wingman wednesday

After five seasons of heartwarming storytelling, the beloved family drama series “The Fosters” is saying good-bye to fans with a three-day season finale event, which continues tonight on Freeform. Star Hayden Byerly, who plays Jude Adams Foster, grew up on the show alongside of his character and is both excited for what the future holds, but appreciative for what came before – namely, the family and fans that supported him throughout his “The Fosters” journey.

We recently sat down with Byerly to discuss the wonderful surprises that the series brought into his life, why he feels he never fully understood Jude, and how his ideal career involves working nonstop.

TrunkSpace: Is saying good-bye to “The Fosters” a bit of a mixed bag, as in, you’re excited for the future and the next chapter of your life, but at the same time, sad to see this chapter close?
Byerly: Of course. As to be expected. It’s always one of the bittersweet moments of life – moving forward and hoping for the best and wondering what the future holds, but making sure to remember and being appreciative of the past.

TrunkSpace: You have to say good-bye to your on-set family, but does it also feel like you’re saying good-bye to the fans as well?
Byerly: I would say in a way. I know for a fact that “The Fosters” fans, the people who have been so supportive of the show from the start, is such a great community. They are very kind people who have really made a change in the world and made a difference and allowed this show to continue for so long. I think it is definitely a goodbye in a way, but I can only hope that “The Fosters” fans see not only me, but everyone else in the cast moving forward in our careers and continue to support us in many other things that exist in the world.

TrunkSpace: One of the things that we noticed was just how positive and supportive “The Fosters” fan base is. Was it a surprise to see how invested they became?
Byerly: It was. I was certainly taken aback, especially at a young age for so much positivity – not only that they were super interactive but people were so supportive as well. It was definitely surprising but in a wonderful way. I think it’s always beautiful when you have a show like this and so many people back it up and so many people love it and love what you do. It feels good to have that and it makes you happy to know that you’re doing something that changes the lives of so many people in such a great way.

TrunkSpace: You shot over 100 episodes as Jude. What was that long-term character journey like for you, especially not having spent that much time with a character before?
Byerly: It’s pretty remarkable because the interesting thing about it is that Jude and myself grew up together. I started the show when I was about 11 or 12 years old, as Jude was about the same age, and so he was learning a lot of things in life and growing up and going through a lot of the things that I had gone through or was also going through. And there was also many differences between the two of us. He was living a life that was very different from mine. A lot of the challenges he faced and that he had to overcome I personally did not. I was not only growing up and living my own life and trying to understand who I was, I was also going through all the trials and tribulations of Jude and all the things that he had to explore and understand about himself.

It was really wild. I never felt like I fully understood Jude because he was always growing and learning and that was something that I loved. I felt as though I was learning with him and that we were together on this ride to figure out who he was and these final three are a little… there’s a time jump, so Jude’s older. He’s got some more stuff figured out, but of course we all have pinnacle moments in our lives in which something else goes wrong or there’s a bump in the road and so Jude is still going through his own things in life – his own problems. It’s remarkable that even five years later he’s going through things that I won’t go through and that I won’t have to worry about. I’m very lucky and fortunate to live two lives and two kids who are so different.

TrunkSpace: Does it keep it fresh for you as an actor to show up and find Jude on a new path? Does that continuous growth in the character make your own journey with him more exciting?
Byerly: I feel like no actor can ever say that they fully know the character that they are, in my personal opinion. I think that there’s always so many things to learn and to understand about someone, because we are the same way. I know myself better than anyone else on this planet knows me and there’s still a lot of things that I don’t know about myself. There’s a lot of things that I question or have to figure out, and so for someone to say they completely understand a character, I don’t think that’s a possibility because we are constantly growing and changing, just as these characters are.

TrunkSpace: After spending so much time and headspace with Jude, are you in a position within your own personal journey as an actor to sign on and play another character for that long? Is that something you’d be interested in coming off “The Fosters” at this stage in your career or are you more interested in going out and trying on as many new skins as possible?
Byerly: I think all of it. I would love to do everything. I would love to spend another 100 episodes as someone else. I would love to spend a couple months, a couple years, a few moments. I think that’s the beautiful thing about this industry is that you can be so many different people in such a long or short amount of time. You can choose to really dive and divulge in a particular person as little or as much as you’d like. You can walk onto the set of a commercial and just be some suburban white kid with an adopted family and just wander around driving trucks or something, and you don’t even have a name. And then you can walk on a show and spend 100 episodes being a young foster kid and going through someone else’s entire life story. There are so many things you can do and experience in this world and I think that’s the beautiful part is that I’m fortunate and lucky enough to understand and live the lives of many people.

TrunkSpace: The future holds so many question marks for everybody, but if you could pave your own path and write your own way, what would it look like? What’s the ideal career moving forward?
Byerly: I think the ideal career moving forward for me would be getting to continue to work nonstop. That’s the one thing I love. That’s the one thing I’m passionate about, is being on set. Everything else falls into place in life when you get to do what you love and when you’re passionate about what you do. And I don’t really have a particular set thing I want to do. I would love to knock it all out. I would love to do a huge movie, move onto another show. I did some motion capture for a video game a long time ago. I’d love to do more animated things. I’d love to do everything because it’s all so different and it’s all so incredible. I’ve got a hunger to do everything. I’ve got a drive to do it all.

The industry is constantly changing and evolving and if you don’t adapt and keep up with it you’re going to fall behind, so making sure that you stay up to date and try as hard as you can and continue to push and give 100 percent is the most important thing. I talked to my dialogue coach, who is a wonderful actor and was on “The Fosters” for a long time as the dialogue coach. I value him immensely as a person and as a friend and he was talking to me a lot about a couple of different auditions and he always helps me and he was saying that it’s a competitive industry and you can’t just walk around expecting anything to be yours. No one can ever expect something to be for you. Even if you’re the perfect fit for a character, even if a character is written for you, you still have to try as if it wasn’t. You still have to give it so much effort and care and attention and that’s what determines a good actor from a great actor is that it’s someone who never stops – it’s someone who always puts in more work than seems necessary to do better.

“The Fosters” series finale three-night event continues tonight on Freeform.

After five seasons of heartwarming storytelling, the beloved family drama series “The Fosters” is saying good-bye to fans with a three-day season finale event beginning tonight on Freeform. Star Sherri Saum, who plays Lena Adams Foster, is still in awe of the impact that the show has had on viewers, but she’s even more enamored by the impact that the viewers have had on her.

We recently sat down with Saum to discuss what she learned in her journey as Lena, how she will always compare future jobs to her time on “The Fosters,” and why she’d be extra motivated to solve mysteries on a full stomach.

TrunkSpace: With “The Fosters” coming to an end, you’ve had to say good-bye to your on-set family, but in a way, does it also feel like you’re saying good-bye to the fans? They have come with you on this journey since 2013 – are they part of the equation with it now signing off?
Saum: I feel I have forged a connection with the cast and the supporters of our show that will transcend the end of the series.

TrunkSpace: Over 100 episodes is a long time to spend in another person’s skin. It’s not your longest span with a character, but was Lena different? Did her journey affect you differently as an actress than that of previous jobs, and if so, why?
Saum: I’ve learned more on “The Fosters” than I’ve learned on any other show. Things that informed me not only as an actor but also as a person and especially as a mother. I’ll take these lessons with me for a lifetime.

