Shadowing Practice: Chase Infiniti | I AM AN ACTOR - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
1200 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
When I was just a 10 -year -old kid in Indianapolis, performing for my family in my living room,
2
I knew that I wanted to be an actor.
3
So I studied theater, acting, dance, and everything that I could.
4
And when COVID hit right in the middle of college, I still found every possible opportunity to act, to audition, and to be seen.
5
And before long, I was seen in incredible stories alongside some pretty iconic actors.
6
And I was thinking to myself, how did I get here?
7
But what I realized watching my incredible co -stars is that it's not about where you are.
8
It's about how you show up.
9
And I try to show up authentically, be present for the work, and stay curious.
10
Because I'm still that same kid who just wanted to perform, and I always will be.
11
I'm Chase Infinity, and I'm an actor.
12
Chase Infinity, woo!
13
No, thank you so much for being on our show.
14
I am an actor.
15
Thanks for being on I Am An Actor, Chase.
16
What a whirlwind of a year you had.
17
And you're immensely talented.
18
Thank you.
19
Yeah.
20
So should we start from the beginning?
21
Yeah, let's do it.
22
Okay.
23
When was the moment you knew you wanted to be an actor?
24
The spark.
25
The spark.
26
I saw a national tour of Greece that had come to Indianapolis, which is where I'm from.
27
And there's a song that Rizzo sings called There Are Worse Things I Could Do.
28
And I remember sitting on the balcony watching that.
29
And I had like a little light bulb moment.
30
And I was like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
31
And so it was that song, that performance.
32
Shout out to whoever was playing Rizzo that night.
33
I don't know who it was, but it's because of that.
34
So you've always been into dance, performing, singing, acting.
35
Singing was like my number one thing as a kid.
36
I was always like, it started off as, I want to be a singer.
37
And then I saw that and I was like, I want to be an actor.
38
I want to perform.
39
I want to be on stage.
40
Did you want to marry the two, like singing and acting then?
41
Or at that point, or were you just more like, I just know I want to be on stage or in front of the camera?
42
It was at first it was I just want to sing.
43
And then seeing that I was like, oh, I can do both things because I would like perform at home with my sister.
44
But I was like, oh, I didn't know I could do it on a stage and people would like watch it.
45
And then once I got to like be in my first show,
46
I was like, this feels different than it is like watching it on the stage.
47
What was the show?
48
It was like a song cycle type thing where,
49
like I remember I auditioned for the musical with The Climb by Miley Cyrus.
50
Okay.
51
Because like the Hamill Montana movie had like just come out.
52
I didn't have any solos.
53
I was like in the background for everything.
54
I was kind of like just holding props most of the time, but I was like, this is so much fun.
55
And then like my first role I ever had, I played a character named Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors.
56
Oh, nice.
57
That's perfect.
58
And how old were you then?
59
Oh, so you were one of, was Crystal a duop girl?
60
Yeah, she was one of the three.
61
And how old were you?
62
I was, I think I might have been 12.
63
Oh my goodness.
64
11, 12?
65
Yeah.
66
I love Little Shop.
67
Me too!
68
That's one of my favorite shows.
69
Me too!
70
I played the dentist.
71
Really?
72
You did?
73
When I was in the show.
74
You're so cute!
75
And they had to, because my voice was so low, they had to lower the register.
76
Okay, period.
77
You know what's so sad is I saw it for the first time like three years ago.
78
Are you serious?
79
When I was 40.
80
Wait, did you never see the movie?
81
Not really.
82
I wasn't really interested.
83
Musical theater was not my favorite.
84
Got it.
85
But then as I'm getting older, I'm like, wow.
86
Like a triple threat, a quadruple threat, being able to dance, sing, act, comedy.
87
I was like, these are the most talented people.
88
Yeah.
89
You know?
90
So I have a whole newfound appreciation.
91
No, they're incredible.
92
They're so incredible.
93
That I could listen to Alarm Goes Off at 7, like on repeat from Little Shop.
94
I love that moment so much.
95
It's so good.
96
All the songs in it are so good.
97
Such a good show.
98
Do you come from a family of performers?
99
No. Well, I mean, my dad played drums.
100
He's a drummer.
101
But none of my parents sang.
102
None of them acted.
103
I just grew up around the arts.
104
So I grew up around music.
105
My parents and my grandparents would always take me to see plays and musicals that would come into town or local shows.
106
But no, they weren't actors.
107
Nobody did any of that.
108
It was kind of like.
109
And yet they named you.
110
Chase and Finney they knew what you were going to become
111
or they had high hopes I think they were like we just wanted to have a cool name
112
they nailed it they kind of did because they both come from movies
113
and so I always joke
114
because I'm like how did you predict what I'm going to do in the future
115
because both my first and my middle name
116
because Infinity is my middle name they come from movies
117
and then my sister is into fashion and her first name is Dolce No way.
118
That's incredible.
119
We had a moment on the Actor Awards where we did that opening song with Christian Bell.
120
And I don't think you knew about it going into it, did you?
121
No, I didn't.
122
And so we originally had, it was originally going to be a joke about Walton Goggins.
123
Oh, I love Walton Goggins.
124
Because his name is Walton Goggins.
125
Like, that was the joke about, like, you're going to change your name.
126
Like, Walton Goggins, change your name.
127
Yeah.
128
And then he ended up falling out because he was shooting a movie in Spain.
129
And then we were like, oh, let's flip the script.
130
Who has the most perfect name?
131
And we were like, it's Chase Infinity.
132
Oh, thanks.
133
Ten out of ten.
134
Thank you.
135
No notes.
136
Thank you. So good.
137
Thanks.
138
So you went to college for a musical theater.
139
Yeah, I did. And why Chicago?
140
It was close to Indianapolis.
141
And I felt like it was also like a happy medium of big city, small town -ish vibes.
142
I mean, it was huge coming from Indianapolis, going to Chicago.
143
It was like the big city.
144
Yeah, I was like, oh my gosh.
145
And I also grew up going there very frequently with my family.
146
So it was comfortable at the same time.
147
Yeah, I was like, okay, like it's not too far.
148
I've been there enough to kind of be familiar with the area a little bit.
149
And then I also just really like I fell in love with the campus and the school that I went to.
150
And yeah, it was kind of it was kind of just that.
151
But New York felt too big.
152
L .A wasn't really like even on my radar because I was like musical theater.
153
It's kind of just like New York.
154
Chicago is great for smaller theaters, but also they have a lot of really well -respected bigger theaters there too, like the Steffen Wolf and whatnot.
155
And it just felt like a good, happy medium that also was close to home.
156
And not as crazy expensive for a college student as New York.
157
Did you do anything outside of college in terms of work or acting, like at local theaters?
158
I did, in Chicago, I only was in one.
159
I was in a production of The Little Mermaid, like my senior year.
160
And that was fun because that was my first time I was ever in a dance track.
161
And I got to tap on stage.
