Portraits of Hollywood

It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Hollywood.

Berk Civano

I didn’t grow up speaking English at home, but in the middle of lockdowns and global uncertainty during COVID-19, I made the decision to chase something bigger. While the world shut down and borders closed, I locked myself in my room, studying English and preparing for exams. It was a long, solitary marathon, but when everything seemed paused, I moved forward. I earned my acceptance to Fordham University—one of my first victories in a journey built on persistence. I moved to New York City to study New Media and Digital Design at Fordham, carrying with me nothing but hunger and ambition. As an international student, opportunities were limited, but if there was a way to push forward, I found it. Read more>>

Iustin Coca

I like to create music that resonates with people on a deeper level—something that triggers an emotion, a memory, or a feeling they can’t quite explain. I’m not just making songs; I’m trying to craft frequencies that make something in your heart vibrate. What sets me apart is the way I approach it—I’m intentional about every note, every layer, and how it all connects to create an experience, not just a sound. My goal isn’t just to be heard; it’s to be felt. Read more>>

Torie Zalben

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I am a fourth generation Angeleno, my family has been living in LA for over 100 years. The landscape and history of this city truly fascinates me. Art has always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My family and I would frequent the Getty museum, LACMA, and as a child I would spend hours at the Carole & Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures on Wilshire Blvd. and marvel at the various scenes and intricate dollhouses. Growing up I always gravitated toward creatives and art class was always my favorite. My education was art focused and resulted in studying video art and media from both Loyola Marymount University and New York University. Read more>>

Xiao Qiao Liu Winter

Her client list reads like a golden roll call of Chinese entertainment titans: iQIYI, One Film Fund, North TianJing Film Studio, Seven Stars Films, Guangdong Film and TV Studio, the Huading Awards, and Huahua Media. Her star-studded roster of celebrities — including Jing Tian, Huang Xiaoming, and Zhang Yuqi — further cements her reputation as a key figure at the intersection of East-West entertainment. Yet Winter’s mission goes far beyond opening doors for Chinese studios in America; she is equally passionate about championing U.S. talents — directors, writers, composers, musicians — for Chinese-driven productions aimed at global audiences. Read more>>

Gonzalo Jose Garcia

It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Transitioning from a successful child actor to adulthood was a challenge in ways I didn’t fully anticipate. As a kid, I was part of something huge—playing Gavroche in Les Misérables was an incredible experience, but when you grow up in that world, you don’t realize how fleeting it can be. Your voice changes, your body changes, and suddenly, you’re not the perfect fit for roles anymore. The competition gets more intense, and the industry that once embraced you moves on. Read more>>

B. Justine Jaime

I’m a native Angeleno—my family has been here for three/ four generations. I grew up all over LA County until my parents moved us to Long Beach just before I started third grade. Long Beach is an incredibly diverse and culturally rich city, with a unique art and music scene. When we first landed there in the mid-to-late ’90s, we moved into a house just off 4th Street, near Retro Row. Every day, I’d see the coolest looking people walking around—all creatives of some sort—and from a young age I just intrinsically knew that I was an artist. Read more>>

Cat LaCohie

By 2019 I was running my “Permission To Play” programme in person and online, and teaching Fire Eating classes monthly. When the pandemic hit in 2020 I moved all my training online and started teaching Fire Fans (unlit of course) and offered my burlesque intro class to Airbnb who were now moving all their experiences to an online format. At this time I had also started looking into motivational speaker training as so many students had benefitted in all aspects of their life from Burlesque training and I wanted to get the word of Burlesque out to a larger audience. Read more>>

Jessica Lanum

When I started dancing in 2020—right in the middle of the pandemic—it wasn’t just about learning steps. It became an outlet, a lifeline, and a way to express everything I was feeling. My studio believed in me and pushed me to compete, even when I doubted myself. That dance competition, and the scholarship I won, felt like a miracle—but it also meant leaving home, starting over in a huge city, and figuring things out on my own. Read more>>

Brittany Lee

My husband and I briefly moved to Hawaii for work and it was there where I took my first heels choreography class in 2018. I was hooked. I started teaching myself different techniques and styles of dance until we eventually moved to LA where I started training even harder! I trained not only in the classroom, but out of the classroom. I was determined to create a new lane for myself. Read more>>

