As young actors who are up and coming in showbiz, what has been the best advice you’ve been given about working as an actor? What advice would you give to other young actors who are looking for their big breakthrough? Is it difficult juggling school, regular life with your family and friends and being on set? What is your favorite film or favorite actor that inspired you?
These were some of the questions answered by three of today’s most exciting and promising breakthrough performers when they joined Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&A event with 2022 Oscar contenders. Watch our full group chat with Jude Hill (‘Belfast’), Gregory Diaz IV (‘In The Heights’) and Daniel Ranieri (‘The Tender Bar’) above. Click on each name above to view each person’s individual interview.
SEE Gold Derby interviews with 2022 Oscar contenders
“Really soak this all in and really allow it, allow yourself to absorb this environment,” Diaz says when asked what’s the best advice he’s received. Recalling a conversation he had with his “In The Heights” co-star Stephanie Beatriz, he explains that “it was truly a once in a lifetime experience to be surrounded by so many latinx people, both on screen and off screen, and I’ve really just kept that with me as I’ve continued to grow in my career.”
Ranieri, who made his film debut on “The Tender Bar,” recalls that director George Clooney said to him that “when you’re filming a scene, act like it’s a real conversation. Like you’re talking in a real conversation, like with your parents or your friends, don’t pretend you’re acting; make it a real conversation.”
Hill on the other hand says his director Kenneth Branagh had a lot of great advice to impart, but what stuck with him the most was him explaining that “you have to know the character before you perform the character and you have to know what they would do in a situation,” he recalls. “As long as you understand the character, then you can act it beautifully.”
As for favorite films, there was one blockbuster film franchise that received top marks from all three actors. “Marvel,” Ranieri declares. “They have a lot of action!,” he adds, noting his favorite actors include Chris Evans (who played Captain America) and Chris Hemsworth (who plays Thor). “I’m a massive fan of the Marvel universe as well,” Hill proudly proclaims. “I’ve easily watched every single film, at least eight times and my favorite film is probably “Avengers: Endgame,” just because it had so many different plot twists!”
Diaz, the elder statesman of the group at 16 years of age, names classics like the original “Toy Story” and “La La Land” as his most inspiring, but he also admits that he’s a big fan of the MCU films, and perhaps one day he might even be in one of them.
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