162
Oh, wow, you can tap?
163
Yeah.
164
That's like my favorite, that was like my favorite class in school was tap.
165
And I don't keep up with it as much as I wish I did, but I love tap.
166
And I think it's so like,
167
oh, it just like scratches a part of my brain and like of my soul that I can't even explain it.
168
Um, it's so visceral.
169
Yeah Tactile too.
170
It's also the sound is so soothing my girlfriend
171
Jenna Malone also an actress
172
She would wear her tap shoes around just normally.
173
Yeah, I was like give me a little dance
174
Jenna She's like tapping away.
175
It's just the best.
176
Soothing is not a word I would use.
177
I like it.
178
I grew up doing tap I'd love it.
179
Yeah, I mean I do love the clicking in a performance space
180
Yeah, just wearing them around the house.
181
I mean I will tap in sneakers clicking clacking here
182
Yeah, like might as well do the tap.
183
Yeah, exactly
184
and then did you find
185
your college experience with uh performing did
186
that seem to kind of start to fulfill you in certain ways like did you find
187
that going from from this stage of like you know kind of being a kid
188
and kind of you know doing plays and things like
189
that with your with your sister and then okay you're in college
190
and you're starting to feel like this is real this is something i can really do
191
I think like I had the thought of this is something I could really do from like 10.
192
From that point?
193
From that point, I was like, this is something I could - But I mean, putting it into practice, even.
194
Yeah, I guess like it was just in a different way.
195
I've started to figure out the steps to doing that, I guess.
196
Because again, since I was 10, I was like, I know I'm going to do this.
197
I just didn't know how I was going to get there.
198
And so college kind of like filled in the, But, okay, this is like point A,
199
this is point B, and you have to do these two things to get to here.
200
But I think it was also so strange because musical theater is,
201
there's a lot of, you have to have a strong stamina to be constantly auditioning for it,
202
being in a show, while also looking for other work.
203
And the same is in TV and film.
204
It's just different.
205
It's different.
206
It's very different.
207
It's also big.
208
It's bigger.
209
Yeah.
210
And I just like, I remember when I first got to college, it was a lot of building up that stamina to be like,
211
okay, I'm going to school for X amount of hours in the day.
212
I'm auditioning at night or I'm going to rehearsals at night
213
while auditioning for stuff on the weekend and kind of getting used to
214
that schedule is that was the thing that made me go, okay, I'm getting the building blocks to pursuing musical theater.
215
Yeah.
216
I mean, you're really honing in on your crafts yeah i'm sure
217
you're doing singing movement on stage you know um
218
i feel like i just
219
i see you like olivia rodrigo like on a treadmill like singing do you know what i mean
220
i feel like there's something you would do like in musical theater
221
i don't know um you know dance classes like what else was there um
222
i think like for me personally
223
i mean a lot of my my training outside of what the school would give us
224
is I started to dance with my best friend doing like K -pop covers.
225
And so that was like my outside of school training because that was nice because I could perform without,
226
I guess, because it's hard to be cast in a show, especially in college.
227
And I really didn't get cast in much in college. And so
228
that was like getting to do those K -pop covers in
229
public was a way for me to still get to perform and put on a costume,
230
get ready, and rehearse for X amount of days or weeks, and then go out somewhere in public, put on the performance.
231
If people watch it, great.
232
If people literally walk by us, who cares?
233
I was still getting to showcase what I had rehearsed, which was, I was like, oh, this is a nice training too,
234
because I learned how to, I mean, I still get very shy and embarrassed, but like.
235
You shouldn't.
236
You can't tell from the videos.
237
Also, who's walking by you on a frozen lake?
238
I saw that.
239
On a frozen lake?
240
Weren't you in Chicago on a lake?
241
Oh, it wasn't a lake.
242
It was a blizzard.
243
How brave of them.
244
It was a blizzard.
245
There was a blizzard in Chicago.
246
It looked like the lakefront.
247
I was like, what are they doing?
248
Get off.
249
We were shooting a cover.
250
We actually shot that two days before I went to start shooting Presumed Innocent.
251
And I was like, we have to film this cover before I go to LA for six months.
252
Whether or not.
253
Like, yeah, I was like, no matter the weather, we're doing it.
254
Yeah.
255
And also, like, we were like, okay, like, if it's snowing, people will probably be like, why are they out in a blizzard?
256
And then we'll click the video, too.
257
But people weren't walking on a lake.
258
But there was a blizzard in Chicago.
259
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
260
And they weren't walking there neither.
261
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
262
It looks pretty empty.
263
Okay.
264
It was very, very cold.
265
I think it might have been, like, being generous, like, 10 degrees outside.
266
Ooh. So.
267
Oh, my God.
268
But it was fun.
269
It looked great.
270
It was fun to have snow.
271
You'll do anything for your craft.
272
I will.
273
And I love it.
274
It also sounds like you really enjoyed dancing.
275
Yeah.
276
And rehearsing these numbers.
277
You're also really good at it.
278
Yeah, you are.
279
I did, like I was saying before, I did like a deep dive on the dances
280
and I felt like it was something that I could just watch on a loop.
281
Like they're so fun.
282
Thanks.
283
They're so joyful.
284
Can't take your eyes off of you.
285
Aw, thanks.
286
The three of you in particular.
287
Thank you.
288
Thank you.
289
Thank you.
290
They're so, so good.
291
And it seemed like something that you really like let it all go.
292
And like you said, people walking around you, you don't care.
293
I'm guessing these were shot kind of guerrilla style.
294
It's not like you're getting permits.
295
You're just out there doing what you need to do.
296
Getting permits for TikToks?
297
No, listen.
298
There's a whole Chicago cover culture, as there is everywhere in the world.
299
Every city, you're like, okay, this is what the type of dance crew is.
300
But in Chicago, there's a whole thing where people are like, you can shoot here because there won't be people
301
that will.. kind of like hunt you down
302
but like you can't shoot here because of x y
303
and z but you can shoot like two steps down from it um
304
so there's like a whole there's a lot of spots
305
that are really popular for people to film at
306
that like you get kicked out exactly you won't get kicked out you won't get in trouble
307
and then there's only been like once
308
or twice where we've shot somewhere where we're like we're not supposed to be here
309
but we have to hurry up and get it done yeah
310
one and done the dance group is called duple duple yeah because it started with me and my best friend
311
So my best friend is the everyone always says that we look very similar.
312
So it's the two of us
313
And so it started off as just the two of us so we called it Duple.
314
I was trying to add like a little French Duple.
315
I know.
316
I was trying to be bougie about it.
317
I like Duple better.
318
Duple meter that's why we picked it.
319
I love it. So cute.
320
So after college you got yourself a manager.
321
I did I was very lucky to get one like literally from my senior showcase.
322
Amazing. In Chicago.
323
Not in Chicago.
324
In New York.
325
In New York.