Alex Chacón

I’m the owner of Around The World Unlimited Productions, a Creative Agency currently based in LA with 800,0000 followers that has produced travel/lifestyle UGC videos and award winning short cinematic films for brands like Hanes, Ford, Progressive Insurance, Pepsi Co, Kawasaki, and the government tourism agencies/ministries of over 20+ countries as Creative Director/Executive Producer and Host that have garnered over 200 million views world wide and won various digital marketing awards that have been featured on TIME Magazine, have been YouTube’s 4th Most Watched Video of the month, Google’s 11th most searched video of the year and more. Read more>>

Kasian Wick

When I moved out for the first time, I decided to give acting another shot—just to try something new. To my surprise, I enjoyed it a lot more than I remembered. I started booking roles and even got an agent. As I continued writing stories, I noticed a pattern: every character I created was someone my age, almost as if I was writing roles for myself. That realization led me to shift my focus from writing to acting. I knew I needed to move to LA, but before I did, I set three major goals: Read more>>

Antonio Andres Rosello

It hasn’t been a smooth road, but I believe challenges shape resilience. Growing up Venezuelan, I witnessed firsthand the economic struggles and instability that affected my country. While my family moved around, adapting to new places and cultures, I often felt like I didn’t fully belong anywhere. This sense of displacement pushed me to work even harder, constantly proving myself in new environments. Read more>>

Eric Mathis

Like a lot of creatives, my story started in a small town. I was born in Mississippi and raised in Monroe, Louisiana, where I quickly became obsessed with horror films and music. I’m a proud “video store kid”—the kind who’d spend weekends hauling stacks of VHS tapes home, binging every horror title I could find. I’d study the special effects, the music, the credits. With no internet back then, I’d dig through every Fangoria I could get my hands on to dive deeper into the behind-the-scenes world I was dying to be a part of. Read more>>

Ar’Darius Stewart

Coming from Abbeville, SC football was life. I wanted to be a professional athlete which was a dream passed down to me by my Dad. We were good, we won multiple state championships but that wasn’t what my father God had planned for me. I tore my ACL two years in a row playing the same team during regular season play. That was a pivotal moment in my life. After tearing my ACL twice in high school playing football, I started to develop a relationship with God. I was at my lowest point and I started praying everyday and talking to God.  Read more>>

Brandon Windsor

I started in Hollywood as a runner—literally running scripts between studios and producers, hoping one day someone would ask to read mine. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. But I kept working my way up, from PA gigs to writing for talk shows and entertainment news. Eventually, I got into the UCLA TV Writers’ Program, won a contest, and finally started landing real writing jobs. It felt like everything was starting to click—and then the WGA went on strike. Read more>>

Veljko Radenkovic

DAILOROSE (my artist name) is an artist based in Los Angeles. He creates music for those who feel deeply and love fiercely, seeking for real connections. Through soulful melodies and poetic lyrics, he captures the raw beauty of human emotion— turning longing, hope, and heartbreak into song. His songs are an invitation to feel without restraint—a gentle reminder that even in sadness, there is something beautiful to hold on to. Read more>>

Franceasca Seiden

I began my career as a photographer—obsessed with portraits, nudes, and the intimacy of film, which I developed by hand in the darkroom. My lens was always guided by emotion and story, influenced by artists like Nan Goldin, David Wojnarowicz, and other multimedia visionaries. From there, I expanded into curating art exhibitions, experimental film nights, and collaborative group shows with fellow artists. As my work evolved into music, festival culture, and multimedia documentation, I co-founded 3GZ Productions—a boutique production company that became a pivotal turning point. Read more>>

Dianna Ippolito

I knew in grade school that I wanted to be an artist. It started with writing short horror stories, mostly for extra credit, and segued into exploring music and painting, and photography. I even pursued a career in fashion photography bouncing between L.A. and New York, but it was when I discovered screenwriting, that everything clicked into place. I took a writing class at the American Film Institute with a friend, and six weeks later, I’d written my first screenplay. I felt such a sense of accomplishment that it was like a lightbulb turning on. Read more>>

JOCELYN JONES

I remember these legends of the Landing gathered around our dining table, talking about their process and relationship with art. The painters, my favorite, were in a class of their own. They were different from the performing artists. They seemed anti-glamour, anti-fashion, and anti-establishment. Unlike performing artists, they weren’t tasked with creating art before your very eyes. Instead, at least in the ’60s and ’70s, they seemed transfixed on elevating the ordinary—something I became deeply interested in and that cropped up in my teaching later in life. To observe the miracle of the mundane and to be able to recreate it—is to create life out of thin air for an actor. Read more>>

