just in my career, which also flows into your career. So every, everything, everything flows together.
19:52When a personal life is good, you can come to work feeling refreshed and, and feeling good. So I think that's, that's a big part of it.
19:59Okay. Switch.
20:01We're just going to go down the line with that question? Yes.
20:04Oh, okay. Um, to maintain this, I mean, uh, I hope that this is maintained.
20:09I'm so grateful, so, so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be in this position.
20:14Um, I would say what I'm doing is fostering good relationships with the people that I work with.
20:20Um, uh, in front and behind the scenes in all aspects of this, this job with the publicity and stuff, like all of it.
20:28Um, cause I think people just want to work with people they like.
20:31I think that goes a long way.
20:32This is so random, but I heard David Spade on the radio years ago.
20:37And he was like, look, I'm not that great of an actor, but people like working with me and that's why I keep getting jobs.
20:42And I was like, you know, same.
20:44I mean, maybe I'm an okay actress.
20:45No, it's a long time, but you're fantastic.
20:46But I think that relationships go really far in life.
20:51You know, if, if you have like an a-hole person that you're working with, maybe they're brilliant in some ways in their art.
20:56But like, I don't want to hang out with that every day.
20:58Yeah.
20:59So, personally, I just try to maintain great relationships with everybody.
21:02Okay.
21:03And hopefully get to do more work.
21:05Okay.
21:06Ditto.
21:07Ditto.
21:08I just, I just made a good about the work.
21:09It's just, you know, it's a, yet another character and do the best job you can.
21:12Okay.
21:14Uh, um, is it, is it working?
21:16Do you hear me?
21:17Okay, okay.
21:18Um, I think, um, a little bit along the lines of what Jacob is talking about, like working on yourself personally.
21:24Uh, I was, um, I was talking to Jabari earlier and I was telling him how I felt like, um,
21:29there are some people in the world who wake up every day and they're just happy.
21:32And they might not have as much as I think I have, or we might have, but they wake up every day.
21:37And generally they got this baseline as this happiness.
21:40And I never really known that.
21:42I don't know if it's because of where I came from.
21:43I don't know what it was, but I didn't feel like I knew that.
21:46And I was, uh, achieving these things.
21:48I said, oh man, okay, once I get that, I'm going to feel like this.
21:51Once I get that, I'm going to feel like that.
21:52And it's never really the truth.
21:54And so before Swarm came out and Transformers, I said to myself, man, I want to wake up every day
21:59and just be happy regardless of anything else that's happening outside.
22:03Um, so that when the good, when those good things happen in my career, I could actually really, really enjoy it.
22:08Not be afraid of losing number one on the call sheet or whatever the case is.
22:12Cause that could also get into your mind and make you make choices that is not really grounded in your truth.
22:18So I started working with somebody who, who that's our mission where I wake up every day and just be happy.
22:23So we found different ways to do that.
22:25And it started to, to occur.
22:27So when Swarm happened and people was really loving the show, it just felt really, really good.
22:31I felt really alive probably like for the first time because it, because the love, the love I felt for myself and the pride wasn't contingent upon everybody loving it.
22:41It just added to it that people were really, really loving this show.
22:45So yeah, just working on yourself and being yourself too, like finding out what that means to you and showing up.
22:51And yes, people don't want to work with assholes.
22:53And also you're a human being and having grace for yourself on those days where you are pretty cranky or this is happening.
23:01Sometimes if I get cranky, I'm like, oh man, they probably hate me.
23:04Or like you go home and now you're in the spiral.
23:06Or you could show up different another time and know that every day we're working on ourselves.
23:10And as long as you take responsibility and ownership of those things, I think you can allow grace and then receive the blessings that God has for you.
23:19Anyway.
23:20Okay.
23:21Amen.
23:22Amen.
23:23No, you guys are fire.
23:25I will say one thing.
23:27I just feel like, like, yes, like, you know, like really taking care of yourself and, and being a servant to, to the work.
23:35You know what I mean?
23:36Because I'm not really focused too much on being that number one spot.
23:39I'm like, I just want to be a dope character.
23:41And most of my characters, most of my favorite characters from the movies are like number three, number four.
23:45Like, you know what I mean?
23:46Just get to do fun stuff.
23:47So being a servant and, and not focusing on that and just, and, and, and bowing to the craft of the work.
23:53You know what I mean?
23:54And just, that's it.
23:55That's all I want to do.
23:56You know what I mean?
23:57And so if number one comes after that, you know what I mean?
23:58But you know what I mean?
23:59I, I, I just really want to tell dope stories.
24:01And I think if you focus on that, you know what I mean?
24:03I just, I just feel like this is, but yeah, but you're right.
24:06But you're right though about like, you know what I mean?
24:08You know what I mean?
24:09Just, just really taking care of yourself too.
24:11Cause it's a, it's a, it's, it's dark times that we're living in.
24:13You know what I mean?
24:14Like it's, it's, it's a lot going on with social media and like mental health and all that stuff.
24:17So, so you gotta be serious about that too.
24:19If you, you know, if you really want to like longevity in this, in this, in this field,
24:22you know what I mean?
24:23That's, that's very serious.
24:24So yeah, you gotta, you just gotta lock in.
24:27You know what I mean?
24:28Lock in and, and, and tap into that spirituality if you, if you on that wave, but I don't even know
24:33what I'm talking about.