326
Oh so you went to New York, did a showcase, got a manager it was a like a digital one oh god
327
so they were like
328
because it was still coveted now we're old i know no it's it literally was just
329
because like covet hit halfway through and so
330
that was like still very peak masking and everything and
331
which feels everything so long ago yeah it's just
332
so long ago yeah um but it was it was online
333
and then i have no idea where it went but it went onto some website that casting directors, agents, managers could watch.
334
And my manager found me from that.
335
And it was like, literally, I think he was like, I think I watched like a 15 second clip.
336
And the video was like maybe a minute.
337
And I was also the only person in my class who didn't do a monologue.
338
Because I was like, I mean, like a 32 bar cut is a monologue.
339
Like it's the thing that you're singing is the monologue.
340
And that was my pitched
341
because i was like i'd rather just sing two songs than do a song in a monologue
342
because i felt more comfortable singing and so from
343
that he found me
344
and then reached out to me on two different emails like
345
i had i was like did he slip into the dm no okay he like i had like my
346
i had like the email that i put on the website for people to contact me
347
from that showcase and then i had a youtube account and
348
so he contacted me through both that email and my youtube email
349
and i serious i thought he was a scam yeah
350
i was like who is this person emailing me i was
351
so nervous he was not a scam
352
so i'm happy he was not a scam
353
but that's how i got a manager that's incredible story i did do a little research
354
and i i think i saw it like
355
Like I found it.
356
Oh really?
357
You have a beautiful voice.
358
Thanks.
359
Your register is really beautiful.
360
Thank you.
361
And your vibrato is really beautiful.
362
Thanks.
363
I can see why he contacted you.
364
No, like I felt that one of the songs I sang in that is like that's been one of my,
365
I guess like some people call it like your money song.
366
Like that's like your go -to song.
367
And I sang it all throughout college.
368
I sing it now for fun because I don't do as many musical theater auditions anymore.
369
Do you want to?
370
I would.
371
I feel like you do go straight to Broadway, honey.
372
Oh, no, I need some training.
373
I need some training.
374
Is that a dream, though?
375
It is.
376
Is that something you want to do?
377
It's still my dream.
378
Yeah.
379
Because I have people now who are like, oh, did you ever think you would do TV and film?
380
And I was like, that wasn't even on my radar because I was like,
381
if I can have one line in a movie or a TV show, I'm like, that's a win.
382
What a dream.
383
That's the one nominated for an Oscar right out the gate.
384
Let's go.
385
Like, that's not something I was even on my radar.
386
It's amazing.
387
It's kind of wonderful.
388
Like you said earlier, like you let it go.
389
Yeah.
390
And like you just put all of your work into it and like don't take the pressure off.
391
And here you are.
392
Yeah.
393
Like that's kind of like the key to success.
394
No, that mindset shift completely changed everything in college.
395
I was like, I'm just not going to, I'm not going to put as much pressure on myself because I think that especially in college,
396
18, 19, 20, kind of like figuring out who you are, you really pit yourself against each other.
397
And I guess like the system also does that as well, being like, here's your direct competition.
398
You always want to level up and like one up.
399
Here's somebody that looks exactly like you that's going to an audition for the part that you want.
400
Exactly.
401
It's constant comparison.
402
I know.
403
And I think like COVID not only like shifted my mindset about acting,
404
but it also made me kind of realize that I was like,
405
if I guess in the sense of like everybody instilled the thing in me where everybody has something about them
406
that makes them special and that's always going to be the thing
407
that shines above all and so once I realized that
408
and I took the pressure off of myself to be like I have to make sure
409
that I'm perfect and I'm hitting every single mark
410
that kind of like changed everything and I I could go into things
411
and be more free with it be more free with my performance
412
and also let things pass through me
413
and not be as affected by them like if something bad happens
414
or if like i have like a weird interaction at an audition
415
or something it doesn't sit with me i kind of just like let it hit me
416
and let it pass me yeah
417
and i think that's great advice too like you know to not compare yourself
418
i mean what what person is perfect no one's perfect no one to see the flaws on a screen
419
you know we want to see you know like you're i don't want to jump
420
so don't be mad i get very You're rigid about the order of things.
421
Like one battle after another.
422
Like your character's imperfect.
423
You lied about the phone.
424
You know, you're the adult in this situation with Leo.
425
Obviously no one's perfect, but your character is so flawed.
426
But like coming over these adversities, like coming into her own.
427
She plays the parent to Leo.
428
Like get your shit together, man.
429
Going to school, trying to be a kid and then being taken away from the very thing that makes like, you know, core teenage memories.
430
Like what a life.
431
like a heart in life this person lives and like you play it
432
so lovely there's so many freaking layers
433
that scene with leo my god at the end how like
434
you're strong say the fucking like who the fuck are you you know like it was
435
so powerful and powerfully moving and then he's like it's me it's me
436
and you and for a second just a second you're able to be like
437
that kid again like yeah and like kind of oh god i'm gonna cry right now
438
that performance was unreal thank you yeah it was fantastic to watch thank you so much
439
that really means a lot I don't think Jamie has a question
440
I think she just wants to talk about how great you are which also I agree
441
wholeheartedly at what point did you get your SAG card what job my first job presumed innocent sick
442
you got your SAG card on presumed innocent that was my first job that role
443
that role was my first your first job my first job my first role
444
I like I I didn't even know what a SAG card was I was like, I don't know what any of this is.
445
And I remember I had to, I called Zach, and I was like, hey, what is this thing I'm supposed to join?
446
And, like, I got, like, the good rundown of everything.
447
Yeah, it's great, isn't it?
448
And it was so great.
449
What a role to get that, to get your part.
450
I love that show, by the way.
451
Thank you.
452
I know.
453
It's so good.
454
How did the role come, how did you audition for, like, how did you find out about it?
455
Like, where did it come from?
456
It came from either my agent or manager.
457
I can't remember which but Um, I got the audition.
458
I want to say, so I graduated May 2022 and I had started consistently auditioning for stuff.
459
I want to say July, like after I had finished a musical that I was in and I was like, no, okay.
460
Like, let's go full steam ahead.
461
And I would do like four to five auditions a week for just anything.
462
I was like, whatever I get sent, I'll audition for a bootcamp.
463
Yeah.
464
I mean like with the, there was obviously things where I was like, I don't want to do this.
465
So I I just won't, I guess, audition for that.
466
But literally - Were you doing a lot of stuff in Chicago, or were you doing a lot of self -tapes that were going everywhere?
467
It was all self -tapes.
468
Yeah.
469
All self -tapes.
470
Okay, got it.
471
All self -tapes.
472
And it was for movies, for indie films, for TV shows, for plays, for musicals.
473
It was like everything.
474
I was like, just send me an audition.
475
I will do it.
476
I don't care.
477
I will do anything.
478
I will do anything, and I got really good at self -tapes through that.
479
That is a skill.
480
Yeah.
481
It really is a skill.