TrunkSpace: How much did Lena grow and change from the first time you read for her to where she is in the final three episodes set to start airing tonight on Freeform? Within that span, what were some of the biggest character shifts or storylines that you didn’t see coming?
Saum: Lena began as a definite momma bear, the soft heart of the family. And while she was fierce in her role as momma and protector of her kids, she wasn’t always as good at fighting for what she deserved in her career. She became a fighter over the seasons – probably influenced by Stef – and in the end of the series we finally see Lena stepping up and owning her full power as a woman, a mother, and a community leader.

TrunkSpace: It’s so hard to tell what will connect with people and what won’t when it comes to television. Was it a surprise just how invested viewers became in not only the series but in your character as well?
Saum: I think part of me is still in awe of the impact but the other part totally gets it. We gave much needed validation and visibility to families and people. It had been so sorely lacking in the landscape of TV.

TrunkSpace: What is something that you are going to take from your experience on “The Fosters” that you will apply to your professional life moving forward?
Saum: Being part of such a special project has set the bar high for me as an actor. I’m not so naïve to think I won’t have to take on some projects in the future for practical reasons – but I’m always going to have a sense of wanting to do more – to be part of telling better stories because of my experience with “The Fosters.”

TrunkSpace: What about personally? Where has the series impacted your life the most and what will you look back on in 20 years and think of fondly?
Saum: Personally I’ve been able to meet people and hear stories about the impact “The Fosters” has had on them. Stories that humble me beyond belief. I’ll never forget how it feels to make people feel included and loved. People all over the globe. It’s astonishing.

TrunkSpace: You posted a picture on Twitter about a month ago, drinking coffee (we assume that was just coffee!) while watching “Scooby-Doo,” referencing it as living your best life. So, we have to ask, if dropped into a real-life mystery complete with “jinkies” moments, which “Scooby-Doo” character’s mystery-solving skills would yours most resemble and why?
Saum: I’d be Scooby-Doo or Shaggy for sure. Always extra motivated to solve a mystery if I’m well fed!

TrunkSpace: Continuing with the idea of living your best life, as you look forward, what does your best professional life look like? If you could write your own future, how would you script your career moving forward?
Saum: In my perfect world I’d be a serial series monogamist. And some of my roles would include physical bad-assery. In some superhero way.

TrunkSpace: You’ve guested on some great shows over the course of your career. Is there a character who was particularly interesting to you that you wished you got to explore further?
Saum: To be honest, I’m still in a love bubble stupor over “The Fosters.” It’s eclipsing anything I’ve done previously. I can’t recall ever being so emotionally and creatively fulfilled in my work as I have been with “The Fosters.”

TrunkSpace: Finally, as fans gear up to say good-bye to “The Fosters” for the last time, what do you want to say to them about the journey and how their loyalty to the show has impacted you over the course of its run? How have they made this a fulfilling chapter in your own life?
Saum: I just want fans of the show to know that their support and love of the show has elevated the experience into something I will never, ever let go of. And I will always remember how hard they fought to keep it going.

“The Fosters” series finale three-night event kicks off tonight on Freeform.

Michael J. Fox, in a DeLorean, while we both sipped Hi-C Ecto Cooler in the year 1955. That’s the only interview circumstance that our inner child would have found more exciting than getting the chance to have a dinosaur-sized conversation with paleontologist Steve Brusatte. Seriously, as lifelong terrible lizard lovers, we’re downright giddysaurus!

The accomplished paleontologist-turned-author recently released the scientifically-focused “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World,” a book written for adults who never stopped staring wide-eyed at the distant past. We recently sat down with Brusatte to discuss dino enchantment, how our view of the long-extinct creatures has changed over the years, and why the Therizinosaurus needs a better publicist.

TrunkSpace: Like so many kids before and after you, were you mesmerized by dinosaurs at a young age and is that where your career as a paleontologist first began? Can you pinpoint an exact moment where a love for dinosaurs and discovery cemented themselves in your young mind?
Brusatte: Strangely enough, I wasn’t one of THOSE kids – the five year olds who know the name of every dinosaur, down to the proper spelling and pronunciation. I meet kids like that all of the time now when I go into schools to talk about dinosaurs. But when I was in elementary school, I wasn’t interested in science at all. It was my least favorite class. My brother Chris, though, he was obsessed with dinosaurs. He turned his bedroom into a dinosaur museum and library. And slowly, through osmosis, his enthusiasm infected me and I became enthralled with dinosaurs when I was in high school, and haven’t stopped since.

TrunkSpace: As someone who has been on the other side of the wonderment starting in high school, why do you think dinosaurs are sort of timeless in their ability to captivate people of all ages? And in addition to that, has your own wonderment waned at all over the years or has it only increased?
Brusatte: I’ve gotten more cynical about certain things as I’ve gotten older. Politics especially. And professional sports! But not dinosaurs. Whenever I walk into a museum, I still feel that same enchantment that I did when I was a teenager going to the Field Museum in Chicago to see their dinosaurs. I can’t quite put words to it, as I think it’s more magic than logic. But there is just something indescribable about dinosaurs. I think they are more fantastic than dragons or sea monsters or unicorns or anything humans have ever invented in myths and legends, but they were REAL!

TrunkSpace: The way people view dinosaurs has changed a lot in recent years. When we were kids, we were taught that they were distant relatives of reptiles, but now, it’s widely understood that they’re more closely related to birds. Do you think there are more discoveries in this category to be had – the kind that change the way we view dinosaurs as a whole?
Brusatte: Totally. I still remember the dinosaur books in my school library, and the way dinosaurs were portrayed in our textbooks. They were these dim-witted, slow-moving, drab-colored idiots, just kind of sitting around waiting to go extinct. And this wasn’t too long ago – this was the late 1980s and the 1990s! But now we know this is completely incorrect. Dinosaurs were nature’s ultimate success stories. They were an empire that ruled the world for over 150 million years, and many of them were fast, smart, dynamic, active, and energetic. And yes, they were much more like birds than reptiles. A lot of them even had feathers. The discovery of the first feathered dinosaurs in the late 1990s was a gamechanger. But who knows what the next ground-shifting discovery will be? That’s the exciting – and addictive – thing about a science like paleontology. You can never predict what somebody’s going to find next.

TrunkSpace: We would imagine that feathers are not easy to preserve, especially over the course of 66 million years or so. Has technology made those discoveries possible, or is a big part of it being in the right place at the right time and stumbling upon the preserved evidence?
Brusatte: Feathers are so hard to preserve. It was actually back in the 1860s, during the time of Darwin, that the great British scientist Thomas Henry Huxley first proposed that birds evolved from dinosaurs. He noticed many similarities in their bones. But the idea was controversial for well over a century, until the feathered dinosaurs were found in northeastern China in the late 1990s. That ended the debate. The reason it took so long to find them is that soft things like feathers, skin, muscles, and internal organs are really hard to preserve as fossils. They decay really quickly, or get eaten by predators. Most fossils are hard stuff like bones, teeth, and shells. These dinosaurs in China had the great misfortune to live in a lush jungle that was periodically buried by volcanoes, almost Pompeii style, and so they were entombed in rock really quickly, going about their everyday business, and the feathers didn’t have time to decay. It wasn’t new technology that found these amazing fossils, but farmers in northeastern China, working their land. Right place at the right time I suppose – but these farmers are amazing. They keep finding feathered dinosaurs. They know all of the best spots. There are thousands of feathered dinosaur skeletons that have now been found!