Arlie Day

My dream dating back to childhood was always to work in news. I interned at a couple of news stations in college and shortly after graduating, landed my first paid gig in news at Kare 11, the NBC news station in the Twin Cities. I was one of two writers for their website. As much as I learned and enjoyed working there, I realized my right-brained mind was not feeling fulfilled by writing news and that I needed to do something more creative in my career. That’s when I applied to the NBC Page program in Los Angeles and got accepted. Read more>>

Maliyah Heaven

When I was 24, I then met my Trans partner Roman and did what we never thought a trans person had the opportunity of doing which was tying the knot and getting married. My life experiences and challenges I have faced have shaped me into the person that I am today, someone who wants to give back so others wouldn’t experience the challenges I have. This is what started my activist leader journey that has ed me to discover this voice I have to advocate for my trans community. I’ve dedicated myself to be a visible beacon of hope and foster safe spaces for all because I know firsthand how it felt to feel alone, unwanted, and not fully accepted. Read more>>

Fae Fatale

I released my first song, Lobotomy, in August 2024, and just dropped my fourth single, Grim Reaper, yesterday. Along with it, I’m gearing up to release my third music video, my biggest project to date; that I wrote, directed, and brought to life with a dream-come-true team. I feel incredibly lucky to be creating the kind of art I’ve always imagined—alongside the people I love and admire. My producer, Ryan Davis, and I are currently editing the video together, and it’s set to premiere Friday, April 18th. We’re also preparing to release another single, which I’ll be announcing very soon! Read more>>

Michael Hartwich

I became obsessed with teen slasher movies. I started making my own horror movies when I was about 10, where I directed, acted, edited and roped in friends and family to play characters from school kids to serial killers. My sister’s notable appearance as an evil witch wearing a beanie over her face who hunted two Texas teens who broke into her slaughter house with a garden hoe got acclaimed reviews (from my Mum). From there I went on to working as an actor through my teens and after graduating from performing arts at 24, I made the move from Adelaide, Australia to Hollywood to pursue it more seriously. Read more>>

GiAnna Ligammari

it’s never been a smooth road, per say. i feel like the people i met along the way- especially those who taught me how important paying forward your skills and knowledge are to everyone in the animation industry- those are the people are who made the road less bumpy. my biggest struggle is how, post-strikes and negotiations, i just cannot seem to find consistent work like i used to. if i do, its a really cool project that gets cancelled 6 months in. it’s very demoralizing and stressful. i am scrappy so i keep the fire in me alive about it. i’m very proud of what i’ve accomplished so far. i want to stick around so i can keep learning from amazing people and incredible teams, even when it’s hard… Read more>>

Alina Lukianova

Of course, the road hasn’t been smooth. Like many others, my dreams often collided with harsh reality, and things didn’t always go according to plan. There were doubts, rejections — too many to count. I never landed a major role, not even a supporting one, back home. The phrase I heard most was, “You have potential” — it still haunts me in my sleep (just kidding… kind of). It wore me down. My motivation slowly faded. I grew disillusioned with the industry and stepped away from it completely. My only return to acting was just before I moved — in a short film called In Her Eyes. Read more>>

Lilia Doytchinova

The film won Best Director and Best Thriller at multiple local and international festivals, which was incredibly validating—but what meant the most to me was hearing that the story truly resonated. As an Eastern European woman living and creating in Los Angeles, my voice is layered. I have the poetic sensitivity of my roots and the bold ambition that comes from building a life in a city like this. I’ve lived the silence and the noise, the ache of leaving home and the fire it sparked in me. That contrast is what shapes my lens—it’s what makes my work personal and universal at the same time. Read more>>

Carlina Ricca

My original plan to study engineering in college changed my senior year. The hard work and passion I felt through my extracurriculars encouraged me to follow my dreams. I decided to study Musical Theatre at AMDA College of the Performing Arts. I spent my first two years of college at the New York campus. I learned so much and after graduating from the Associates program I was thrilled to learn more! I came to LA with the same curiosity as I did my freshman year; a new city with plenty of new connections. I graduated from AMDA College, here in Hollywood, earning my BFA in Musical Theatre. Read more>>

Akis Tsivourakis

My latest Youtube playlist is called “Lost in the Movies” and I present/highlight movies (movie scenes from the movie) I love when at the same time you can listen to 1 hr dj set (electronic music) Read more>>