24:34You're talking about being a human being.
24:38I do have a question for you all.
24:40We are at a film festival and there are filmmakers here that you may or may not know.
24:44They may be new, independent.
24:46How do you feel about roles where you might be still number one, but it's in an independent
24:52film from an unknown director?
24:54Yo, I just did that and it was fire.
24:56Like, like independence was so lit.
24:58Like I just feel like right now, like, like I, I had a very commercial start.
25:02You know what I mean?
25:03Like I really wanted to do an independent and see how that felt like.
25:05You know what I mean?
25:06Cause like I love, I love that gorilla feel.
25:07I love that.
25:08Just getting it with the, with the crew.
25:09You know what I mean?
25:10And just figuring it out together in that way.
25:11And so like, it was really fun for me.
25:13Sorry.
25:14My bad bro.
25:15That was it.
25:16That was it.
25:17Yeah.
25:18I love it.
25:19Send it down this way then.
25:20Send it to Dominique.
25:21Yeah.
25:22Okay.
25:23Yeah.
25:24I love, I, you know, I think, well, my first film was a indie film called Night Comes On.
25:28Uh, really grassroots and, uh.
25:30But we're talking about now.
25:31We're talking about now.
25:32Oh yes, of course.
25:33Well, I'm just explaining that the, the love from it start, like it started there.
25:37But yes, I would.
25:38I think, um, the most innovative ideas come from, from people who are really hungry about
25:43it.
25:44And then that's how you kind of figure out what you want to do next.
25:46And a lot of times we still looking for scripts, like, you know, and they, I would definitely
25:50do it.
25:51Okay.
25:52No, no.
25:53We're sharing.
25:54Uh, yeah, I, I've done, uh, several independent films over the career.
25:59Um, and recently I just, uh, produced, uh, my first, a small independent film with director
26:04Dion Taylor, who some of you may know.
26:06Um, and Dion's great people.
26:08And, and that's what, who I want to work with.
26:10Just to really echo what everybody's saying really is that we want to work with nice people
26:15and Dion's fantastically nice and energetic and kind, but really learning the ins and outs
26:20of what it means to, um, break down a budget was really important.
26:23His wife, Roxanne Avent, uh, showed me.
26:26We did a, a one really and truly a $1.2 million movie.
26:29And I knew where every dollar was going and why it was going there for the first time and
26:33who we were hiring and what was going to have to go on the back end to make this movie.
26:36And it was really empowering for me as an actor and a guy who's been in the business.
26:39I mean, I was really taught my neighborhood is probably like, you probably, you know,
26:42it's like copville and city worker bill and you know, like that.
26:46So like I was, I was raised to be a cog in a machine.
26:49So I really feel like I'm a really, really late bloomer in terms of, but now I'm here,
26:55you know, I'm here.
26:56And everybody's happy about that.
26:57Right?
26:58Yeah.
26:59And by the way, Dion Taylor will be on this stage on Sunday for directing while blacks
27:04will come back.
27:05Oh, great.
27:06Yeah.
27:07Yeah.
27:08There's something really special about working in independent film because everyone there
27:11truly loves the art of film.
27:13And so you're working with people who are passionate about the visuals and making something that
27:18stands out and that's special.
27:20So I would love to do more of it, work with people.
27:24It's really just about telling a really fun story, working with great people and finding
27:30unique characters to, you know, fall into.
27:35Cool.
27:36Cool.
27:37Cool.
27:38Yeah.
27:39I think, yeah, I definitely, I'm still open to indie projects and working with new people.
27:45I think ultimately it's just about loving the script, loving the character, loving the
27:51people you work with and seeing what you can do to bring to it to just make it is what
27:57it is and make it come to life.
27:59And yeah, some of my most fun projects have been super indie style and smaller budgets,
28:06which amps up the creativity somehow, right?
28:08Like when you're working with a smaller budget, you're figuring things out to make it even more
28:13creative and more special.
28:15Yeah.
28:16I also feel like, and I can't speak for everybody on the stage, but I feel like we have new
28:22ideas that we want to work on too.
28:24Like even Jacob saying, oh, I've never done theater before.
28:27And somebody having to take a chance on him in a new area that we might not know him in,
28:32you know?
28:33And so even for me, I started writing and I like when I was younger and I want to do,
28:37I want to maybe direct something.
28:39So that means that some actors are going to have to take a chance on me as a director.
28:43Maybe I won't get the big budget yet because this is my first time.
28:47So I'm definitely open to that because we all have to start somewhere and we never know
28:52what people have in store.
28:54We all have to start somewhere.
28:56But that's a good place to stop because I'm a little over time.
28:59But give a good round of applause for this panel.
29:03Thank you guys.
29:05Thank you all for coming.
29:10Thank you all for coming.
29:12And I think we're going to take a photo and then we're going to go on back into the lounge.
29:17All right guys, we have one more screening in here.
29:38It's called The Summer of Violence.
29:40It's about to come on.
29:42So please stay tuned for it.
29:46Through you.
29:48All right.
29:49We're the mother.
29:51The only thing left to do is try.
29:54Max, let's make it loud.
29:56All night, we're the mother, the only thing left to do is try Max, let's make it laugh.
30:03I tried to warn you, girl, you were endless analysis, and on, and on, and on, and on.
30:14Yo, you talk a good one, shorty love, you're making me sweat.
30:18I would lie, brother, like it, baby.
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