TrunkSpace: Many of the dinosaurs that the general public have become familiar with never actually existed during the same time as each other. Is one of the biggest misconceptions about dinosaurs the idea that ALL species walked the Earth at the same time?
Brusatte: Yes indeed, it’s what we call the Jurassic Park Fallacy! The films show lots of dinosaurs from different places and time periods living together. Of course that’s fine because they’re cloned dinosaurs living in a theme park, and the film is entertainment and not a science documentary, so I won’t complain! But it does perhaps give this impression that all dinosaurs lived everywhere at once. But the world of dinosaurs was like our modern world: different species lived in different places, and the species changed over time. New ones evolved, old ones went extinct. How’s this for a fact to blow your mind? T. rex (which lived 66 million years ago) is closer in time to us than it was to Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus (which lived about 150 million years ago). Digest that one!

TrunkSpace: What is a species of dinosaur that you feel deserves more publicity? For us, it’s the Dimetrodon, though if we remember correctly, it’s not actually a dinosaur, but man, that fin is pretty awesome! What about you – what dino would you love for more people to learn about?
Brusatte: First off, you’re totally right about Dimetrodon: it’s not a dinosaur (it’s a primitive relative of mammals, believe it or not), but it is awesome and deserves a better publicist. As for a dinosaur that’s still inexplicably yet to make its big break, I would go with Therizinosaurus. This is a member of the meat-eating dinosaur group that switched to a vegetarian diet. It was almost 30 feet long, with eight-foot-long arms capped with Edward Scissorhands-style scythe claws. It had big bulky legs and enormous feet, but probably only a tiny little head. This was one weird dinosaur. It needs a better agent.

TrunkSpace: You recently released the book “The Rise And Fall Of The Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World.” What were your goals when you set out to put the book together and did you achieve them when all was said and done?
Brusatte: There are so many books about dinosaurs for kids. If you go to a bookstore, or to a library, you might see hundreds of them. But there aren’t so many dinosaur books for adults. And I find that really weird, and a big shame, because dinosaurs were awesome, and they have a lot to teach us. These were the animals that ruled the world before humans, and their evolutionary story reads like fiction, but it actually happened! That’s the story I tell in the book: how the dinosaurs started humble and gradually rose up to dominance, how they then spread around the world and grew to huge sizes, how some got smaller and developed feathers and became birds, and how the rest of them suddenly died out when the environment quickly deteriorated. Throughout, I try to spice it up with my own stories of digging up dinosaurs around the world, and stories of my many amazing colleagues – particularly the young women and men who have grown up in this post-Jurassic Park generation and are fueling a golden age in dinosaur research.

TrunkSpace: What was the process of writing the book like for you? Is writing a labor of love or does it feel more like labor?
Brusatte: Completely a labor of love. My day job is a standard academic researcher job at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. It’s a wonderful job: I teach classes, I run a lab, I advise graduate students, I write grants and serve on committees, I do fieldwork and describe dinosaurs, and I do a lot of outreach. I think that engaging with the public is really important, and also really fun. People need to know about the science we’re doing. If we hide it away behind university doors, and within the pages of specialist research journals, then who does that benefit? Who does that inspire? I had to find nuggets of time when I wasn’t teaching or doing fieldwork to write the book, but I enjoyed it so much and hope I get the opportunity to write another one someday!

TrunkSpace: In the book you reference the present day being the “golden age of paleontology” with about 50 new species being discovered every year. At the same time, it feels like we’re living in an age where science is being pushed aside and marginalized. Is there concern within the scientific community that the golden age will end due to a lack of funding and interest from future generations?
Brusatte: It is the golden age, no doubt. Somebody, somewhere, is finding a new species of dinosaur once a week on average! And that has been happening for the past decade. It’s all because paleontology has become a global science, and it’s countries like China, Argentina, Brazil, and Mongolia that are leading the way these days. Young scientists in these countries, and all around the world, are the engine behind this boom. I have no doubt that there are tons of dinosaurs still out there to be found. But I do worry that in our modern politically-inflamed culture wars, that science is seen as a partisan thing, the purview of elites, and a threat to the way of life and beliefs of many people. That’s really nonsensical. Most scientists like me are overgrown children who are so giddy about the natural world that we want to explore it and understand it.

TrunkSpace: You’ve been responsible for naming 15 new species of dinosaurs. When all is said and done and you hang up your Indiana Jones hat (we assume that every paleontologist wears a fedora!), what do you hope your legacy is? What do you want to be known for?
Brusatte: I wear more of a floppy fishing hat while in the field. It’s easy to pack and covers my whole face and neck during those long, hot days in the sun. My wife hates it, says it looks ridiculous and dorky. But it works! No sunburns. Some paleontologists do wear fedoras though. I’ve even known a couple of them to carry bullwhips in the field for some reason, I guess just to look the part of Indiana Jones. Bullwhips do not help us find or dig up dinosaurs, I can assure you! Anyway, when it comes to my legacy, I haven’t thought about that! I think (hope) I’m far too young to begin thinking about how I’ll be remembered. I’m just having a lot of fun, trying to discover new things about the world, trying my best to work collaboratively and train a new generation of students, and trying to communicate my enthusiasm to the public.

TrunkSpace: Finally, Steve, is there a way to articulate for our readers the feeling you get when you make a new discovery? What emotions rush to the surface when you uncover something that hasn’t been seen for millions and millions of years?
Brusatte: I’m normally a quite ebullient person, and my book is full of all sorts of flowery adjectives and other thesaurus words. But when it comes to describing the moment of discovery, I find it really hard to articulate. There is something amazing about being the first person to find a fossil, the first person to ever see it, the first person to glimpse something that lived millions (or tens or hundreds of millions) of years ago. But I don’t think that does it justice. It’s like trying to describe love. How can you really do it?

“The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World” is available now from William Morrow.

When you’re pursuing your dreams and things don’t go according to plan, it’s easy to get discouraged and drift from the personal path you’ve set yourself on. It wasn’t that long ago that Mouna Traoré considered walking away from acting, but the joy she experiences while performing kept her focused and driven to succeed. Now she’s starring in two new series, BET’s “In Contempt” and “Condor,” which premieres on the Audience Network June 6.

We recently sat down with Traoré to discuss how working on “In Contempt” has bolstered her confidence, the thing she reminds herself of daily, and why she’d like to establish herself as a writer in the future.

TrunkSpace: You’re currently starring in BET’s “In Contempt.” As far as your own personal journey with the series thus far, where has it impacted your life the most?
Traoré: I think that starring in “In Contempt” bolstered my confidence more than anything else. As a performer, it’s natural to feel insecure because there is so much rejection, and before this project I was very anxious about what direction my career was going to take. I was very clear on the fact that I wanted to work on projects that reflected my social and political views, and made career decisions that reflected that, but I never imagined that my dream job would manifest so quickly or so in line with who I am and the kind of stories I want to tell.

TrunkSpace: The show tackles a lot of hot button topics and handles them in a very real, grounded way. How refreshing is that as a performer to be able to work on a series that is balancing both entertaining people and saying something substantial about the state of things at the same time?
Traoré: It’s not only refreshing to work on a series that is both entertaining and socially engaged, it’s also inspiring. Working on “In Contempt” has been an incredible learning experience. It feels wonderful to be part of a project that validates the stories of oppressed and marginalized people while it actively empowers its audience. For the first time, I feel like I’m using my talent to make a difference and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity!

TrunkSpace: Did you find a connection with your character Vanessa out of the gates or did it take some discovery to find who she is beyond what was presented to you?
Traoré: As soon as I read the breakdown for the character Vanessa Hastings I thought, “THIS IS ME!” Vanessa is a fish out of water at the Defenders Association and I’ve felt like that a lot. Like Vanessa, I’ve been very accustomed to being the only black person in a lot of spaces. I also grew up with white step parents, and have felt very removed from black communities at times. Reading the scripts, I felt as though I knew this girl implicitly. At times, I still am that girl!

