The DNA Podcast with Douglas Nyback

Hosted by acting coach/writer/producer Douglas Nyback, The DNA Podcast gives audiences access to the intimate and intense conversations he has with actors as they strive to grow as artists and individuals through various stages of their careers. Artists are always ”in process” and this show puts you in the middle of it.
Episodes
Episodes



Thursday Jun 19, 2025
#18 Lindura - Growth Through Honesty, Beauty and Pain
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
Lindura is a force. As one of the stars of the hit series, Sullivan’s Crossing, she has a presence to her that’s hard to quantify. She’s a rare cocktail of a scientific mind, ethereal beauty, and deep emotional intelligence all wrapped into one. What I find the most fascinating about her is how she recognizes these different facets of herself and is so driven to do the internal work that allows them all to work in tandem with each other as opposed to in contrast. She’s borderline addicted to growth, she’s in love with new experiences and challenges. Her passion is contagious and I found myself, in this conversation, called to expansion myself through her openness, strength, honesty, and vulnerability. I loved every minute of this chat and I’m sure you will too.
Find Lindura:
Instagram: @lifeoflindura
TikTok: @lifeoflindura
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Associate Producer: @akisharei
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms
#Lindura #SullivansCrossing #TheDNAPodcast #dnybackact #CW #CTV #podcast #ActingPodcast #acting #growth



Thursday Jun 05, 2025
#17 Sara Waisglass - The Courage to Live a Fully Felt Life
Thursday Jun 05, 2025
Thursday Jun 05, 2025
Sara Waisglass blew me away with her presence, compassion, and thoughtful approach to both her work and her life. This is—believe it or not—the first episode we’ve done where I haven’t known the guest in advance. So, to not only meet Sara, but to have such an honest conversation with her was a blessing that’s hard to measure. From Degrassi through a lifetime in the industry that has led her to the hit Netflix series, Ginny & Georgia, she has gone through a LOT. The thing that stuck with me the most is how courageously she navigates her life in a fully felt way. She works with her full self, and she lives with her full self…more than that she has the courage to sit with herself in the downtime, to quietly get to know herself better amidst all the existential complication that brings. I know you’ll have as magical a time as I did meeting her, so dive on in.
Find Sara:
Instagram: @sarawais
TikTok: @Sara.wais
Produced by: @daliayegavian @breewas
Associate Producer: @akisharei
Additional Gear Provided By: @mountainmanfilms
#SaraWaisglass #GinnyAndGeorgia #TheDNAPodcast #dnybackact #Netflix #Degrassi #podcast #ActingPodcast #acting #tudum!



Thursday May 22, 2025
Thursday May 22, 2025
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



Thursday May 08, 2025
#15 Laura Afelskie - Rising Star of Netflix’s “BET”
Thursday May 08, 2025
Thursday May 08, 2025
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



Thursday Apr 24, 2025
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
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



Thursday Apr 10, 2025
#13 Shaun Benson - A Messy, Recovering, Imperfect, and Fearless Life in Acting
Thursday Apr 10, 2025
Thursday Apr 10, 2025
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



Thursday Mar 27, 2025
#12 Camille Stopps - Presence, Passion, and Devotion to Training
Thursday Mar 27, 2025
Thursday Mar 27, 2025
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



Thursday Mar 13, 2025
#11 Julia Schneider - Industry Advice From a Leading Agent
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
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

#1 - Alexandra Chaves - Is an actor’s life worth the suffering?
In the very first episode of The DNA Podcast, I chat with the extremely talented actor and dancer Alexandra Chaves, known for the hit shows #TheNextStep and #GeekGirl. Listen along as we talk about validation, booking work, and the endurance required to succeed in this industry.