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Spotlight: Davonte Burse | Real Talk on Staying Consistent, On-Set Lessons, The Craft, & More!

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We are pulling back the curtain on the craft! Today, we’re joined by the talented Davonte Burse, and we’ve got an incredible powerhouse lineup of guest hosts sitting in: Ronson Hawkins and Tyrone Betters!

Get ready for an insightful conversation as we sit down with actor Davonte Burse to discuss his journey in the industry, his latest projects, and the grind behind the scenes. With Ronson Hawkins and Tyrone Betters steering the ship, this episode dives deep into the reality of working in entertainment, the lessons learned on set, and what it really takes to stay consistent in this business.

Whether you are an aspiring actor looking for your next breakthrough or just a fan of great storytelling, this conversation covers it all. Grab a seat and join the discussion—you won’t want to miss the chemistry between these three!

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SPEAKER_02

Man, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, this just acting up show your boy Joff in the building. But before we introduce our guest for the day, our special guest, go ahead and say, uh, man, Bronson, our special guest host for the day. You've been out there working. Thanks for joining us, bro.

SPEAKER_01

Man, excited to be here, man.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you for having me. Yes, sir, yes, sir. And we got sir Tyron Brothers, who've been out there working as well, too.

SPEAKER_00

Doing fantastic. I'm excited to be here. Can't wait to celebrate our brother here. And you know, get to the get to the meat of the conversation, man. I'm excited. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02

We definitely don't get to the meat of the conversation. So, man, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, this this brother here has been working hard over the years. He's been working hard before the years. We got the part of acting. He's an actor. He is also the host of checking your mental health. You gotta check that out. You gotta check that out. If you're an actor, or if you're not an actor, you need to check that out because he dropped some rooms that you need that we all deal with the mental, of course. And another round of applause because we just jumped the broom, bro. Come on, ladies and gentlemen, Levante Burks. Man, come on, bro.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for having me, man.

SPEAKER_02

Man, man, bro. I'm I'm happy for you, bro. I'm so excited for you. Like I said, you keep working. Uh, and like I said, you just jumped the broom, man.

SPEAKER_04

So how does it still be a mad man, brother?

SPEAKER_03

Man, it feels a little surreal, like it feels and it feels grown. It's something grown about it. You know what I mean? I can't really quite describe it, but um it feels great. Me and my fiance, well, me and my now wife, we've been together. Um, I our wedding day made 10 years essentially. We've been together um since high school. Um, it just feels like a fresh start, it feels like something new. And um, yeah, man, I'm just I'm excited to take this next chapter in our lives.

SPEAKER_02

So, yeah, man, it that's a beautiful thing. That is something that you know uh a lot of us always you know searching for that right ones. I'm happy for y'all. That's beautiful to see black love. Um for 10 years, bro. Come on, that's another round of applause for real.

SPEAKER_03

That's it's crazy, man.

SPEAKER_02

It's crazy. Yeah, bro. So, man, let's we'll you know, so of course, so shout out to the wife, of course. Um, yeah, the better half. She does help you and uh help you grind, you know, everything that goes in with that. So, you know, shout out to the so yeah, man. But let's go ahead and get into it, bro. Um, you know, first bright icebreaker question. What got you where where are you from first? Let's ask that first.

SPEAKER_03

So I am uh born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, okay. Do all of us have roots in Louisiana? Do y'all? I'm I know okay. So I know I know we Texas boys, but yeah, I got from so my dad's got a family from Louisiana, so you know not surprising, especially if y'all in Texas.

SPEAKER_03

I know Ronson in Texas. Y'all essentially are cousins anyways, regardless.

SPEAKER_02

Pretty much. Pretty much.

SPEAKER_01

My dad had family in Lafayette. Is that what you're doing? Yeah, Lafayette. Yeah, Lafayette. Yeah, my dad has had my dad has family in Lafayette. I have some of my cousins there. Um, so I plan on heading out there really soon. That's probably the only ties that I that I have to that that part.

SPEAKER_00

My ties, my ties, I don't have any they Dallas and Waco. Dallas and Dacos. Dallas and Waco. Straight Texas, boy. Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Straight up, straight up, man. So let's go ahead and let's get into it, bro. So how did you get started in acting? Like, when did you catch the acting ball?