TrunkSpace: One of the things that seems so great about BET as a network is that they really give their series a chance to grow and find an audience. Is that a breath of fresh air as an actor, not having to constantly look over your shoulder wondering if a cancellation is looming?
Traoré: It’s definitely lovely to feel like our show has the opportunity to grow and find its audience. It takes a lot of pressure off you as a performer and gives you a kind of freedom and confidence. It’s also awesome to know that the people who watch are dedicated fans, who are in it until the end.

TrunkSpace: We’ve read that you’ve considered walking away from acting on a few occasions. What helped you to stay the course and continue to reach for your dreams?
Traoré: Knowing that deep down, the purest joy I’ve ever felt since I was born has come from acting is the only thing that has kept me from walking away. And valuing the process and experience of creating as an actor more than the goals or the superficial rewards. When I realized I had the ability to make choices based on my happiness and not an idea of what I should do or what other people want, it changed everything. And having a team that loves and supports me 100 percent has also helped!

TrunkSpace: Is it difficult to sometimes separate the business aspect of acting – which at times can be a little deflating – from the side of the craft that fuels you from a creative space? Is it important to remind yourself WHY you love it?
Traoré: The only thing that keeps me in the industry is the knowledge of why I love it. I remind myself of why I do this daily. And I choose to create my own work to keep that feeling alive. Being an artist is a privilege and the business aspect is a necessary component no matter what level you’re working at. You can either use it to your advantage or let it consume you.

TrunkSpace: Beyond “In Contempt you’re also set to star in “Condor” which premieres on June 6th. The series has a really deep bench in terms of the quality of talent both in front of and behind the camera. Again, as far as your experience is concerned, what did you take from your time on the show? What will you carry with you through the rest of your career/life?
Traoré: After working on “Condor” I was moved by the level of dedication and artistry I observed from the cast and crew members on the show. For such a big budget project with so many big names, it was a remarkably relaxed set. The directors as well as the showrunners Jason Smilovic and Todd Katzberg completely trusted us as actors to do our jobs, and it was liberating. The experience illuminated the fact collaboration is key to creativity.

TrunkSpace: Your character Iris seems far removed from Vanessa of “In Contempt.” Is that part of the dream, getting to play a diverse group of characters in a diverse body of projects?
Traoré: Playing vastly different characters is the most exciting part of the job! It’s such a dream to bounce around different realms of human experience. Iris is moons away from Vanessa, and it’s so much fun making that leap. It can be challenging but also educational.

TrunkSpace: We read that acting first landed on your radar at age three. If you could sit down and have a conversation with that younger version of yourself today, what would she think about your path to becoming a professional actress?
Traoré: She would probably be very unimpressed with me. She would probably say, “Why aren’t you famous yet?” and roll her eyes. She’d probably think I should’ve started earlier and suggest I should’ve run away from home or something. Young me was an idiot. Old me would have a lot explaining to do.

TrunkSpace: Finally Mouna, we spoke about moments where you considered taking a break from acting, but we’re curious, as you look further down the road, are there things professionally that you want to accomplish outside of acting and do you see a day when acting takes a backseat to those other pursuits?
Traoré: I would really love to also establish myself as a writer. I dream of having my own TV show like Issa Rae and eventually creating a whole empire of content for film and TV. It’ll be a long time before acting takes a backseat, but I can see myself getting to a place where creating content is more stimulating than performing it.

“In Contempt” airs Tuesdays on BET.

“Condor” premieres June 6 on AT&T Audience Network.

Licensed Practical Nurse by day, actor by night. It sounds a bit like the premise of a new superhero movie, and while the day/night schedule juggling is not exactly accurate to his story, it’s a log line that happens to be pretty close to the life of Joshua Pak. The Calgary, Alberta native can be seen in the recently released Charlize Theron film “Tully” and is set to appear in the most recent update of “Freaky Friday” premiering on the Disney Channel this summer. And yes, he is also a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Give this man a cape!

We recently sat down with Pak to discuss being present in a scene, the best advice he received from director Jason Reitman, and why he’s leaving the time traveling adventures to Marty McFly.

TrunkSpace: You appear in the new film “Tully” opposite Charlize Theron. They say that work begets work in this business. Are you hopeful that the film will be a game changer for your career and open up additional doors?
Pak: Since being cast and having it appear on my resume, it has definitely led more casting directors to have me come in and audition. It has also been a conversation piece at times whenever I’m in a director or producer session. However, breakout star when the film premieres? Likely not. More opportunities? Absolutely. No matter where I am in my career, I’m always going to have to work for it.

TrunkSpace: Within your performance, what are you most proud of? Where do you feel that you were stretched the most in inhabiting Dallas?
Pak: Charlize and Jason (Reitman) believe being present lends to moments that you can’t plan for. We would do a general blocking of the scenes and run the dialogue very flat. But everything was done on “Action!” On most of the projects I have worked on in the past, there would usually be a very thorough rehearsal before we shoot, that’s what I’m used to. In this instance, I was challenged to trust my instincts, which is an ongoing battle as an actor since it is something we question all the time. I’m proud of the fact that I was able to throw away everything I had prepared and really just be present.

TrunkSpace: As you mentioned, the film is directed by Jason Reitman, but it is also written by Diablo Cody. As far as creative teams are concerned, we would be hard-pressed to find one that carries quite as much industry cred as that. Did you view your time on “Tully” just as much of an education as you did a job?
Pak: Absolutely. Every set is different and I always learn something new. This is the first time I have worked on a project with multiple A-list creatives and talent attached. Oscar-nominated director, Oscar-winning writer, and an Oscar-winning actress who is my scene partner for two days. It was an absolute masters class! Whenever I was in the green room, I couldn’t help but peek out and watch these geniuses work. Believe me, I took a lot of mental notes.

TrunkSpace: Was there a piece of advice or direction that Jason passed on to you while in production that you’ll take with you throughout the rest of your career?
Pak: Jason told me not to worry about performing and to focus on finding truth in the dialogue. He said it’s just as important to listen as it is to talk and that acting is just as much about how you hear things as it is about how you say things.

TrunkSpace: You’re also set to appear in the Disney Channel update of “Freaky Friday,” which will premiere on the network this summer. Is there something kind of nice about working on a project that has an established fan base/interest level, because, to an extent, you know that people are going to tune in and see your work?
Pak: Disney has made different versions of movies and TV shows and they have extremely dedicated fans because they are able to reach all generations – so it’s incredibly thrilling to be part of a story that people are familiar with. This version of “Freaky Friday” will be a lot of fun as it’s a music-driven movie.

TrunkSpace: “Tully” is a comedy. “Freaky Friday” is not exactly heavy drama. Is comedy the direction you see your career heading or are you eager to also dive into more dramatic roles and other genres?
Pak: I love comedy. Because in life, comedy exists even during the most “dramatic” circumstances. It is something I want to continue doing, however; I do want to explore many genres of film and television so I can express myself and be seen playing different characters. At the end of the day, I always want to be able to reinvent myself.

TrunkSpace: The first audition you ever had was for the film “Superbad.” You read for the part of McLovin’, which was more CHARACTER than character. That’s a big first audition to tackle. What did you take away from that experience and what did it teach you about the auditioning process?
Pak: Oh my god. I was so new and really had no clue what I was walking into. During the audition, the casting director was laughing and laughing very hard. I found out later from my agent that she was laughing at the fact that I was delivering the dialogue like a theater performance: to the reader, to the camera operator, to the casting director, to the walls. She told my agent that I had potential but I needed to take audition classes. I followed their advice and learned very quickly that auditions are a completely different animal than scene study or a film set. Let me say it, auditions are HARD! There is nothing easy about them but it is an integral part of the process and a skill that needs to be worked on consistently.