James Byous

It took a long time and I caused a lot of wreckage on my way down, but I hit rock bottom at 28. On the outside, things looked pretty good. I was living in a decent apartment, I was filming a Netflix show, I had two vehicles in the garage, and I was engaged to be married. But for some reason I was drinking myself to death over it all. I was drinking upon waking up, buying cocaine with money I didn’t have, and I was forever running– head change to head change– from a tsunami of self hatred. The chasm was widening and the path became narrower with every night of heavy drink and drug. Read more>>

Briana Madera

Absolutely, NOT. No journey is smooth and mine is definitely not the exception to this. After graduating, I had this picture perfect idea of jumping into law school and utilizing my business to fund my lifestyle while in school. I had a lot of personal “life be lifing” happenstances along the way that forced me to pivot. Being that my business is self funded, I often found it difficult to comp my materials and vendor fees whilst juggling car insurance, car note, rent, and other expenses pertaining to life. I managed to make it through and around by running random yet fulfilling side missions on top of woking a main mission to make the dream happen. Read more>>

Matty J

Balancing the demands of a high-pressure job while processing her death and handling everything that came with it—funeral arrangements, managing her affairs, clearing out her apartment—took a serious toll on both my mental and physical health. I tried to push through, but over a year later, I realized I wasn’t okay. I decided to leave my job and take time to really focus on my well-being. Read more>>

Charmaine Clamor

Finding the balance between the performing arts and wellness has its own challenges. I was not able to handle the stress successfully in the beginning, which was mostly the root cause of my illness. I needed to build a strong inner world with meditation, gratitude practice and staying in the present most of the time. I also needed to be able to manage my schedule as efficiently as possible ensuring enough time for family, community, rest, play and joy. Read more>>

Tatyana Chistikova

After a few years of travels I’ve decided it was time to settle, and accepted a full-time position as a video journalist and producer at the NBC News Moscow bureau. We had a very small bureau of only five people, and it has also been a fascinating and challenging time. We’ve been covering the news from the country and the region during one of the most politically turbulent periods, and as there were fewer and fewer foreign media outlets left in the country, I’ve felt that my work was extremely important. Read more>>

Nick Perri

I got bit by the rock and roll bug when I was about 10 years old. My Aunt Terri, aka The Dode, used to drive my sister and I around in her Camaro in the early 1990s (in Bensalem PA, just outside Philadelphia) cranking Pearl Jam and ACDC on cassette. When I was 12 I finally convinced my parents to buy me a guitar and off I went. I must have been a serious manifester because by age 16 my high school band, Silvertide, was courting major label attention, which led to signing a multimillion dollar record deal with Clive Davis when I was 17. Read more>>

Adrien Myles

In short, I am Adrien Myles and I am a recording artist here in LA. And like any artist, I come from a unique upbringing in a series of events called “life” that have lead me to this very moment. I’m originally from Chicago, IL where I grew up in a complex, biracial household – and boy, we did not have it easy. Coming from a place of struggle has always been my biggest motivation to make something of myself and my desire to create has been with me since those rough times. I got into music at a time when my shy-natured self was itching to be reborn – itching to discover my voice and ironically, it was my vocal ability that catapulted what would eventually be my future career.  Read more>>

Julia Grimm

Since then, I’ve lived a lot of lives. I’ve spearheaded and produced documentaries and commercials, worked in digital media content and video marketing at startups, produced narrative shorts and five seasons of a TV show (CAKE on FX Networks); I’ve worked with million dollar budgets and made music videos with < $500, overseen large crews and been a one-woman-shop videographer. The common throughline, though, is that I’ve always tried to surround myself with people who share similar values—especially the belief that success doesn’t have to come at someone else’s expense, and that respect and kindness matter more than the bottom line (and produce much better results!). Read more>>

Mary Danessa

I balance being a Plus-size content creator with working a full-time gig. I got into content creation like a lot of others. The pandemic hit I became an essential worker and turned to social media. It was during this time I wanted to highlight what it’s like being a Plus-size content creator. On my socials (marydanessa) I highlight my travels, grwm (beauty), lifestyle, & food reviews. Read more>>

Mihika Das

Unfortunately, cinematography is an incredibly gendered industry. There were many times I found myself on set in India being asked questions about costume and direction without even being asked what department I was in. Many in the team I was a part of were unable to gauge whether or not I was capable all because of my gender. A producer who once hired me told me,”You’re going to meet all kinds of people in this industry – you should learn to work with all of them.” Read more>>

