Acting Up with Cortney Wills
Acting Up with Cortney Wills
"Acting Up” features intimate conversations with the creatives, executives, and decision-makers who are truly moving the needle when it comes to representation in Hollywood and beyond. In each episode, theGrio’s Entertainment Director Cortney Wills gets real with actors, writers, producers, directors, executives, and insiders who shape how our communities are represented on screens big and small. …Follow the podcast:
The Ring Before Spring: Black women and the MRS Degree
Cortney Wills is joined by Eboni K. Williams, who responds to the backlash she received after a recent episode of “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” examined the trend of white women seeking their MRS degrees in college. The ladies take a deep dive into the nerves she struck when she advised Black wo…
53:40Explicit
Return to Wakanda
On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills takes us back to Wakanda and dives in to the highly anticipated film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. She sits down with actress Lupita Nyong'o to find out how her character Nakia’s journey through grief compared to her own experience mourning the…
28:37
Trees of Peace
On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Avant and Alanna Brown to discuss their riveting film 'Trees of Peace'. Based on a true story, the heart-wrenching project is centered on four women who forge an unbreakable bond while in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda.…
37:23
Taking in ‘TILL’
On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills is joined by Michael Harriot to discuss ‘TILL’ the new film that highlights the life and work of Mamie Till-Mobley, a mother who galvanized the Civil Rights Movement after her 14-year-old son Emmet Till was lynched in 1955. Starring Danielle Deadw…
36:02
Michelle Buteau: Survival of the Thickest
On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Michelle Buteau. The stand-up comedian, actress, and author who has made her mark on screens big and small gets real about what it's like to juggle her booming career and life as a mom of twins and a wife and takes us behind the scen…
27:20
Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me
On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Yvonne Orji back to the podcast to hear all about her new comedy special “A Whole Me” debuting on HBO on October 1. Hear how the pandemic helped this beauty become the best version of herself as well as who’s inspiring her comedy these da…
18:02
The Silent Twins
On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into the haunting true story of “The Silent Twins” the new film from Focus Features starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence, who took on the roles of two sisters who were traumatized by relentless racism and created their own language and …
40:52
Beneath the “Surface”
On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw to get the inside scoop on her latest project, the binge-worthy Apple TV+ series “Surface.” The ladies discuss Gugu’s journey through Hollywood and why this was the perfect project for her to star in and execu…
29:25
There's No Stopping Nicole Beharie
On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Nicole Beharie back to the podcast to discuss her roles in two new films. The actress reveals what it took to play a pastor in the hilarious "Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul" alongside Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall before diving into the…
38:03
Nathalie Emmanuel: The Invitation
On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Nathalie Emmanuel to get all the details about her starring role in the thrilling horror flick “The Invitation” and what it means for Black women to break into the genre. The “Game of Thrones” alum also speaks on the impact h…
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