TrunkSpace: You’re a Licensed Practical Nurse. Within that profession, you must experience a lot of human emotion as an outside observer. In a way, has it helped you with your acting, almost from a character study standpoint?
Pak: Very much so. I get to care for people in some of the most difficult and frightening times of their lives. Working in healthcare has not only aided my craftsmanship as an actor but also as a human being.

TrunkSpace: Is acting the career path you always saw yourself taking, or was it a detour from the path you were paving as a Licensed Practical Nurse?
Pak: The interesting thing about actors is that we take on many different jobs to support our craft. I always saw myself pursuing acting, but I was at a point in my life where I needed stability and flexibility. The entertainment industry is very unpredictable so I took a bit of a hiatus to go back to school because I wanted something more concrete behind me to support this path of mine.

TrunkSpace: We read that you love yourself some “Back to the Future,” so we have to ask… if someone claiming to be a “Doc” came to you with a time-traveling car and offered you a chance to catch a glimpse of your career 10 years into the future, would you take it?
Pak: As tempting as it would be, no! I love those movies but those adventures were meant for Marty McFly, not me! I’m a huge believer that everything happens for a reason.

TrunkSpace: And as an extension of the previous question… neon-colored hoverboards, how badly did you want one as a kid?
Pak: I wanted one so bad! As a kid, I thought that by now we would have flying cars and hoverboards – maybe in another lifetime.

“Tully” is in theaters now and will be available on DVD and VOD in August.

“Freak Friday” premieres this summer on the Disney Channel.

There was a time when there were only a small handful of new shows that viewers had to track, mostly in the fall, but thanks to an endless number of cable networks and streaming platforms producing scripted programming, it seems there is a never-ending supply of series premieres to plan for. With life taking a large portion of our time (family, work, sleep, etc.) how do we divvy up the scattered free hours that we have for the most recent pop culture players and newbie debuts.

Well for starters, you could tune-in to anything Aliyah O’Brien is starring in. Guaranteed to capture your attention, the Toronto-based actress is a charismatic  scene stealer, recreating on-screen likability in almost every character she inhabits. But don’t take our word for it. Her new series “Take Two” premieres June 21 on ABC, opening the door for her most recent character, Detective Christine Rollins, to win you over.

We recently sat down with O’Brien to discuss the balance that the show strikes, why she has been cast in a lot of authoritative roles, and how she reacts when she gets on a roller coaster.

TrunkSpace: In an industry where it seems everything is hurry up and wait, how exciting was it to receive a straight to series order for “Take Two?”
O’Brien: Oh my gosh – it’s a gift from the universe, my friend. Yeah, it’s a real treat. I didn’t realize how many pilots get made and then don’t go to series. I had a conversation with a friend about this, and it’s something like 15 percent. I mean, “Huh?” It’s so odd to book a pilot, and then let alone have it get made.

TrunkSpace: The premiere is set for June 21 on ABC. In a day and age where there’s so much content available to people, why is “Take Two” one that they should make time for?
O’Brien: I think people are really going to like it. It’s really fun, and for me anyways, it has that nice balance of the mystery of solving the crime, which is engaging, but also it’s grounded and real. I think you care about the characters enough that you will also want to see their lives unfold as they solve the mysteries. I’m really partial to dramadies that are grounded and real and relatable, but that also have some fun and uplifting elements. I think people will really like it, and I think we got a good cast that’s doing a great job. and our writers are fantastic. I’m hopeful that it does well and we do this for many years.

TrunkSpace: And it seems to have its own distinct voice, which should help it stand out.
O’Brien: Exactly. Our creator/showrunners, Andrew (Marlowe) and Terri (Edda Miller), are veterans in this genre, and I think that what we have is unique, but it’s also backed by tons of experience. What I really like about them is, though we are doing a formulaic procedural type show, they play a lot against stereotypes, and they come up with some interesting concepts and twists where you’re always surprised, which is super fun. I know for myself, with my character, which I can’t really reveal a ton of, but they did some stuff that surprised me even, and played against stereotypes, and I always really appreciate that.

TrunkSpace: Like you said, you can’t give too much away about your character, but what’s interesting about her that you wouldn’t mind exploring for 100 episodes or more?
O’Brien: I think that what’s cool is that she is… I always like playing a boss, someone that’s bad-ass and tough, and but that also has depth and care and sass and humor. I think that Detective Christine Rollins is not only really good at her job, but she also has a little fun. Hopefully down the road you’ll also discover that she’s also a very caring human being, so she’s not just a surfacy sort of emotionally-suppressed woman, which I’ve played a lot of those. (Laughter) That’s not… that is boring.

TrunkSpace: We’ve also noticed that you’ve played a lot of authoritative figures.
O’Brien: Isn’t it interesting? It’s true, I usually play these sort of strong, tough women, and I guess there’s an element of me that is that obviously or I probably wouldn’t get cast as those roles. Then there’s the side of me that’s like this crazy hippy chick who’s really soulful and has a house full of crystals and is kind of a nerd and is freaked out a lot of the time and is constantly working on that. (Laughter) It’s really funny how people perceive you, and how you perceive yourself and how you feel.

TrunkSpace: In the case of auditions, so much of how you’re perceived takes place within the matter of seconds, correct?
O’Brien: Yes, and I think a huge part of it is that I’m a tall brunette woman that has a lower registered voice, and I guess maybe by comparison to a lot of the women I know, I do have some confidence and some gravitas, or at least I can fake it. I’m working on it. I’m working really hard at building that side of myself and really owning it. I guess that maybe it’s showing up.

TrunkSpace: Does acting help with that? Does portraying other people force you to take an outside perspective of yourself at times?
O’Brien: Yeah, totally. It’s sort of like there’s a feedback loop that happens where you get these jobs that freak the shit out of you, and therefore you need to work on yourself so that you can show up and be a great actor and be open and available. Then by proxy you grow, and you grow as a person, and then you get even bigger roles and better roles, and it just kind of constantly gives you more opportunity to work on yourself. I never feel like I’ve arrived and I’m now super confident and “I got this!” There’s always challenge. It’s a great opportunity for me to work on my inner life.

TrunkSpace: Going back to “Take Two,” one of the things that the showrunners are well-known for is creating characters who are great at bantering back and forth. Will that be an element of this series as well, and does that make tackling a character more interesting when you get to own strong dialogue?
O’Brien: Hell yes! Tons of great banter, and very clever, witty scripts. Definitely.

It definitely makes it more fun to do and I think it feels quite natural for me because I am a bit sassy in real life. This character just sort of feels like I stepped into it and it felt like a glove – it wasn’t like I had to do any work. It was like, “This is pretty much me.” I enjoy it very much. 

TrunkSpace: So now that the premiere date is only a few weeks away, is it a nerve-racking wait to see how it will be perceived?
O’Brien: You know what, no. Maybe when we get closer to it it will be nerve-racking, but in my life right now, I’m pretty surrendered to whatever is meant to happen will happen. Obviously I’d love for it to go a lot of years. I have a plan where I’m going to live in Bali part-time and do the show and do some other stuff. I’m going to spend at least a couple of months a year in Bali. That would really help out my plan. (Laughter)  

I go with the flow, and if it didn’t work out, then I would come up with a new plan. I’m sort of one of those people though that does tend to, if I’m going to be nervous, it’s like right before. When we’re down to the wire, then I might be nervous. Otherwise, I don’t get excited about a trip usually until I’m on the plane.