Alice Hellewell

I think my biggest challenge was my high school theatre director putting it into my head that my audition pieces weren’t good enough, I didn’t work hard enough, tearing me down constantly. Even on my A-level results day he told my peers he was suprise I passed the exam. Considering I worked incredibly hard towards it spending hours studying, it broke my heart. But hey, look where I am now and clearly my hard work was 1000% worth it. My audition pieces were amazing and every day I am working towards my dream of becoming a musical theatre performer. Read more>>

Mercedes Ibarra

I now create and officiate beautiful, unique ceremonies for weddings, baby blessings, quinceañeras, maiden-to-mother celebrations, and funerals, and I do it in both English and Spanish. I especially love to bridge the gap between clients who are spiritual-but-not-religious and their traditionally religious families. I find a way to make their ceremonies reflect their own spirituality while making their families still feel considered and participating in something that is beautifully sacred. Read more>>

Jonina Liao

we were always covering other people’s songs. Where was my voice in all of this? That realization led us to start writing our own music. The urge to express something truly personal has stayed with me ever since. To me, music is not only a channel for inner emotion—it’s a bridge that connects me to others. I look forward to larger stages, more collaborations, and the chance for my songs to reach wider audiences—not because they’re tailored to trends, but because they speak honestly and resonate with people in a real way. Read more>>

Navick

before forming Navick, we were coworkers introduced by a mutual friend. we worked on a musical project together and after getting along and working well together, we decided to work on a full project together and from there our Duo Navick was formed. we became a duo in 2018 and released our first ep Paradise in Soledad in 2020 and our full length album came in 2024, called 1994; paying homage to the music and year we were born in. Read more>>

Madison Orlando

Not at all, but I think that’s part of what has made it meaningful. When I started Artless, I was only 22 and had no real background in fashion or business. Everything was brand new to me, from design and sourcing to production, marketing, and fulfillment, and most of it I learned through trial and error. There were delays, expensive mistakes, and plenty of moments when I questioned whether I could actually make it work. Read more>>

Monique Farah

Although I am known as a vodka expert, I have become a strong documentary director. I am currently pitching one of my own, and I executive produced and directed a very impactful episode of Uncensored, with Lamar Odom on TVONE. This was one of the first interviews he had done after he almost died in a brothel in Nevada. I specialize in asking the right questions and helping people feel comfortable to express themselves. This lends itself in both the unscripted and the spirits world . I truly care about the people I meet, and have built strong, life long relationships Read more>>

Madeline McKinnon

When I got back to school in San Francisco, I signed with Look Model Agency and started modeling more regularly — test shoots, fashion week, e-comm, beauty, all of it. My first trunk show was with Louis Vuitton, where I wore a fur coat that was worth more than a year of tuition at my University! That opened the door to other opportunities, like eventually modeling for L’Oréal, and it also taught me how to show up with presence and poise, on and off camera. Read more>>

Brodie Lyon

I started Lyon Health Spa a year ago in Camarillo, CA. After working in Marketing and Advertising and the non profit world for the majority of my career, I wanted to do something different after moving back home to Ventura County. I was recently divorced after 20 years and didn’t desire returning to Finance and Opertions , my previous role for 10 years. Read more>>

River C. Johnson

So, every weekend, she and I would sneak off to Blockbuster, carefully selecting which “Best Of…” Saturday Night Live tape we’d rent for the night. Would it be Chris Farley? Adam Sandler? Eddie Murphy? Cheri Oteri? We worked our way through them all, then moved on to In Living Color, The Carol Burnett Show, All That, Upright Citizens Brigade, The State, and, of course, MadTV. If it had a sketch compilation, we had it in our rotation. Read more>>

Angelique Skinner

I began my journey as an entrepreneur with a deep passion for film and storytelling. Starting out by shooting music videos, brand content, and documentaries—including work for celebrities—I quickly realized I wanted to do more than create content—I wanted to build something lasting. That vision led to the launch of SLF Network TV, a platform designed to empower creators by giving them the tools, exposure, and opportunities to thrive. Today, my mission is to inspire and uplift a new generation of storytellers by turning creativity into community and content into impact. Read more>>

Erik Jon

After taking clients on my own, I was working at a salon in Beverly Hills and feeling a bit disheartened—like I had done the work but wasn’t getting the recognition. Then I got a DM from Tracey Cunningham, inviting me to interview for her new salon in the Waldorf Astoria. Luckily I was chosen! That was a huge turning point for me. From there I joined Ramirez Tran for three years. During covid era I left Ramriez Tran for so many reasons then worked at 454 North for a few years and I’m currently based out of Sally Hershberger LA! Read more>>