Explore every episode of the podcast Acting Strong
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
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| Your Questions: Getting into acting, auditions, getting an agent, self tapes and mental resilience | 06 Sep 2024 | 00:38:13 | |
Ali and Unique respond to listeners' questions. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Jennifer Irons: Breaking the mould, not seeking permission, and performing grief | 22 Aug 2024 | 00:40:31 | |
Award-winning choreographer, dancer, and director Jennifer Irons shares her journey from immigrant beginnings in London to becoming a trailblazer in the world of contemporary dance and theatre. In this episode, Jennifer reveals how her experience as an outsider has profoundly influenced her work and led her to defy traditional expectations in the dance industry. From large-scale stadium performances to commercial music videos, and her own one-woman show, Jennifer's story is one of grit, resilience, and refusing to follow the conventional path. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Hayley Konadu: Starring in a Netflix hit, not going to drama school, Black hair for actors, and staying grounded | 13 Aug 2024 | 00:35:31 | |
Hayley Konadu is an actor, and facilitator who recently starred as Flo Bones in Lockwood & Co (Netflix) and has worked on screen and theatre, as well as extensively as an facilitator and assistant director with young people and in arts education settings. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Chetna Pandya: Overcoming barriers into the arts, starring in Heartstopper, and building creative resilience | 25 Jul 2024 | 00:42:04 | |
Chetna Pandya is an Actor, Director, Producer and Creative advocate, most recently known to many for her role as Coach Singh in Heartstopper (Netflix) and for her extensive acting career in TV shows such as The Trouble with Maggie Cole, This Way Up, Feel Good and Black Mirror. She has worked nationally and internationally across stage, television, film & radio performing with Complicité, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre and BBC Radio Drama to name a few. In this conversation Chetna passionately advocates for access to the arts, sharing insights into her own experiences growing up, and how meaningful socio-economic diversity and inclusion can affect change. Chetna discusses how she has found the resilience to overcome barriers in her 22-year career in a changing industry, and shares her personal mindset for how to remain true to oneself as a professional artist. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Ace Ruele: From prison to Hollywood, mastering a positive mindset and transforming the industry | 18 Jul 2024 | 00:50:28 | |
Ace Ruele is a leading motion capture film and video games actor, and founder of Creature Bionics. In this conversation he discusses his extraordinary journey from 4.5 years in prison, through to acting in Hollywood movies, TV and commercials and more recently developing a world-leading company which is transforming how the film industry approaches motion capture, animal and creature work. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Ira Mandela Siobhan: Overcoming Dyslexia and racism, a lesson from Tom Cruise, and why artistic perfection doesn't exist | 17 Jul 2024 | 00:37:34 | |
Ira Mandela Siobhan is a leading Actor, Dancer and Movement Director, and joins Ali and Unique directly from final rehearsals for The Grapes of Wrath at the National Theatre where he is Movement Director. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Casting Director Q&A: Unlocking the secrets of casting with Suzy Catliff on self-taping, auditioning, and getting seen | 25 Sep 2024 | 00:39:25 | |
In this special Q&A episode, Suzy Catliff CDG, a renowned Casting Director and author of The Casting Handbook, shares her wealth of experience from iconic TV shows like Silent Witness and Casualty to film classics like The English Patient. Suzy takes you behind the scenes of the audition room, revealing exactly what casting directors look for and how to approach them with confidence. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your craft, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you succeed in the industry. Tune in for insider tips on how to ace your auditions and build a lasting career. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Gabrielle Nimo: Thriving without an agent, blending football and theatre, Black women in the West End, and making space for rest | 13 Feb 2025 | 00:51:32 | |
What happens when your passion becomes your career, but then a setback threatens everything you've built? In this honest conversation with Ali and Unique, Gabrielle Nimo, West End Movement Director, shares her inspiring story of resilience and adaptability, highlighting her transformative journey through productions like "Red Pitch" and "Strategic Love Play." With no agent and relying solely on her organic network, Gaby's career thrives, showcasing how versatility across roles like dancer, facilitator, and teacher can continuously open doors in the arts industry. Hosts & Guests: Ali Godfrey (Host) Unique Spencer (Host) Gabrielle Nimo (Guest) Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Helder Fernandes: From Harlesden to Hollywood? Netflix success and staying humble, side jobs as a working actor | 13 May 2025 | 00:25:56 | |