TrunkSpace: So you’re the person who is game to get on the roller coaster, but then when it’s ticking up and ready to go, you start to panic?
O’Brien: Kind of, although usually, because I love crazy shit like that, I’m like, “Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhh!” I scream, but I secretly just love it. (Laughter) I am that person that leaps and then is like, “What the fuck have I done?” But it’s too late, which is good. (Laughter)

Featured image by: Shimon.

Geovanni Gopradi is used to coming to set prepared, but since joining the Tyler Perry series “The Haves and the Have Nots,” the Miami native has had to up his readiness game. Shooting 80 pages of dialogue a day – an incredible workload even by the most productive of standards – the part calls for a combination of memorization and improvisation, a pairing the actor finds liberating.

We recently sat down with Gopradi to discuss discovering his character over an extended period of time, justifying the choices Broderick makes within his fictional life, and why being a cast member on “The Haves and the Have Nots” is such an adrenaline rush.

TrunkSpace: From what we could tell, Broderick is the longest time you have ever spent with one character. What has that long-term discovery process been like for you?
Gopradi: I don’t get all of the episodes ahead of time, and so, I found ways to justify a lot of what the character does and says, continuously. Since we only shoot per season, I create an arc and I create a character, and I justify what he does and he says, and then once I come to the next season, he is doing other stuff, and so I continuously need to be justifying, pushing that arc and discovering more about the character – creating more history on the character as a way that I can connect what he’s saying through other things so that it can all make sense. It’s a continuous creative process that, as an actor, I have to go through in order to make everything cohesive and make sense, and move forward.

TrunkSpace: It almost sounds like you’re creating a painting, only, you’re working on a section of it little by little over the course of a few years.
Gopradi: Well, you have other people also having their input in the same painting, so you have to kind of find your place, and you gotta wait and see and then figure out where your best brushstroke is going to be in this beautiful painting we’re doing together.

TrunkSpace: So, with that being said, do you ever look back at some of your earlier episodes and think, “Maybe I would have done that differently, had I known he was going in this direction?”
Gopradi: I find myself, whenever I come to a fork in the road with a character, as to why he’s doing something – could go this way or that way – I do two things. One, I’ll leave it open so that I can discover later on, and so I can go either way with a choice. Or two, I pick the stronger choice and I pray that that’s the direction we’re going. (Laughter) So those are the two things that I would do. I would either leave it open, show that it could be interpreted either way, or choose the stronger choice. But looking back at it and saying, “I wish I would have done this, had I known that,” kind of puts me in a downfall. What I do instead is, I look back and say, “Okay, he did this, and now he’s doing this. Now I have to figure out a way to justify it.”

TrunkSpace: That’s true, because in a lot of ways, you have to maintain the focus of moving forward, the same way that your character is in life.
Gopradi: Correct. I can’t be looking back and saying, “Oh, well if I would have known…” It’s just, “Well, this is what I have now. Justify it.”

TrunkSpace: So within those choices that you made, either keeping them open or going with the stronger, bolder choice, has this show allowed you to showcase yourself – your skill set – in a way that previous jobs haven’t?
Gopradi: Yes and no. It’s allowed me to showcase a certain type of skill set, because of the speed in which Tyler Perry shoots, which is very, very fast. He shoots an episode a day – about 80 pages of dialogue a day – when usually it takes about three or four days to shoot an episode. Because of that, because of the certain restrictions like we were just talking about having to justify character choices, I get to showcase those type of skills – not having the luxury of having many takes. He shoots so fast, I often only have one take. We’re only going with one option, one take, you’re just continuously living the life of the character almost as if you were on stage. And there’s very, very, very, very little of taking it back and to retake that sentence, or retake that word, unless you really mess up or you fumble or something. But other than that, whatever choice and whatever you do in that moment is going to stick, unless you’re far off in left field and he wants you to do something different and tries to bring you back. It’s really up to the actors to do. And if we fall into a blank from the lines, we improvise. And as long as we’re within the realm of what we’re saying and what we’re doing, he’ll let it go, as long as we keep moving. The trick is to keep moving. So I’m showcasing my ability to stay focused, to stay in character, to my memorization, my improv skills. I’m able to maintain those relationships, know where I’m coming from, where I’m going, create those moments, and those skills I can showcase. But some of the other skills and the other benefits that you get from having multiple takes, from having multiple angles and being able to redo the scene differently every time, and to discover within that scene bolder choices or better choices or different choices, and then having the ability to then, in the editing room, have them choose which one of the choices they want to go with, we don’t have those options here. What we give is what they take. So make it good, make it fast, make it work.

TrunkSpace: So within that speedy process, have you learned anything about yourself and your abilities that you didn’t think you were capable of before?
Gopradi: Oh, definitely! From the first episode, from the very first scene I recorded, it was apparent to me that my experience is what’s really come into play into honing my instincts, because when you’re filming at that speed, and you have that little bit of time, it really comes down to your instincts. It’s what you intuitively do. After having done all the work and the character research and the arc, and having all that pre-work as we do as actors, it really comes down to just trusting your instincts and allowing your intuition to take lead. And trusting it. It’s just like jumping off a plane with a parachute. You’re gonna trust the parachute is gonna open and hope you land safe. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: And certainly that allows you not to second guess yourself, too, which for a lot of people, sometimes means getting int your own head.
Gopradi: Definitely. It’s liberating, in a way that improv is liberating, where you’re not thinking, you’re just reacting. It’s definitely an adrenaline rush. It’s definitely a high, especially when you are completely and fully connected to your scene partners, and you are focused – you’re in scene. It really is an adrenaline that once the scene is done, you don’t want to come out of it. You just want to keep going. Keep working.

TrunkSpace: Which is great for getting 80 pages done!
Gopradi: (Laughter) Exactly, exactly. A whole episode.

“The Haves and the Have Nots” airs Tuesdays on OWN.

Fans of “Scooby-Doo” can attest that amateur detective Velma is one of those characters who, although iconic in look and sound, had the potential to be developed out much further than her animated arcs allowed. Thanks to the new movie “Daphne & Velma,” a live action origin story, we’re learning more about what makes Miss Dinkley tick other than hidden clues and oversized turtlenecks.

Sarah Gilman plays the jinkies-delivering, orange-clad super sleuth in training, and while she gives us some of Velma’s greatest hits via her performance, the LA native has also created a fresh take on the character that feels accessible for first-time Scooby viewers, but also familiar enough to appease the parents watching alongside of their kids.

We recently sat down with Gilman to discuss dog sweaters, making Velma sassy, and why she was scared to screen the film for longtime fans of the franchise.

TrunkSpace: Before we jump into the meat and the potatoes of the questions, we have to point out your incredible wardrobe on “Daphne & Velma,” especially that amazing dog sweater! (Laughter)
Gilman: Yeah. Kara Saun, the wardrobe designer, worked on “The Descendants.” Some of my friends were on that actually, and I knew of her before she came on the project, so I was really excited. A lot of the pieces were handmade – hand-designed – like the dog sweater. The sleeves were cut off and the dog was colored in by hand. So a lot of it was just her own creation instead of store bought items, which was really cool.