482
Very hard to like kind of figure out also like going
483
from musical theater self -tape to like a TV film self -tape
484
because they're very different in the way that you handle it.
485
But anyways, I started auditioning for projects in July and then November, I think end of November,
486
I got an audition in my email for Presumed Innocent.
487
I was like, OK, I was like filtered it in with the rest.
488
I was like, I'm going to give it my all, do what I got to do, send it, forget about it.
489
And that's what I did.
490
and then a week later
491
I got a email from my manager asking me to like brush up on the scenes again
492
because he was like I think you're going to get a callback
493
and then I got a callback for it and they told me
494
that it was going to be a zoom chemistry read
495
and it was um hey those crazy crazy content why you out you know
496
but it was me the casting director the director of the first two episodes and Jake Gyllenhaal.
497
And so I was like, okay, cool.
498
I'm meeting Jake Gyllenhaal for the first time on a Zoom meeting.
499
Yeah.
500
No big deal.
501
Yeah, no big deal at all.
502
So I did it and it was like maybe like 45 minutes, closed it.
503
And I was like, okay, cool.
504
Felt great about it.
505
I hope that it was received well, but if not, cool.
506
Forgot about it.
507
And like it was right before like the industry shut down for Christmas time or like for the holiday season.
508
And I think like it was like the day that everything was like, okay, we're going, we're going to be like done for the holiday season.
509
It was like the 16th.
510
And I found out like the 15th at like 8 p .m.
511
And my manager.
512
You found out that you got it.
513
That I got it.
514
My manager was like, can you jump on this call?
515
We're going to have an end of the year, like recap and like make a plan.
516
What a simple plan.
517
And I was like, cool.
518
And I like jump on the Zoom and it's my manager, my agent.
519
And then the casting director joins and I was like, I think I just booked my first job.
520
That's awesome.
521
That's such a great story.
522
I mean, it was such a great cast.
523
They were all so, so great.
524
I devoured that series.
525
Thanks.
526
It was so good.
527
Thank you.
528
I mean, the ending was...
529
Surprised to me, too.
530
I don't...
531
Really?
532
Yeah, surprised to me, too.
533
I don't even know if we should talk about it.
534
I know it was a bit of time ago, but it was such a shocking ending.
535
It was surprising to me too because I didn't know, like nobody knew what the ending was going into it.
536
So until that last episode.
537
Literally, I think we were shooting episode 7 and we got this script for episode 8.
538
Ugh.
539
So like, it was probably like, I think I found out on my birthday, like May 1st is when I found out.
540
You killed her.
541
I'm joking.
542
Yeah.
543
Happy birthday.
544
Just kidding.
545
Congratulations.
546
Happy birthday.
547
You're the killer.
548
So is there anything, I know you had your technique down and you're so good at drama.
549
And you're so good at, like I said earlier, like processing and like, you can see really clear inner thoughts, which is so, so great.
550
Thank you.
551
Was there any, was it so fun?
552
We're having these amazing scene partners.
553
And did you take anything that you learned from that set to your next job?
554
For presumed innocent to one battle?
555
For your craft.
556
Oh, for like, for sure.
557
I, that was presumed innocent was literally like my film school.
558
My like, It must have been.
559
Cause you'd never really been on a set before.
560
Never been on a set i didn't even know
561
when i was supposed to say my first line like i had to ask ruth nega on the first day
562
i was like when do i say my first line
563
because i had the first did you know like what a mark no yeah
564
i didn't know anything
565
i didn't know what any like any of the department heads were i knew what a director was
566
but i didn't know what a dp was i didn't know
567
that there was like like a whole costume department like i didn't know any of that
568
so presumed innocent i went to set every day
569
it was your graduate school it literally was like went to set every day i would ask
570
Thousands of questions.
571
I would walk around with a little notebook and like and and write down like different department heads and like
572
Everyone's position so I could like make sure to remember their name
573
and exactly what they did and like what questions I would ask That's great.
574
So of all but then also you find out on at the end of the show
575
that if you turn the call sheet around it has all the names listed
576
Yeah Oh, once I found that out, it was done.
577
What a waste of time.
578
No, it's not, but I love that.
579
No, I'm kidding.
580
I love those duties.
581
It's so cool.
582
Yeah, but that whole set just taught me what it's like to film something.
583
And also how making anything, but especially making a TV show or making a movie,
584
it's not an individual thing.
585
It's not a one person job.
586
It takes a village.
587
It's an ensemble.
588
Exactly.
589
It's an ensemble.
590
I wanted to like figure out how I fit in in the machine and Presumed Innocent really made me understand like,
591
okay, this is where I fit in.
592
This is the things
593
that I need to do to also help out like help out the grips
594
and help out the camera department and also help out my scene partner that aren't difficult for me to do.
595
Yeah.
596
It really taught me about like being an ensemble member.
597
Was it also, sorry.
598
No, it's okay i was just gonna say was it also a nurturing set like
599
that i'm sure it was like i get the creme de
600
la creme people work with you i i feel very fortunate
601
to to even be of like ruth nega is like probably the one
602
that i love the one
603
i was the absolute closest to she's still like i she is one of my dearest friends closest friends
604
now even to this day um but her
605
and then there's somebody else who i met on set who
606
was the the key customer who's also one of my closest friends
607
and so that whole set really took care of me
608
because they knew I was new and they knew
609
that I was like one of the younger ones um and
610
that I had never I was like coming from Chicago didn't know what I was doing
611
and I was eager to learn and I think that
612
that was also something that they were like excited by
613
because it's fun to like teach somebody about something that you do
614
and something that you're passionate exactly yeah and
615
so I would go to set ask questions every day
616
and then they would just welcome me in with like open arms
617
and I would be like sorry I'm just gonna like sit in the corner
618
and they're like no no like come behind the camera like
619
be right next to me as i'm just gonna go here um
620
but like make sure that you're out of the way but you can watch and i think like
621
like having that
622
and having the love around it too just i had a very my entire entrance into hollywood has been
623
so incredibly privileged and so loving it's so great but especially
624
that one this feels a bit anomalous not not that every set is terrible yeah but i mean this feels really special.
625
I realize how special of an experience I had on that and on all of my projects, because it's just been, even on hard days,
626
there was never a point where I was like, this is not what I want to do.
627
I don't feel like...
628
I don't actually know if that was a coherent sentence, but you know what I mean.
629
You have doubts.
630
I had no doubts.
631
And it really was like our entire cast and crew on everything
632
that made me feel like this is what I wanna do.
633
And also made me realize, okay, this is like what I wanna do to help like my future co -stars,
634
my future like ensemble members, my future crew.
635
You gotta pay it forward.
636
You gotta think about this going forward.
637
Yeah, yeah.
638
Cause I know that this, my experience is not normal.
639
I know that it's very, very privileged in that sense.