An episode for aspiring actors looking for inspiration on resilience, success, and a grounding in the realities of being a jobbing actor. Actor Helder Fernandes has starred in Black Mirror, Rings of Power, The Gentlemen, Top Boy, and the National Theatre's Our Generation. In this down-to-earth conversation with Ali and Unique he shares his journey from struggling to get into drama school to starring in Netflix hits while maintaining a side job for a supermarket. Helder reflects on balancing fame with staying grounded, finding his confidence through Generation Arts, and the importance of remaining humble despite success in the industry. He describes using lockdown to perfect self-taping skills that led to commercial and TV opportunities and shares his experience performing verbatim theatre in Our Generation at the National Theatre. He opens up about his lack of high school exam grades, struggles through three years of drama school auditions before finally being accepted and learning to embrace his unique journey and build confidence through drama school training. Helder is giving back to Generation Arts and showing others from similar backgrounds that success is possible, and we are sure you'll agree he is truly a role model to all aspiring actors out there. Hosts & Guests: Ali Godfrey (Host) Unique Spencer (Host) Helder Fernandes (Guest) Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Tamara Lawrance: Fearless in Get Millie Black, the courage to choose carefully, building a career that matters | 30 Apr 2025 | 00:31:08 | |
What happens when a performer refuses to compromise on their artistic integrity from day one? Tamara Lawrance's remarkable career journey offers a masterclass in building success through meaningful choices and unwavering self-belief.
Hosts & Guests: Ali Godfrey (Host) Unique Spencer (Host) Tamara Lawrance (Guest) Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Sarah Seggari: Resilience behind the role, from Drama School to BBC Drama, and finding love for Shakespeare | 26 May 2025 | 00:38:54 | |
Actor Sarah Seggari joins Ali and Unique for an honest, funny, and inspiring conversation about her journey from South London to becoming a series regular playing Rida Amaan on BBC’s Casualty. She shares how solid drama school training set the foundation, but it was learning to trust her gut—like the time she stuck with her original self-tape despite her agent’s advice—that helped her land the role. Sarah talks candidly about relocating to Cardiff for filming, building a new community, and the everyday resilience it takes to keep going in the industry. Packed with gold for aspiring actors, Sarah unpacks what it’s like to work with a rotating cast of guest actors, the shift from stage to screen, and how to create a truthful TV character when scripts can change at the last minute. She speaks with real passion about her experiences at Shakespeare’s Globe, how she unlocked a love for Shakespeare, and gives practical advice on preparing strong classical monologues for auditions. If you're an actor navigating early career highs and lows, this episode is full of insight, humour, and hard-earned wisdom. Subscribe, spread the word and turn on your notifications. Each guest brings their own take on resilience. So take what lands, leave what doesn't. Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Patsy Palmer: from the East End to Eastenders, 30 years as an iconic soap character | 05 Jun 2025 | 00:20:29 | |
Patsy Palmer is an Actor, DJ, Wellness Advocate and Cultural Icon, best known for her unforgettable role as Bianca Jackson in EastEnders — a character she has embodied for over 30 years, earning her a place in British television history. Patsy's background and career is a story underpinned by resilience. In this episode, Patsy shares honest reflections on growing up in the East End of London, her early experiences in the acting industry, and the importance of creating space and opportunity for working class actors in today’s cultural landscape. She speaks candidly about the realities of being seen as an “icon,” what that label means to her, and how she’s carved out a different kind of life in Malibu — one that keeps her grounded, passionate, and connected to her roots. Hosts & Guests: Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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| Brian Cox: losing everything at 8, the art of persisting, Succession and lessons from a 60-year career | 24 Jul 2025 | 00:32:50 | |
Content Warning: There is a brief mention of attempted suicide in this episode. What happens when resilience becomes a way of life? Brian Cox, the award-winning actor known worldwide for his portrayal of Logan Roy in Succession, chats to Ali and Unique and takes us on a masterclass journey through his extraordinary 60-year career. Hosts & Guests: Ali Godfrey (Host) Unique Spencer (Host) Brain Cox (Guest) Send us a Text Message with your feedback, questions or requests for future episodes Email: actingstrong@generationarts.org.uk
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