TrunkSpace: The plot of “Daphne & Velma” takes place during a time in the characters’ lives that fans haven’t really seen yet. Did that you give the freedom to bring your own spin on the character?
Gilman: Oh definitely. I actually worked a lot with director Suzi Yoonessi and even the producers, especially Jen Tisdale, to kind of brainstorm exactly what kind of Velma this would be because we do know very little about Velma from “Scooby-Doo.” We know that she’s smart, she’s pretty sassy, she’s… not to stereotype her, but the brains of the operation for the most part. But we really don’t know much about her. She’s a pretty flat character, as are most cartoons, I think. So we really took the time to kind of decide what we were gonna make her into and she’s a lot edgier and more independent and a little more vulnerable than I think anyone was really expecting her to become. It was really fun working with them. And also, they gave me a lot of creative freedom to kind of put my own personality into her as well, so I made her really sarcastic and kind of sassy. I really, really liked that, because I got to use some of my own improv into kind of creating her edge a little bit.

TrunkSpace: On the opposite side of that coin, is there still pressure to deliver on the character in terms of what fans will expect when they sit down to watch?
Gilman: Yeah, it was kind of a scary line to tow, trying to make her into this new 2018 Velma, but at the same time keeping her as the original Velma that premiered in 1969. It’s always kind of scary a little bit impersonating a character that’s so iconic. She does have a lot of fans, and there is the risk of alienating some of them when you try to change her or make her into something that they didn’t expect. But there were a lot of areas – tropes, I guess – from the original cartoons that we adopted into this movie, like the glasses and she says, “Jinkies.” And the editors did a really good job of using some of the iconic “Scooby-Doo” flairs, like the eyes following us in a painting and adopting them into 2018 and making them a little more modern. I think the movie does a really good job of blending the old and the new. There are new aspects of Velma and Daphne that haven’t really been seen before but there’s also pretty recognizable aspects that you kind of need in any “Scooby-Doo” film.

TrunkSpace: Probably like the jinkies line, for example. If you didn’t have that, fans would have called the movie out.
Gilman: Yeah, and it was funny because – and this is by no fault of anyone, it’s not even a bad thing – but I think there was a little bit of a fear of making it too tropey, if that makes sense? So in the original script there were no jinkies, there was no, “Where are my glasses?”, there wasn’t any of that. I was able to work on set with our director and the producers to kind of add those things in, so they were actually added in on set and not in the original script.

TrunkSpace: You recently got to screen the film alongside a group of “Scooby-Doo” fans. What was that experience like?
Gilman: It was the first time I had screened it with anyone other than my parents and a couple producers. Technically it was the world premiere at C2E2 in Chicago. It was in a really large room with a lot of people and some people were dressed as Velma and Daphne – cosplayers that looked amazing. It was really nerve-racking because at the same time they were all adults, and while I hope adults like this movie, the demographic that it’s kind of aimed towards is a younger audience. So it was really scary because we had a panel afterwords and I was acutely aware of the fact that if they didn’t like it, then I’d probably get that feedback when we did the panel. Luckily it seemed that it had a really good reception. There was a lot of laughs when there was supposed to be laughs and multiple people came up afterwards and expressed how much they liked the new Velma and the character and how they felt the movie did it great justice, which was really nice because I was very scared the whole time watching it. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: You grew up in Los Angeles. Do you think being that close to the industry had a hand in you wanting to be a part of it?
Gilman: Definitely. My parents are not connected to the industry in anyway. Neither is my sister. My dad was a police officer and my mom is an accountant. We had no connection whatsoever. It kind of happened by chance and I think if we hadn’t been in LA, we wouldn’t have moved from, let’s say Texas, or Arizona, or even Seattle, where some of my friends are from. I think it was only because we were in such close proximity to the auditions and the work that it was able to work out. It was luck, I guess.

TrunkSpace: On Twitter you list yourself as an aspiring filmmaker. Is that a direction that you’re hoping to steer your career in moving forward?
Gilman: Yeah. I graduated high school and went to USC as a theater major, thinking I would pursue acting, and of course I have, especially out of school. Half way through school I actually applied internally to transfer into film and TV production at the film school at USC and I was accepted, so now I am currently studying film and TV production with an emphasis in directing and producing. I’d still say acting is my first priority, but director/producer is definitely something I’d like to have knowledge about as I continue and hopefully can one day make my own projects and explore other roles. I have a couple of friends who are filmmakers and they’re always sharing knowledge with me. For example, when I do eventually start making my own films, one of my friends was telling me about investing in some DCP tools. Apparently, they’re really helpful when you’re creating your own films. When I start creating my own stuff, I’ll definitely have to look into getting some software to make my films look better. However, I think also just knowing the other side of the camera makes you a more empathetic actor.

“Daphne & Velma” is available today on DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD.

Spider-Man was always going to be a sure thing, but developing successful cinematic franchises out of characters like Iron Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther came with question marks attached. Never exactly A-listers in the comics, could they carry their own films? Turns out, they absolutely could, and now Marvel is looking to turn other “could they” characters into “absolutely could” gold.

Premiering June 7th on Freeform, “Cloak & Dagger” tells the story of a teenaged dynamic duo-to-be, newly super-powered and dealing with their own emotional struggles along the way. Starring Aubrey Joseph (Cloak) and Olivia Holt (Dagger), the series promises to add a layer of grounded realism to an otherwise high stakes imaginary world.

We recently sat down with “Cloak & Dagger” star Miles Mussenden to discuss playing the father of a superhero, why his character has been keeping secrets from his fictional family, and the reason fans will want to sit back and enjoy the explosive ride that is Season 1.

TrunkSpace: What does it mean for a career in 2018 to be involved in something within the Marvel Universe? Is it sort of a game-changer just by the nature of how many eyes could be on the series?
Mussenden: You know, I have to say yes. Marvel seems to be taking over the universe right now. With the success of “Black Panther” and “The Avengers,” it seems like everything they touch is gold pretty much. But, with this particular project, I think we have something special with it. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. So, it’s my biggest opportunity to date and I couldn’t have picked something better.

TrunkSpace: One of the things that Marvel does so well is, although each of their properties exist within the same universe, every one has its own distinct feel and tone. As someone who has worked directly on “Cloak & Dagger,” what kind of show is it? Does it fall within a genre?
Mussenden: It’s interesting because I feel like it’s gonna just touch a lot of different things. What I loved about it is, during shooting, it felt like it was a feature we were filming. It feels like we have 10 little mini-movies, so to speak. You have something for that younger generation, that Freeform audience, that they’ll love with Aubrey (Joseph) and Olivia (Holt) playing Cloak and Dagger, but you also have something more because the family dynamics in both of these young people’s lives play big into this story.

I think it’s something that I would watch, because I look at it, and I think we have just as much gritty things that grab your attention, that holds you and makes you care, in the family relationships for Tyrone and Tandy, as do Cloak and Dagger. We have people like Gloria Reuben who plays Adina, my wife on the show, Tyrone’s mother, and she’s just an amazing actress. The kind of realism that we bring to this show is going to be something that any Marvel fan would enjoy.

TrunkSpace: In the series you play the father of hero-to-be Cloak. As a father in real life as well, did you find yourself saying, “How would I react to this if it was happening in my own family dynamic?” Did any of who you are as a parent bleed over into who Otis is as a parent?
Mussenden: Somewhat, because with this particular role it really resonated with me for some reason – from the very beginning. And my instincts seem to be the same instincts as the character, Otis’ instincts, except that Otis is a little bit more controlling and a little bit more buttoned up than I am, personally. But I couldn’t help but have some of it spill over because some of the same fears that I have for my children, he has for his. So, some of the same things that I want to protect my son from, he wants to protect his son from. There is some spillover but because he is different – he, meaning Tyrone – and because my wife is different, we just kind of play and everything’s kind of happening in the moment. I don’t purposely put any of it in, but whatever comes out, comes out, and I really don’t know what I’m going to see because I go and I do what happens, whatever comes to me at that moment, so it’s pretty much… and each take is a little bit different, so it’s the editor who is gonna have a lot of control over what is actually going to come across in the end product.