640
So I wanna kind of help the people around me now and the people around me in the future
641
feel comfortable and kind of give them
642
that um like on the on the testament
643
so i remember one of the things that i wanted to make sure
644
that i did was make sure that all of the girls
645
because i was like one of the older girls out of everyone
646
that they all knew that i was there as like kind of
647
an ear to always listen but also to be an advocate for them
648
but i also wanted to make sure to teach them to like advocate for themselves as well
649
because it's hard to advocate for yourself in a space where like you feel so small
650
on a production that is so big.
651
And I just remember like
652
Presumed Innocent and One Battle kind of like instilled that in me.
653
And I was like, okay, I feel like I have my bearings.
654
I'm not perfect, but I have my bearings in that sense a little bit.
655
So let me help as much as I can with like
656
that knowledge for - Can I just say - I know, I know.
657
I'm just blown away by this.
658
When people leave with kindness like that, like you get the best performances is that's real like number
659
one on the call sheet behavior like you're setting the tone
660
for an entire generation yeah and that's extraordinary that you're doing
661
that at this age you're taking all these kind of life lessons
662
that you're using or that you've learned
663
and you're you're using them for this new show
664
and kind of you're you're the one
665
that these girls are sort of looking to and you're doing this with a real responsibility and weight it is so impressive
666
It's also like it just shows that you love to be there.
667
You're all there to do something and then lead with kindness.
668
It's not that hard.
669
Because it's also something that can be so isolating.
670
And the last thing I want to do is make any of them feel like they're alone.
671
Because it's easy for a massive company, a massive agency, a massive industry to make you feel like you're by yourself.
672
But this is not something that can be built alone.
673
It's not something that you can promote alone.
674
So I just was like, I just want to make sure that they know that I'm here for them, regardless of anything.
675
I hope my kids turn out like you.
676
I want to be your best friend.
677
I know.
678
Let's be bestie.
679
I know.
680
Let's do it.
681
And also, like what, like you said, what a privilege, but also a privilege to work with such gracious actors, people who care about the project.
682
People who are coming together to do one thing.
683
I love this.
684
But then also, you know, the luxury of time on a production like this.
685
Yeah.
686
It's not always like that.
687
Yeah.
688
You know what I mean?
689
To be able to like, I don't think we got it.
690
Can we talk about this scene a little bit more? can we like figure
691
this out there's something missing oh
692
there's a great discovery let's do it again yeah like that's the time to play yeah what
693
and you had
694
that too oh totally especially like one battle specific we we were we were afforded a lot of time
695
which i'm so grateful for because even like with the scene
696
that you were describing earlier i think we reshot
697
that like three times like three different different variations of it like slight slight variations
698
but would totally give it a completely different feel before we decided on what ended up in the movie
699
but like that would have not been possible
700
if we weren't afforded time i mean granted there's other things
701
that factor into it too but time is like the biggest gift yeah a lot of money
702
and crew and availability yeah
703
but you trained for four months
704
i was training with um with somebody in i can't remember what gym he worked at
705
but um his name was in la
706
and he was my trainer for about four months and I did like mixed martial arts,
707
karate, and kind of just getting my bearings on like how to protect myself on set.
708
Because all my stunts I did in the movie were me.
709
Yeah.
710
And so I was like.
711
I remember they just like put you in a car.
712
I know.
713
I had to like fight for that.
714
I hope it wasn't racial profiling.
715
But I was like, let me drive the car.
716
I was like, give me the wheel.
717
I'm a good stunt driver.
718
Put the handcuffs on me.
719
Like I just remember they were like, okay, like we can, like how, are you okay?
720
Like do you want to do like a couple practice runs with it?
721
And I was like, no, just put the cuffs on me.
722
Let's drive.
723
I got it.
724
Let's just do it.
725
Let's just do it.
726
Cuffed.
727
Never mind.
728
That's crazy.
729
Yeah, I did train for four months.
730
Were you training kind of on your own?
731
Or were you with other actors?
732
It was me and my personal trainer.
733
Got it.
734
Okay.
735
It was just the two of us.
736
My favorite is weapons training.
737
That was so fun.
738
I love it.
739
Like with all the blanks.
740
Like AK -47s and 9mm meters and swords.
741
I was going to say, like, that'd be scary.
742
It's really fun.
743
It's fun, like, once you, like, once you get into it to like the the routine of it
744
and also understand the safety around it you're like okay
745
now i feel good to like to to let myself have fun with it
746
because it is fun yeah absolutely
747
but like once you feel comfortable around like okay these are the things
748
that i need to make sure that i do these are the things
749
that i absolutely can't do
750
and this is what i can do to keep myself out of a dangerous situation
751
then you're like okay now i can play yeah
752
now i can have fun with it right it's intense
753
it is it is intense what was the one scene where like in the film where you're like holy shit
754
that was magic I'm sure all of it
755
but like one particular one was like
756
that was a crazy discovery I don't know what just happened
757
but that felt like magic like you know you pour it all out there
758
and like something unpredictable happens or you know
759
unpredictable I think well I'll say the scene
760
I was the most excited to do from the jump was the scene with me
761
and Sean Penn in that church that's what I was thinking I was like
762
That, I was so excited to do that scene, even from just reading the script for the first time, to us doing it on the day.
763
And I'm so proud of the way that it turned out.
764
So that was the scene I was the most excited for.
765
When you're talking all that shit to him, was that written in the dialogue?
766
Yeah.
767
Oh, great.
768
Love that.
769
There's a couple things that Paul had edited beforehand that he was like, this sounds like it's more in your voice.
770
That was hilarious.
771
I know.
772
It was really good.
773
Yeah, it was all written down.
774
OK, cool, cool, cool, cool.
775
Was it intimidating at all to kind of come into that set?
776
I mean, you'd obviously come from Presumably Innocent, where you already had worked with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Nega.
777
But were you, I mean, we're talking Leonard DiCaprio and Tiana Taylor and Regina Hall and Sean Penn.
778
Like, did you go in, like, with a little trepidation?
779
Were you nervous?
780
I mean, yeah, like, first day of school, kind of nervous.
781
But that's it?
782
Yeah, I would say so.
783
I'd be shitting my pants.
784
I know you were you were killing me right like listen beforehand.
785
I Felt like scary
786
Sundays, you know just like that
787
It's cuz I already knew Paul like pretty comfortably
788
Beforehand cuz I've been auditioning for one battle for like six months.
789
Oh, I see
790
Yeah for six months
791
So I was already like pretty familiar with Paul to be like comfortable around him
792
and also like I trusted him completely
793
and then I got very close to Regina before we started shooting and and she's incredible, especially in the movie.
794
And I love Regina so much and I love Tiana so much, but I didn't meet Tiana until like towards the end.
795
But me and Regina got very close.
796
And so having the two of them starting, I felt very easy kind of jumping into it.
797
And also the crew that we had on the movie.
798
I want to say was honestly smaller than presumed innocent.
799
Okay.
800
So it felt, um, like a skeleton, like two camera departments there.
