Acting Up

On a special bonus episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Babatunde Akinloye, Bruce W. Smith, Michael Yates and Marlon West; four men behind some of Disney’s most beloved projects, like Princess and the Frog , The Proud Family , Soul and Encanto and broke down what it takes to tell diverse stories that reflect our community in animation and discusses their journeys as black creators at...

On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Director, Sacha Jenkins to discuss his latest project “Everything’s Gonna be All White.” The 3-part docuseries that debuted on Showtime on February 11 pulls no punches while diving into the history of racism in this country. The provocative project features insights from Jemele Hill, Tamika Mallory, Amanda Seales, and Nell Irvin Painter as well a...

On this week’s episode, Cortney Wills sits down with National Geographic Explorer and Storyteller, Tara Roberts. The ladies discuss “Into the Depths,” NatGeo’s new podcast that follows Tara as she chronicles Black divers, marine archaeologists, and historians on a quest to examine slave ship wrecks and uncover the little-known truths about the Middle Passage. They’ll also dive deep into the astoun...

Cortney Will takes a deep dive into Descendant, the award-winning documentary that debuted at Sundance Film Festival and revealed the riveting true story of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860. The people it carried to the U.S. arrived 40 years after the slave trade was outlawed, and they established a community called Africatown. The film follows their descendant...

Cortney Wills dives into HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ with one of its stars, Audra McDonald to discuss how the show is exploring the often-overlooked experiences of the Black elite in the 1890s. The pair will highlight the little-known plight of the people who went North after slavery and how they built careers, accumulated wealth, and cultivated communities that were thriving in the North while Jim Cro...

Cortney Wills sits down with her friend and fellow entertainment journalist, Gerrick Kennedy who just released his highly anticipated book "Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston" on February 1. The remarkable project from the music expert and lifelong fan invites us to examine a life we felt quite entitled to with a different lens and contextualizes some of her biggest moment...

Cortney Wills is joined by Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt, to discuss their unmissable new documentary ‘Aftershock’ after debuting it at the Sundance Film Festival. The ladies discuss the U.S maternal health crisis, the racism at the root of it, and real solutions to address it. They also open up their own experiences with childbirth as they examine the many factors that make birthing while Blac...

Cortney Wills sits down with Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Sundance Film Festival to discuss her journey to the top as a Black woman and how she came to the tough decision to take the annual event virtual in light of the omicron variant. They’ll also dive into several of the must-see projects from creators of color and dish details on amazing performances from folks like John Boyega, and the la...

Cortney Wills sits down with Tasha Smith to discuss her work as a director, executive producer on shows like ‘BMF’ and ‘Our Kind of People’ as well as her 20-year career as an acting force for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, and countless others. The ladies dive into what it takes to create great projects and what happens when offerings from our people aren’t as impressive as we’d like, as...

On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Neil Phillips, Chief Diversity Officer for the HFPA to find out how the disgraced organization behind the Golden Globes is attempting to reform and rebuild after a humiliating year of public scrutiny and being boycotted by Hollywood. She’ll also be joined by award-winning journalist, Kelley Carter, to discuss her reasons for joining the group aft...

Cortney Wills reflects on some of her favorite conversations of 2021 and revisits a few highlights from Acting Up guests like Erika Alexander, Little Marvin, Natasha Rothwell, and more.

On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with the woman behind some of the best kids content ever made, Kerri Grant. The Peabody Award winner and eight-time Emmy nominee discusses her journey, and her work on shows like ‘The Backyardigans,’ ‘Doc McStuffins,’ and ‘ Elena of Avalon’ among others. They’ll also dive in to her latest project, Netflix’s ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from Higher Ground Pr...

Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Attica’ directors Stanley Nelson, Jr. and Traci A. Curry to discuss the riveting documentary that uncovers terrible truths about the deadliest prison uprising in our nation’s history. They also get real about how little has changed in the 50 years since the harrowing events and why prison reform remains one of our community’s most urgent issues.

On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into two new shows that highlight what it means to be a Black woman navigating friendship, love, and life in NYC. ‘Harlem’ star Jerrie Johnson reveals how she cultivated her groundbreaking character “Tye” for the Amazon Prime series from Tracy Oliver and tackled issues like “superwoman syndrome” and Reproductive health. Cortney also sits dow...

Cortney Wills sits down with Natasha Rothwell to discuss the final season of Insecure, her directorial debut, and how she went from the writers' room to the call sheet, snagging a leading role on the groundbreaking series. They’ll also get real about representation and get into what’s next for the actress, writer, producer, and director.

Cortney Wills sits down with comedian, actor, and producer Aida Rodriguez to discuss her work, her hustle, her heritage and HBO Max special, Fighting Words. The ladies also get real about Afro- Latinx identity, colorism, and how the comedy game has changed amid the collective trauma our communities have faced.

Cortney Wills sits down with actor Jonathan Majors to discuss his starring role as Nat Love in “The Harder They Fall,” how he and costars like Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beats, Idris Elba, and Delroy Lindo rose to the challenge of filming the action-packed Western during the pandemic, and how his own heroes inspired him to pursue his passions onscreen and off. He also weighs in on his L...

Actress Christina Elmore sits down with Cortney Wills to discuss her journey through Hollywood and motherhood; how her real life compares to her character Condola’s epic arc on the final season of Insecure, and what she really thinks of Lawrence. She’ll also shares her experience on another groundbreaking series, Twenties, and what it has been like to work alongside trailblazers like Lena Waithe a...

Cortney Wills sits down with Grammy-nominated, Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose to discuss how she navigates her ever-evolving career, her commitment to Black women, and her new gig as the host of season 3 of the award-winning podcast Being Seen.

Cortney Wills sits down with actress Shalita Grant to discuss her breakout role in season 3 of “YOU” on Netflix, how she overcame a challenging childhood and cultivated a killer career on her own terms, and how she’s fighting back against the damage done to her hair while on set with her own natural hair care line, Four Naturals.

Cortney Wills sits down with actress and activist, Jenifer Lewis to discuss “Finding Kendrick Johnson,” the riveting documentary she executive produced and narrated, streaming now on Amazon Prime. Jenifer reveals her reasons for lending her voice and her platform to the project she calls “the most important work she has ever done” and why she hopes the Biden administration will step up to get just...

Cortney Wills sits down with creator and showrunner of ‘BMF’ Randy Huggins to find out how he crafter the hit STARZ drama series based on the true story of Detroit’s most infamous kingpins. He also discusses what went into casting Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory to portray his own father; how he deals with 50 Cent and his wild ways; and the impact of this larger-than-life story.

Cortney Wills sits down with actor and director, Desean Terry to discuss his role as a Black journalist on “The Morning Show.” The two examine how the star-studded series tackles issues of race, sexual orientation, and trauma and examines the gray areas of consent, sexual misconduct, and cancel culture. They also take a deep look at the different ways Black professionals navigate predominately whi...

Cortney Wills is joined by beloved actress, writer, producer, and activist Erika Alexander who opens up about forging her own path, her passion for sci-fi, and why Black people are the original futurists. She’ll also dish details about the launch of her history-making Concrete Park Bangers collection that just dropped on Curio. She’ll be joined by Curio’s COO, Rikin Mantri who helps explain why NF...

Cortney Wills dives into the life of Pauli Murray, the activist, author, priest, lawyer, and revolutionary who coined the term “Jane Crow” and led a life every American should celebrate. She’ll be joined by Julie Cohen and Talleah Bridges-McMahon two of the women behind the unmissable documentary, ‘My Name is Pauli Murray’ in theaters now and available on Amazon Prime Video on October 1. In this c...