Long Game Conversations: Justin Stanek: The Reality of Being a Working Actor

About this episode

Silvan is joined by actor and musician Justin Stanek for a conversation about acting, music, Next Door and the reality of pursuing a creative career in Los Angeles. Justin takes us back to where it all began, from community theatre and an unexpected first commercial to packing up his life and moving across the country to LA. He opens up about the less glamorous side of being a working actor: endless auditions, day jobs, rejection, last-minute bookings and learning to confidently say, “I’m an actor.” Of course, we have to talked about River, his character from the Next Door. Justin shares the story of almost playing a completely different character in Next Door, his chemistry read with Nick, developing River with director Caroline Plyler, and why those lingering looks at Kit were absolutely intentional. We also get into the rapidly growing world of vertical filmmaking, what Justin thinks the format gets right, and wrong, and why he believes verticals aren't going anywhere.  We discuss Justin's love for music. We dive into musical theatre, songwriting, finding confidence in his own voice, his love of beautifully sad music, his dream of releasing original material and the mu