801
It just was like, it wasn't as, it was more condensed.
802
Okay.
803
And so everyone, you could tell that everyone also had been working together for a long time.
804
Like they had a lot of history.
805
Yeah.
806
So it felt very like a well -oiled machine.
807
And I was like, okay, I know what I need to do.
808
I know where I need to fit in.
809
And then having Paul and Regina, they're kind of worth, we're an extra comfort where I was like,
810
okay, I can, and I can do what I need to do.
811
But it really was like, it felt more like first day of school scaries as opposed to like, oh, fuck.
812
Overwhelming.
813
Yeah.
814
Oh shit.
815
I'm in with Leonardo DiCaprio.
816
Yeah.
817
Yeah, at a club I'm like, god damn Leo's here.
818
Fuck.
819
There's too many fucking girls.
820
What is this wave of people doing here?
821
Like, ugh.
822
It's called the Leo effect.
823
It's a true story.
824
It's a real thing.
825
Happened in a park too.
826
Regina plays your, it's like, what's fascinating was that Regina
827
was basically the only mother figure that you had
828
and it only lasted for like two days before she was taken away
829
but you can feel the closeness and the respect and like
830
when she you know like when parents when parents
831
and kids fight they're like okay just tell me the truth okay don't do
832
that again it's like there's a connection there you don't want to disappoint
833
but like yeah there's your trust yeah beautiful i know i love it
834
and like kind of seeing where they first meet to to where they have like their last moment together
835
you see like Willa kind of have
836
that realization of this is the closest I've ever gotten and probably will ever get to a mother figure in that way.
837
Because up until that point you had been the mother.
838
Yeah.
839
Oh, good point.
840
Thank you.
841
Thank you.
842
That's great.
843
You're like, appreciate it.
844
Thank you.
845
But that must have been for your character.
846
That must have been being able to be vulnerable with somebody,
847
being able to probably, you probably felt like you needed to be taken care of a little bit,
848
but then you also found yourself learning like exactly you had to
849
so and and that scene like what you were saying with sean penn in the church was
850
so unbelievably dynamic and compelling
851
and i could not take my eyes off it the whole time like how long did
852
that take to shoot um we did it Straight through.
853
So I wanna say takes would range from 17 minutes to 22 minutes.
854
And we would just go all the way through.
855
Straight through.
856
How many takes do you remember doing?
857
I think we did that scene over like four days.
858
So I don't remember how many takes.
859
You did that one scene over four days.
860
Okay.
861
If I wasn't married, Benicio Del Toro.
862
Tell me about it.
863
Just a few small beers.
864
I mean like, come on, guy, my guy.
865
Just a few small beers.
866
No, every time I see him a demo now like that's all I think about his What is fantastic?
867
He was also a great role model too.
868
Yeah, he was sensei, but not really father
869
But he was like the father figure to Willa to like literally D 'Andra and sensei
870
Yeah, those are her parents
871
Those are her parents in a sense and like what a repertoire
872
that you're building in terms of like the You know the type of work
873
that you have you went from doing an incredible action drama
874
You did an incredible drama show.
875
You have musical theater background.
876
You know, now you're on The Testament.
877
Yeah.
878
So, like, in a way, I'm sure you will save yourself eventually.
879
You know, I haven't caught up to all of it.
880
But what do you want to do next?
881
I don't know.
882
I don't have, like, I'm not like, I want to play this type of character next.
883
Or I want to do this genre next.
884
Or work on this skill.
885
Yeah, I mean, I do love building a skill.
886
Yeah, of course.
887
Like, I think, like, the skills part are, like, the best part.
888
You can tell.
889
You're very studied.
890
Thank you.
891
Yeah, you come off very studied in the best possible way.
892
Thank you.
893
I do want to talk about The Testaments,
894
though, because I was a big Handmaid's Tale fan and already enamored by The Testaments because of the world building.
895
You already had a reference for it, obviously, because the foundation was Handmaid's Tale.
896
But this is still different because it's four -ish years later.
897
and I want to say it's even a tighter color palette.
898
It's even a tighter production design.
899
The costumes are just so on point.
900
Everything is really beautiful to watch.
901
And I will say, you give me a model or something in miniature and I will, like, I'm in.
902
Me too.
903
And that intro into that first scene, I was like, what am I watching?
904
I want to watch this for the rest of my life
905
and then the way that you also bring a lot of joy to a role
906
and into a world that is not joyful there's a real layer to what
907
or there are layers to what you were doing that are um
908
seem unreasonable for a person of your age to have learned
909
this it's really tremendous now i'm the one that's just giving her compliments well
910
but i mean okay let's talk about testaments just
911
because like i'm a process person
912
so i want to know like like what was the audition
913
process like like how like did were you sent the script like how did how did it all come together
914
i got the first script I want to say like probably five months after I wrapped one battle
915
and we're kind of like looking for the next right thing
916
but like nothing was kind of giving me those butterflies
917
if I was like oh this is something I want to do and then I got the script in my inbox
918
but it was hidden that it was the Handmaid's Tale sequel
919
and so like all of the terminology all of the names were changed oh interesting oh
920
so it was completely almost redacted yeah yeah so you wouldn't know yeah
921
and and agnes was like named andrea
922
and the handmaids weren't called handmaids
923
they were i don't even remember what they were like it's a dystopia yeah
924
it was just like you're just like well
925
this sounds like a handmaid's tale knockoff yeah
926
i was like i was like this kind of sounds like the handmaid's tale yeah
927
but i was like okay i'll pretend it's not yeah um
928
and so i read the first script
929
and i just kind of like fell in love with the the world building of it
930
and i mean like of Of course, the first script that I've read of the Testaments was very,
931
I mean, Hamlet's Tale is very dark and it felt like it was very daunting how dark it was.
932
But I could not get over the fascination of how full the world was.
933
And also like the joy that Agnes or Andrea at the time, that she had.
934
And I found that to be the thing that was exciting.
935
Because I was like, this world is so dark and
936
so dim and really does not let these girls have any freedom at all, let alone anybody in the world have freedom, but especially these girls.
937
But yet she is still so joyful.
938
She still loves her friends.
939
She still pours into her family, into her support system.
940
And I found that to be very inspiring.
941
And that was the thing that kind of hooked me.
942
So I auditioned for it, sent in the tape, didn't think anything of it.
943
got an email that Bruce Miller, the showrunner, and the creator of the TV show wanted to meet me.
944
And I was like, cool, sounds fun.
945
So I met with him, did another audition.
946
And then I did a secondary audition with him.
947
And it was kind of just like a get to know you thing.
948
And then I want to say like maybe a week later,
949
I got an email in my inbox that they would love for me to play Hannah or Agnes.
950
Then I was like, of course I want to play Agnes.
951
And then that was like, I want to say December or January.
952
And then I went out to Toronto at the top of March to start fittings
953
because all of our dresses were custom made for us. So specific.