TrunkSpace: So you must be just as excited to see it as the diehard Marvel fans.
Mussenden: Yeah, exactly. I don’t know what I’m gonna see because even in ADR, they showed, again, very small clips, and so I couldn’t get an idea. I didn’t see the pilot and the stuff they showed at South by Southwest so, yeah, I’m in eager anticipation, waiting with bated breath.

TrunkSpace: Now, within the storyline itself, Otis has a past that he hasn’t exactly reconciled with, right?
Mussenden: I wanna be careful how I frame this – I don’t want to give spoilers. Yes, Otis has a rich history, and he didn’t share it all with Tyrone…

TrunkSpace: Secrets are never good for a family.
Mussenden: That’s true, but sometimes I think, as parents, you want to keep some things away. You’re thinking you’re kind of protecting them by not sharing certain things, but I think everything is due season two so sometimes there’s a time and place for certain things to come out. And I think those things kind of unravel and reveal themselves somewhere in some of these episodes.

TrunkSpace: We know you can’t give away too much, but are aspects of your backstory going to see resolution in Season 1 or will it carry over into any possible future seasons to come?
Mussenden: A major part of it you will see in Season 1. Some very explosive things happen, so I think Season 1 will give fans more than enough.

TrunkSpace: From what we could tell from looking at your filmography as a whole, this is the longest time you have spent with one character, at least in terms of an episode count. What was that extended journey like for you, finding bits and pieces of who the character is along the way, because we would imagine it wasn’t all presented to you at the outset, correct?
Mussenden: Yeah, absolutely. It wasn’t at all. I had an idea after doing the pilot, I knew there was a heavy, emotional demand that would be required, so I went and spent a month, five days a week, working with Susan Batson at her studio, just getting myself emotionally prepared to deal with all the things that this character had to go through. There’s some trauma there. In some ways, he may have some form of PTSD with something that he’s been through, so I had to be able to be emotionally available to give an honest portrayal of these things. I didn’t want to act it. I think it was very important for people to see the realness of it. We see a lot of things happening on TV and the society we live in is a news flash, it comes and goes. We have an emotional feeling about something and then it goes away. But I think that this is going to give people a real feel for what goes on, and even for an African American family… I think we can touch people in a way that they would have a certain kind of empathy because they will live it with us, and I think that was real important. I’m excited about that.

TrunkSpace: From what we could tell, the series definitely seems accessible for viewers. You’re going along for the ride and you’re not necessarily on the outside looking in with these big, larger-than-life hero characters. This is ground level storytelling.
Mussenden: Yes, exactly. and that’s what makes me excited and that’s why I didn’t mind getting it piece by piece, because I felt like I was living it. And just being out there, in New Orleans, I tried to immerse myself in that world as much as I could. Some of the things that my character was doing, I tried to spend my time doing that. So, New Orleans kind of added a whole flavor. It’s like a blanket that we kind of cocooned ourselves in to really create that world.

“Cloak & Dagger” premieres June 7th on Freeform.

The Nickelodeon animated series “The Loud House” was not created for adults, but those with children will understand just how rare it is when shows for kids can also be enjoyed by the parents seated alongside of them. Often we, the grey-haired and crow’s feeted, are the unintended eyes on a program, forced to not only watch something, but watch it over and over and over again. Thankfully, “The Loud House” plays like a sitcom from the 1980s, complete with a catchy opening theme song, making us quiet fans of the Loud family.

We recently sat down with cartoon patriarch and actor Brian Stepanek to discuss his character Lynn Loud Sr., why he loves being a voice actor, and the reason his 16-year-old self needs to chill out.

TrunkSpace: Those of us here with kids can attest to watching far more of “The Loud House” than was probably ever intended for adults, but that being said, it’s actually a show that we can enjoy with our children. There’s something nostalgic about it… almost like an ’80s sitcom. Have you found more adults taking to it, finding something in it themselves, than you would have ever expected to happen when you first signed on to be a voice of the series?
Stepanek: I haven’t spoken to many parents about the show but I completely see the nostalgia for adults. The show reminds me of Charlie Brown at times. These characters really like and support each other. I come from a large family and so the Loud family is very familiar to me in that regard.

TrunkSpace: Oftentimes we’ll hear actors say that a film or television series felt “special” while they were shooting, serving as a premonition of the success to come. Does animation have that same feel as well? Did you have any indication before its premiere that “The Loud House” would find an audience?
Stepanek: Sometimes. With animation, the actors are such a small part of the production process, it’s difficult to get a read on how the show will do. There are just too many decisions about the look and feel of the show that we aren’t privy to. But I will say the scripts are always fantastic. Lots of laughs and plenty of heart.

TrunkSpace: For the entire first season, your character’s face (as well as that of the mother’s) were concealed in creative and silly ways. What was the idea behind making the adults faceless (was it an homage to the classic “Peanuts” cartoon, which you mentioned above?) and why was it ultimately decided to reveal them later in the life of the series?
Stepanek: That is a question for the creators. I loved the reveal though.

TrunkSpace: Lynn Loud Sr. is the kind of father who thinks he’s the coolest dad in the world, but his kids may not necessarily agree. (Our kids can relate to that!) How did you go about finding him from a performance standpoint – both his voice and his personality?
Stepanek: I looked in the mirror. I have three kids that are pretty awesome. Lynn just loves his kids. That’s it. Every episode that is “Dad-centric” is always about Lynn loving his family. It all starts with that.

TrunkSpace: There’s a movie in the works. Can you give us any insight on what fans can expect from the Louds going cinematic in structure? Will it have a different feel than the series itself?
Stepanek: No idea. But I can’t wait.

TrunkSpace: Do you take a different approach to performance with voice acting than you do with on-camera work? Does it allow for a more heightened sense of reality when you’re working in animation?
Stepanek: I find it a lot more fun than on-camera. The writers let me have fun and improvise. The environment at Nickelodeon is fantastic. But as far as technique, I prepare the script exactly as I would an on-camera role.

TrunkSpace: You also star in the Nickelodeon series “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn,” and have spent a large portion of your career appearing in projects created for kid and teen audiences. Was that by design or did life put you on this path unexpectedly?
Stepanek: When I first got to LA I was doing a lot of dramatic guest star roles and then I booked a recurring character on “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and my career shifted. The high stakes performance style in kids programming comes pretty naturally to me (I came from musical theater), so I’ve always had work in that genre. It wasn’t by design but it’s been fun.

TrunkSpace: If you could sit down and have a conversation with your 16-year-old self, would he be surprised by the trajectory of your career, and if so, why?
Stepanek: That kid didn’t know squat. The 16-year-old me would say, “Why don’t we have an Oscar yet?!” And I’d tell him, “I own a house in LA. I made it. Chill out and enjoy the ride. Life is short.”

TrunkSpace: You’re also writing and producing your own projects, including one that is currently in development called “My Substitute is an Alien.” Does writing scratch a separate aspect of your creative brain that acting can’t reach?
Stepanek: Yes. I have always wanted to have a larger role in the storytelling process. I have so much respect for writers. Writing does not come naturally to me but it is extremely satisfying when you finish a script. I’ve started directing television as well and love being involved in the big picture.

TrunkSpace: What is something within the industry that you have yet to accomplish in your career that you have your sights set on? If you could write your own future, what would it look like?
Stepanek: I just shot a movie called “Green Book” with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. If I could do projects like that for the rest of my career I’d be fine. And I’d like to be directing on a regular basis.

Did you hear that, 16-year-old me? Keep it simple!