Josh Banday Takes Us Behind the Scenes

Actor Josh Banday sat down with The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk in the latest episode of “Hollywood at Home,” a podcast featuring unplugged and uncensored conversations with today’s biggest stars. In the newest episode, Banday talks about how losing a bet and joining the school musical kickstarted his acting career, flying back and forth from Vancouver during COVID to shoot two shows at once, seeing cubicles full of naked women on the set of “Pam & Tommy,” and much more. Highlights below. 

“Hollywood at Home” is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.

Listen now at:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-scenes-of-pam-tommy-and-not-dead-yet/id1521900273?i=1000590017304

For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast

Highlights from “Hollywood at Home” featuring Josh Banday

On how losing a bet began his acting career: “I started out– I never really knew about like, what acting was, or, like, how you got there. It just seemed like this thing that three people got to do. And everyone else was just like, ‘Oh man, it’s so hard to get in and it’s so difficult,’ so I never really thought about being an actor but… I grew up in L.A. and South Central. The industry was like on an island by itself, though. I had no idea that it existed. You know, I wasn’t– the studios were these things that you took your family to on tours, if they were visiting in from Milwaukee or something. But no, I had no idea. The rest of L.A. was just, you know, the airport and the beach. It wasn’t– we didn’t know about that stuff. But I ended up losing a bet in college, to a friend of mine, and didn’t have any money. And so the payout was to audition for the musical. It was Candide. It was beautiful, man. Leonard Bernstein just knocked out of the park. It was such a gorgeous– it charmed me from the beginning…. You know, I loved the community and the people and just fell in love with it, but I still didn’t think it was, like, something I could do. But that was my first taste.”

On shooting two shows at the same time during COVID: “So basically, we were able to get a week hiatus per month with “Not Dead Yet.” And I would fly up to Canada over the weekend. Vancouver. Yeah, fly up there, put every mask on that I could afford– a hazmat suit, you know? And then, yeah, shoot there for five days and then fly back again in a hazmat suit. I’m working with a pregnant lady. I can’t give her COVID, you know. So, yeah, it was, it was a pretty grueling schedule. But this year was a real gift for me to be able to really show what I can do acting. It was a lot of firsts for me this year. It’s been really beautiful, a really beautiful experience.”

On the crazy set of “Pam & Tommy”: “Okay, so I’m shooting one of my first scenes with another actor who’s also in “Sauce” and “White Lotus.” And, you know, we’re shooting this kind of tense, dramatic scene…. So we’re going through all the emotional stuff underneath the text that we’re saying. And we go through the scene, and we do it and it’s like, really, really tight. It’s really good. They give us adjustments like, ‘Alright, great, let’s do another take.’ We turn around, and on either side of us our cubicles lined with naked women, which I was not expecting. They just didn’t mention it. Just, you know, because they had their own place to go and rest, which they absolutely should. And like, we were with the actors and so it was just like, ‘Oh, surprise. Here it is, you know, no big deal.’ But we were, you know, we were supposed to be working in a porn studio. So that was par for the course but it was just like, ‘Hey! This is new for you.’ But then it actually was kind of good because it locked us into that setting. It was a little wild.”

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More about “Hollywood at Home”
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “Hollywood at Home” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.

Previous guests include Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Shiri Appleby (“UnREAL”), Iain Armitage (“Young Sheldon”), Justin Bartha (“The Hangover,” “National Treasure”), David Alan Basche (“The Exes”), Asante Blackk (“This Is Us”), Carly Chaikin (“Mr. Robot”), Aaron Cooley (“The First Lady”), Wilson Cruz (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Alan Cumming (“Schmigadoon!, “The Good Wife”), Ethan Cutkosky (“Shameless”), The Creative Coalition President and actor Tim Daly (“Madam Secretary”), Lea DeLaria (“Orange Is the New Black”), Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”), Griffin Dunne (“This Is Us”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Wayne Federman (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Frances Fisher (“Titanic,” “Unforgiven”), Michael Fishman (“Roseanne,” “The Conners”), Jim Gaffigan (“The Jim Gaffigan Show”), LaMonica Garrett (“1883,” “Sons of Anarchy”) Willie Garson (“And Just Like That…”), Judy Gold (“The Other F Word”), Nicholas Gonzalez (“The Good Doctor”), Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Tony Hale (“Veep,” “Arrested Development”), Evan Handler (“And Just Like That…,” “Californication”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Jon Huertas (“This Is Us”), Jason Isaacs (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Harry Potter”), Susan Isaacs (“Compromising Positions”), Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Nathan Kress (“iCarly”), Jaren Lewison (“Never Have I Ever”), Chad Lowe (“Supergirl”), Aasif Mandvi (“The Daily Show”), Rachel Mason (“Circus of Books”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), AnnaLynne McCord (“Let’s Get Physical”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Katherine McNamara (“Shadowhunters”), Melissa Manchester (“Don’t Cry Out Loud”), Molly Smith Metzler (“Maid,” “Shameless”), Marta Milans (“Shazam!”), Rob Morrow (“Billions”), Kathy Najimy (“Younger”), Ken Olin (“This is Us,” “Thirtysomething”), Haley Joel Osment (“Future Man,” “Entourage”), Joey and Daniella Pantoliano (“The Matrix,” “Memento”), Ross Patterson (“Range 15”), Bill Prady (“The Big Bang Theory”), Kyla Pratt (“The Proud Family”), Jessica Queller (“Supergirl”), Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Yolonda Ross (“The Chi”), Reid Scott (“Veep”), Paul Scheer (“The League,” “Veep”), Mona Scott-Young (“Love & Hip Hop”), Alena Smith (“Dickinson”), Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”), Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future”), Tramell Tillman (“Severance”), Krista Vernoff (“Grey’s Anatomy”), KT Tunstall (“Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” “Suddenly I See”), Matt Walsh (“Veep”), Alfre Woodard (“Clemency,” “Luke Cage”), Constance Zimmer (“Good Trouble”), and David Zucker (“Airplane!,” “Scary Movie”). 

More about The Creative Coalition
The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns including #RightToBearArts to promote the efficacy of the arts. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.

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