954
Yeah.
955
And so went out there early for that, went out there early to have like embroidery lessons, like knitting lessons.
956
Different skills.
957
Exactly.
958
Oh, right.
959
But just kind of like learn the things
960
that these girls would have grown up doing
961
and do them with uh right
962
it's some conviction like you know what you're doing yeah yeah granted
963
i could not embroider for the life of me
964
but i was like i'm gonna do it well enough to
965
be convincing on camera yeah okay none of this is surprising after uh this conversation with you at all
966
because it's a dark ish show it's a little bit lighter it's hilarious
967
It does have a lot of like, it's a bit lighter than the hammocks.
968
Yeah, definitely.
969
And you found, and again, like I go back to that kind of joy that you found in the character that really reads and,
970
and makes it makes this darkness makes this heaviness.
971
Yeah.
972
A little bit more palatable for maybe your average viewer.
973
But also for me, I think watching you and watching this world,
974
it almost makes it more real than dystopian.
975
Yeah.
976
Because there's a realism to it that, yes, I found in Handmaid's Tale had, but it felt otherworldly.
977
Yeah.
978
This feels scarily thisworldly.
979
I think also like kind of going with that, we were saying this a lot during press too,
980
while we were promoting the show before it started to come out,
981
is The Handmaid's Tale is coming from the perspective of somebody who has lost everything.
982
And The Testaments is coming from the perspective of girls who don't know any different.
983
And that's the scary part, that they don't know that they're missing out on the ability to read,
984
to write, to have any freedom of choice at all.
985
Oh, Daisy knows.
986
Daisy knows.
987
Daisy knows.
988
The Pearl girls.
989
But like Agnes or Shunammite or Becca or Holder, or any of the plums.
990
They know no different.
991
They know no different.
992
And I think that's the scary part, is how.
993
It almost feels terrifying how, I guess, complicit's not the right word,
994
but they are complicit in a system that they don't realize is hurting them.
995
Yeah.
996
They're forced to obey.
997
Yeah.
998
They know something is off, too.
999
To a degree.
1000
To a degree.
1001
To a degree.
1002
Like, their perspective of what's normal is completely different to what June would consider to be normal in The Handmaid's Tale.
1003
Or, and you're powerless.
1004
Yeah.
1005
At the same time.
1006
But the little bits of power that they do have, they know how to, I guess,
1007
use it to the strongest ability.
1008
And Agnes and Daisy, specifically those two, are people who really know how to do that.
1009
Shunammite too.
1010
Shunammite is very, very good about using the small bits of power that she has.
1011
And she understands the importance of, I'll say communication, because the girls are not allowed to gossip.
1012
Oh, right but Chino Mai understands the power of communication between everybody and I think that that's like,
1013
like they all have something that is their powerful trait
1014
that they know how to use to not only help themselves but help their friends in the system.
1015
You have something upcoming that you're working on.
1016
That I'm working, what am I working on?
1017
Well, are you working on the Julius art?
1018
Oh yeah, I already shot it.
1019
You're already done, can you talk about that at all?
1020
Yeah, well I can give you like, it was so fun.
1021
Just highlight, just highlight.
1022
I can't tell you plot line things, but i can tell you what it was like on
1023
that experience because i've been with
1024
that script since i auditioned for paul's movie oh great so i auditioned for the julia set and for one battle
1025
within the same week well like i think
1026
i i literally had sent in like the julie said audition on like a monday
1027
and then i sent in one battle on like wednesday
1028
or something like that while you're training for for one battle the julia set is
1029
so different playing a mathematician like what kind of studying did you do for your craft well
1030
i realized very quickly that the level of math that she is doing is far beyond anything I could ever understand.
1031
Is it more than business calculus?
1032
Wait, okay.
1033
I don't even know what that is.
1034
I didn't realize how many words were in that level of math.
1035
How many theories?
1036
It was crazy.
1037
So I couldn't study math in that way.
1038
No, of course not.
1039
It was something else where I was like, I have to find a connection point to mathematics in a way where it can be convincing that,
1040
that I, or enough for you to understand.
1041
Exactly enough for me to either, to understand the intention behind it was really what I was like, I'm focused on that because I was like,
1042
I know I'm not going to understand this math at all.
1043
I'm not even going to force my, my brain to try and understand it.
1044
Cause there's no way that I would.
1045
So I was like, what is, I guess like a way into it or like a understanding behind it as much as I can,
1046
as much as I can to have it come across on camera in a way that makes people be like, oh, I understand what's happening,
1047
even if you don't understand necessarily what she's writing or what you're seeing on the screen.
1048
So a lot of my prep was kind of just finding the connection points that are not math.
1049
Math related.
1050
And yeah, I really just loved the story and I felt also so grateful to be in something
1051
that I guess continues to push the narrative in a way of like giving young girls,
1052
young like girls of color, young black girls who look like me,
1053
giving them a space where they can feel seen in an environment where they're typically not seen.
1054
Like this girl is quite literally a math genius.
1055
and there's so many young girls who lose out on the opportunity of seeing their greatness with mathematics,
1056
with STEM, and anything because they don't feel the representation or they don't see the representation on screen,
1057
which is why it was such a gift to work with Gillian Anderson too as well
1058
because she kind of paved the way for women in that way.
1059
And so I felt grateful to even be doing something that's even slightly adjacent to what she did with X -Files.
1060
And so that was cool to do as well.
1061
But I love the story.
1062
I love Julia.
1063
I love her family.
1064
I love her story.
1065
And she's also somebody who has a lot of strength.
1066
And she's just figuring out her way in the world.
1067
And I loved it so much.
1068
And it also was really cool to kind of, like, escape everything and go off and shoot something for a month and a half.
1069
And then pop back in and be like, hey, guys.
1070
How's it going?
1071
I'm back.
1072
I'm back at the Golden Globes and the Oscars and the Sacre Awards.
1073
I'm killing it.
1074
And representing, which I love.
1075
Thank you.
1076
And I love that someone so kind and talented is representing for women of color.
1077
I love that.
1078
Thank you.
1079
That's cool.
1080
We have something shallow.
1081
Oh, yes.
1082
We have a game.
1083
A game?
1084
It's called Typecast.
1085
Okay.
1086
That's a great segue.
1087
That was the joke.
1088
I know.
1089
Obviously, we're going to ask you a bunch of random questions.
1090
These are all the incredible co -stars.
1091
I know.
1092
Feel very lucky.
1093
And you can add yourself to that list because you are a fantastic actor.
1094
Hey, guys.
1095
You see this list?
1096
Yeah.
1097
I love all of them.
1098
Look how long it is already.
1099
Who is most likely to in full sleep adopt a new dog?
1100
I won't say dog, but I'll say Rowan.
1101
I'll say cat because she's a cat person.
1102
So I'll say Rowan.
1103
Okay, great.
1104
Who's got the best gossip?
1105
Best gossip?
