The DNA Podcast with Douglas Nyback

#16 Carson MacCormac - The Thoughtful, Philosophical, and Talented Star of the Hit Film “Clown in a Cornfield"

Carson MacCormac is no stranger to success in the world of feature film. Since his early days in the wildly popular DC “SHAZAAM!” franchise, he’s been working at an extremely high level. He’s now entering the horror genre in a big way with the release of the highly successful “Clown in a Cornfield”. Carson has always been a fascinating guy to me. He’s as likely to quote Friedrich Nietzsche to you as recommend a killer show he just found on Netflix, or an awesome fantasy novel he’s sinking his time into. He’s poetic, thoughtful, and does everything he can to better himself daily. Oh, and he also happens to be a profoundly talented actor. Talking with Carson is an exercise in growth because HE is always growing. 
 
Find Carson:
Instagram: @carson_maccormac
 
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Associate Producer: @akisharei
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms
 
#TheDNAPodcast #ClownInACornfield #MyLifeWithTheWalterBoys #Netflix #NetflixSeries #ActingPodcast #Acting #Actor #Podcast #dnybackact 

#15 Laura Afelskie - Rising Star of Netflix’s “BET”

In this episode of The DNA Podcast I have the pleasure of chatting with Laura Afelskie. Laura is a journeyman actor with a long list of credits to her name despite her young age. She’s had her fair share of hardships and in spite of that has already accomplished a LOT. Now she’s on the cusp of the release of her first major Netflix Series: BET—A live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga Kakegurui by Homura Kawamoto and Toru Naomura—and I couldn’t be more excited for her. Laura auditioned for MULTIPLE roles on this series before finally finding the perfect fit. It’s an awesome, inspiring, and informative convo for all you actors and BTS buffs out there.
 
Find Laura:
Instagram: @laura_afelskie
 
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
A warm welcome to our new DNA Intern: @akisharei
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms

#14 Eliana Jones - Bold, Hilarious, Fierce, Gorgeous, and Taking The Industry by Storm

Eliana Jones is a force. You may have seen her on any of her high profile shows—Hemlock Grove, Trick VR Treat, Northern Rescue—and if you haven’t you’ll be seeing her soon, bet on it. A frequent collaborator with Eli Roth, Eliana is as at home in the horror genre as she is in Jered Keeso’s hit comedy “Shoresy”. She’s whip smart, cutting, abrasive, and unapologetically “Eliana”. This episode is a deep dive on the life of an actor in LA who is on the verge of tremendous success, with offers starting to come in, and a roadmap of struggles behind. Eliana is a BLAST to work with, talk to, and watch on screen. Dive on in. This one’s fun.
 
Find Eliana:
Instagram: @elianajones
 
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Special Thanks to: @ambitiontalent @amaliawilliamson
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms

#13 Shaun Benson - A Messy, Recovering, Imperfect, and Fearless Life in Acting

Shaun Benson is a very special guy to a lot of people. To me, he’s someone who—even if he didn’t know it at the time—was a lighthouse for me during a very challenging time in my life. He’s an incredible actor who has been working in the industry for decades—on projects like The Boys, Billy The Kid, Mayans M.C., Gangland Undercover—a brilliant Meisner teacher, a talented photographer, and all around creative soul. Shaun and I get into it about addiction, recovery, rising, falling, and rising again in this industry. This was a profound, vulnerable, uplifting, and challenging conversation for me. I was looking forward to it immensely and it did not disappoint. So dive on it. Shaun has wisdom to share, and you’re going to want to receive it.
 
Find Shaun:
Instagram: @shaunmbenson
TikTok: @shaunybenso

#12 Camille Stopps - Presence, Passion, and Devotion to Training

In episode 12 of the DNA Podcast we have the profoundly talented actress, Camille Stopps, in the studio. You’ll see it immediately, but Camille is a bastion for human connection in a disconnected world. She is thoughtful, emotional, passionate, and dedicated in equal measure. This conversation was such a delight for me because to pull the thread of what lights Camille up as an actor is to dive headlong into a profound devotion to training, insights into emotional and intellectual connection, audition technique, the trials and tribulations of success and failure, and her unrelenting fire for this art form and her role within it. Camille is a light on this planet, and being a part of this conversation will make you a better actor, as well as challenge you to grow as a human (in the best of ways).
 
Camille’s Info:
Instagram: @camillestopps
 
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Special thanks to: @arisathan @johnboylancentreforthearts @soulsroadmovie
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms
 
#DNAPodcast #actingtips #auditiontips #camillestopps #acting #podcast #dnybackact #douglasnyback #soulsroadmovie

#11 Julia Schneider - Industry Advice From a Leading Agent

In this Episode of the DNA Podcast I’m—for the first time ever on the pod—chatting with an agent! Ambition Talent’s own Julia Schneider has been at this for nearly two decades. She’s fiercely intelligent, kind, concise, and ruthless when needed. She also cares very deeply about every creative on her roster and as such has a deep understanding of the acting and casting processes and uses that expertise to absolutely flood this episode with insider information. You’ll find useful tips for actors, practical answers for anyone out there looking to get an agent, and helpful advice for the industry veterans out there. Give this one a listen, you won’t regret it. To me, there’s nothing more interesting than learning about the behind the scenes workings of the casting/agenting process, so dive on in!
 
Ambition Talent:
Instagram: @ambitiontalent
www.ambitiontalent.com
 
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms
 
#DNAPodcast #actingtips #auditiontips #agent #actingagent #ambitiontalent #acting #podcast #dnybackact #douglasnyback

#10 Carolina Bartczak - Becoming a Leading Lady

In our 10th episode of The DNA Podcast I sit down with Leading Lady, Carolina Bartczak. Carolina has been a client, collaborator, and friend for over a decade and through that time I’ve watched her become one of the world’s leading talents. Now, she likely wouldn’t say that, she’s too humble. But if you take a look at her resume you will see her working alongside a laundry list of A-Listers from Michael Fassbender, to Lena Headey, to Taylor Kitsch and more. And now, finally, she’s the lead of her own series with the upcoming season of Plan B. Carolina’s success is built on a mountain of hard earned victories, challenges, wisdom, talent, hard work, and a surgical understanding of her audition process. Oh! And she’s also the creator and host of the industry podcast “10-1” which I highly recommend you check out. This episode is full of useful insights, practical advice, and touching stories of resilience and triumph. I’m grateful to call Carolina a friend and it means the world to me that she’s here for this milestone episode.
 
Carolina’s Info:
 
Instagram: @carolinabartczak
10-1 Podcast: @10_1thepodcast
10-1 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Qzkak3
10-1 ApplePods: https://apple.co/4gTDrHT
 
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms

#9 Trevor Tordjman - Adaptability in the industry: “You Gotta Be Water, You Gotta Embrace The Times”

In this episode of The DNA Podcast I step into the orbit of the truly charismatic, intelligent, talented, and kind Trevor Tordjman. When I first met Trevor I thought “this has to be a bit, nobody can be this genuinely engaging and charismatic”…well, turns out he is. Trevor is one of the most passionate gents I know, he loves performance, he’s already had tremendous success and is booking up a storm as he transitions his career to new heights, and he’s creating his own work on top of it all. In this episode we talk about his journey from "The Next Step", to working on multiple projects for Disney, becoming Sylvester Stallone in a short he made about Sly’s life, the current and future states of the industry, and why you cannot let fear guide your choices as an actor or a person. This one hits fast and furious, folks. Dive on in.
Find Trevor:
Instagram: @trevorflanny
TikTok: @trevorflannyt
YouTube: @trevorftordjman