Lisa Zambetti
Executive Producer/Host
Originally from the Bay Area, Lisa spent over a decade in NYC as an actress on Broadway and Off, writer, director and producer for many award winning theatre companies. While working at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Lisa met casting legend Billy Hopkins who opened her eyes to the wonders of the casting world.
After interning with Billy, Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee and Suzanne Smith, Lisa moved to Los Angeles where she worked her way up to assistant with such fantastic CDS as LaPadura & Hart, Debra Zane, Bialy/Thomas and Linda Lowy. Lisa also was a casting coordinator at NBC/Universal where she got to see the network/studio side of the industry. Lisa landed her first associate job with the badass Susie Farris where she worked on many comedies for both network and cable. Later Lisa moved on to the world of procedural drama where she was an associate and later head casting director on CBS' long running show "Criminal Minds", as well as co-casting director on the spin-off "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders".
Lisa is very proud to have worked for many years with independent film casting queen Emily Schweber on award winning movies and video game projects. Lisa is an active member of the Casting Society of America where she serves on the Artistic Development Committee.
In addition to casting, Lisa is a successful podcaster who co-hosts the award winning True Crime podcast "Real Crime Profile" on the Wondery network. Lisa uses her podcast platform to be a victims' advocate, particularly for children who have suffered from mental, physical and sexual abuse, as well as for victims of stalking and domestic violence.
Brian Alan Hill
Co-Host
Well…I am currently a CSA casting associate in Los Angeles, CA and over the last seven years I have worked on such TV shows as Pretty Little Liars, 12 Monkeys, The Purge and a bunch of TV pilots that never saw the light of day. I’ve been in thousands of sessions and so I have had a bird’s eye view into the current state of acting.
In a previous life I was an actor and producer. While in Chicago I was founder and Artistic Director of Visions & Voices Theatre Co, a company devoted exclusively to new work. In three years, we produced six shows…four of which were Jeff Award Recommended, two of which won Jeff Awards for Best New Work.
I created The Actor’s Refuge to help start a dialogue about the state of acting and of actor training in this country. I’m not looking to re-invent the wheel, but I do think it’s time to reimagine how we talk about “character” and how we approach character work.
And in the process, reconnect the actor to the state of joy that ignited their love of acting in the first place.
Dean Laffan
Co-Host
In the visual medium of film and television we get to see the culmination of a collaborative artistic vision. All the threads are woven together by the Director, cast and crew to bring that particular story to life.
Don’t we all love being immersed in the realisation of that collective effort to reach inside you and make you feel … thrilled, angry, tense, shocked, inspired, sad … The power of visual story telling in film and television has the power to make us feel the full gamut of human emotions.
This podcast with Lisa and Brian is a joy for me because I get to discuss fantastic film and television with two friends who are also insiders to the craft, professionals who work in the business.
Its for me .. I’m an amateur. That word today is commonly used as a put down, but in fact the word comes from the French language and the literal translation means "one who does something for the love it." Yeah … I’m perfectly good with that.
I live in Melbourne, Australia with my wife, three kids and three dogs. When I'm not onsite working on my corporate events business, or stuck behind a desk and microphone, I love to hit the water -- scuba diving, cave diving and freediving keep me sane and reset my mind body and spirit.