1106
Leo.
1107
Shut up.
1108
Honey.
1109
No, he does?
1110
Leo loves a tea session.
1111
Oh, that's so good.
1112
I love that.
1113
But even outside of that, I will say I'm going to group them in on this, too, because we would have our weekly debriefings.
1114
I'll say Lucy, Rowan, Amatea, while we were shooting The Testament.
1115
So we would have our little goss sesh.
1116
Yeah, a little goss sesh.
1117
Okay, how did the week go for everybody?
1118
Oh, great.
1119
Yeah.
1120
Catch up.
1121
But I'll say I'll say either we are I'll say the three of them.
1122
Okay, um who is most likely to do fire fest or drag you to fire
1123
Fest fire fest.
1124
It's the one that crash and burn.
1125
Oh It's my favorite crash and burned memories that festival that was Okay, this one is like no makes no sense,
1126
but it is like kind of funny to like picture like imagine and out like taking me to fire fest.
1127
Like, her and I'm taking me to fire fest.
1128
That would be crazy.
1129
That's hilarious.
1130
I go with her.
1131
Who's perhaps the best to pull off
1132
Gen Z slang who is not actually Gen Z?
1133
Leah.
1134
Damn.
1135
He understands it?
1136
Listen, I will explain the slang and he'll be like, he'll start to say it.
1137
And I'm like, you know what, period.
1138
Like, you're doing this.
1139
Exactly.
1140
I wish someone would just write a book.
1141
I don't understand it even my kids are doing.
1142
I'm like, what does that mean?
1143
Whose book recommendations would you actually listen to?
1144
Hmm.
1145
Whose book recommendations?
1146
Ruth Nega.
1147
Oh, yeah.
1148
Ruth reads a lot.
1149
And like, I really, I love her mind and I love the way
1150
that she thinks and I think that she's such an intelligent person.
1151
So I'll say Ruth.
1152
Who's the biggest prankster?
1153
Tyler.
1154
Oh, yeah?
1155
Yeah.
1156
Okay, that's funny.
1157
Any good ones?
1158
Yeah.
1159
That you remember?
1160
Oh, he's like a medium prankster?
1161
He's like, I'll say like he's a very like jokey person oh okay got it
1162
and so i'll say i'll say tyler i mean he didn't like pull any pranks on me yeah
1163
but he likes to mess with you a little bit
1164
i feel like he would be like the best prankster yeah okay yeah
1165
it's a wrap party who's the first one on the dance floor me
1166
i was gonna say the answer can be you yeah
1167
i was like let me go down the list let me go down the list let me go down
1168
this me me or tiana sometimes like there's been a couple where me
1169
and tiana are like the first ones is it one battle after another on the dance floor absolutely not she is winning
1170
There's no competition to the end.
1171
Yeah, exactly.
1172
I will do a little two -step.
1173
I know.
1174
As she's like bringing it down in the middle of the dance floor.
1175
But me and Tiana.
1176
I love that.
1177
I want to go to that party.
1178
That's a wrap!
1179
I know, that's a wrap on Chase Infinity!
1180
Thank you so much for being here.
1181
Thank you so much for having me.
1182
Thank you for doing this.
1183
This was so fun.
1184
Drink water.
1185
That's the note.
1186
Sorry, we can cut that.
1187
John, drink water.
1188
Your mouth is making noises.
1189
Oh my God.
1190
We all take a water break.
1191
Okay, great.
1192
Let's take a water break.
1193
My straw, because then I would have messed up my lipstick.
1194
Sorry.
1195
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of I Am An Actor, a SAG -AFTRA podcast.
1196
Hosted by John Brockett and Jamie Chung.
1197
If you liked this episode, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and rate I Am An Actor five stars.
1198
This episode was executive produced by Sick Bird Productions, Jade Watson, Deanna DaCosta, and me, John Brockett.
1199
Produced by Sarah Stecker, talent producer Sarah Kauperthwaite, and head of PR and marketing and producer Nick Vivas.
1200
We'll see you next week.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B21
133 sentences
Jenna Ortega Thought “Wednesday” Would End Her Career | How I Got Here | Esquire
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
62 sentences
Getting To Know Kimi Antonelli
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
840 sentences
Jonathan Bailey & David Corenswet | Actors on Actors
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
439 sentences
Tom Ellis (Lucifer on Netflix) Talks About Singing, James McAvoy, Lucifer Season 4 and More
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
184 sentences
ANEES INTERVIEW WITH INDIFY - DAYJOB
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
89 sentences
Full Funny Interview With Mike Shinoda From Linkin Park
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
514 sentences
EPISODE 1 - A Fight
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
304 sentences
Christina Aguilera | On The Record
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
47 sentences
Zoey Deutch Recalls Past CRUSH On 'Voicemails For Isabelle' Co-Star Nick Robinson
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
321 sentences
Kiss of Life | Get Loud, Choreography, Igloo
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B217
18 sentences
I AM THEATRE: Jenny Larson
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
369 sentences
Phuwin Tangsakyuen's Journey as Lifeweaver- From Gamer to Voice Actor
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Chase Infiniti”. This video has 1199 sentences and 10865 words to shadow. The speech runs for 53:59. The speaker talks fast, about 201 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| audition noun | /ɑˈdɪʃən/ | A performance, by an aspiring performer, to demonstrate suitability or talent. |
| theater noun | /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/ | A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on. |
| innocent adjective | /ˈɪnəsənt/ | Free from guilt, sin, or immorality. |
| presume verb | /pɹɪˈz(j)um/ | To be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or permission [with to (+ infinitive)]. |
| script noun | /skɹɪpt/ | A writing; a written document. |
| tale noun | /ˈteɪl/ | A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story. |
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| tape noun | /teɪ̯p/ | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. |
| fest noun | /fɛst/ | A gathering for a specified reason or occasion. |
| blizzard noun | /ˈblɪz.ɚd/ | A large snowstorm accompanied by strong winds and greatly reduced visibility caused by blowing snow. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| scary adjective | /ˈskɛə.ɹi/ | Causing fear or anxiety |
| privilege noun | /ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ/ | A particular benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity enjoyed by some but not others; a prerogative, preferential treatment. |
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
| showcase noun | /ˈʃoʊˌkeɪs/ | A case for displaying merchandise or valuable items. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| help out verb | To provide assistance. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. | |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| kick out verb | To eject, dismiss, expel, or forcefully remove (someone or something). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Wait, did you never see the movie?
- Do you come from a family of performers?
- Also, who's walking by you on a frozen lake?
- That I'm working, what am I working on?
- I'm like, what does that mean?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've always been · I've been · I've started |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be seen · was seen · be cast |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | kid who just · Indianapolis, which is · rehearsed, which was |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 263 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: theater /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, soothe /suːð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: audition /ɑˈdɪʃən/, showcase /ˈʃoʊˌkeɪs/, sheet /ʃit/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like audition, theater, innocent.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.