SPEAKER_03

Man, this is such an interesting um I love answering this question. It's so interesting. I tried to um get into acting and modeling when I was like in seventh grade, and um I just wasn't ready for it. I didn't have the confidence. I almost got scammed. And um it just it just necessarily wasn't necessarily the cool thing. Um I I never I never thought about it or touched it, touched the idea again um since then up until 2018, 2019. Um, to make a long story short, a production company came to my my college town and they uh they partnered with the with the theater department and um they threw a production of uh the color purple. And I remember seeing the flyers all around campus and was like, dang, I gotta go see that. Because I didn't even know the color purple was on stage. I didn't know that was thing, you know, that's a classic movie, you know, in our in our community. And I was like, yeah, I gotta go see that. Yeah, so um, yeah, so the day of auditions came for the color purple, and uh I was in my bed in my on-campus apartment, and I had some friends there, and they were texting me, like, Devontae, where you at? You need to be here. And I was like, Man, I'm not auditioning for, you know, I'm not auditioning for it. But I do want to see it. But I did um go pop up and you know, go chill with them. They were like in the little green room in the back. I was familiar with the theater because I had been in there before. And so I went back there and chilled with them. I watched them do their thing. They was filming and filling out their paperwork. They were good, they got the little sides and everything, and um, people just waiting to be called into the theater so they can audition. And they all did their thing. Unbeknownst to me, one of my friends um filled out paperwork for me, like signed my name and everything, wrote characters down and everything. And um the the person that one of the people who were the uh who's the co-owner of the production company, they came back there and they saw me and they were like, Who are you? Are you auditioning? Next thing I know, they had me out on stage, uh, they had me sing, they had me dance, and they had me uh do a monologue that I found off the internet that I've never came across again to this day. And man, after that, uh they cast me as Grady, which is Sug Avery's husband in the show. I was also a part of the ensemble. And yeah, the rest of his history, man. I did, I did um, I did Hairspray with them. I did The Wiz with them. I played The Wiz. And I I did, we recently went back in I think that was February. We went back and did the color purple again. A lot of the original cast came back together and performed the show again because it had it's been it had been five years uh since we did the first one. And that's that's kind of what um it kind of what bit me. Like stage is a different beast, man, and and I respect it so much, and it was it was exhilarating. It really it really lit a fire in me that I didn't quite know that was already there. And um by the time you know the pandemic hit us, you know, post-pandemic, we were doing a lot of networking on you know on the clubhouse app. I don't know if y'all remember that. Yeah, uh, I was talking to people and getting acquainted with people I never thought I'd be able to. I met my acting coach on there. Uh I met one of my mentors on there, some of my best acting friends and tribe. Um started networking. I went out, bought a ring light from Walmart, signed up for backstage, and I just started doing something. You know, the hardest part is starting, and that's with anything. I just started doing something, and man, um, I'm almost five years in professionally in April.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, come on, man. That's what I'm talking about, bro. That's what I'm talking about, man. That's dope that you um did those those three plays that's really known in the black community the whiz, has spray, and the color purple. I think you got your right of passage, bro. So if somebody says that you have never seen these type of black films or whatever, these other you you checked off on all boxes as doing the plays in itself. So rats on that too. So thank you, thank you. Yeah, yeah, man. So Ronson, I know you Ronson, you you got a theater background too. And Tyrone, do you have a theater background?

SPEAKER_00

Or I would say my main background was modeling. So I did modeling. So I started fall 2008. I was a freshman in college, and um that's where everything kind of just stemmed from when I I wasn't even focused on acting. I wasn't thinking about acting, I wasn't looking towards acting, I just wanted to be a model. And then a mentor of mine pretty much told me to get into it. So I got my got into my first introductory to commercials, and then I got to introductory to acting in 2012, 2013, and the rest of they say is history from there. So yeah, but I have done stage since then.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I came from the that was like my thing. Um I was a musical theater major um at a performance arts high school. I started in middle school and then just went on through and and just did it. And so it's funny that Devontae talks about those musicals because they really are. I mean, that was my The Whiz was the first one I did, and then Hairspray, I ended up doing that, and then Dream Girls is another one that's like honorary, that like that's like a rite of passage too. And so is musical theater. So yeah, like it's all it's cool when any actor has stage experience. That's like it's different, it's very much so different. It it has a different set of tools. So whenever you start from there, you know what I'm saying, or you go back to it any in any part of your journey, it's always good to have it. So yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

And it's amazing that you coming up on your five years and and doing uh some phenomenal work. Doing some phenomenal work. What has been the um what has been the I I'm gonna say the root of your consistency of showing up each and every day to you know giving your best work.

SPEAKER_03

The root of my consistency. So like my so essentially like what's my why?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Got you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Um my why is a it's not just one thing for me. Um I it's it's it gets as simple as I love to do this. It really does something for me, not just um just acting, but as a person, because we know how how much um life imitate imitates art and vice versa, right? And so, and um how much uh true life is reflected in what we do as a craft, right? So it's that, and it's that I just I just want to be a part of stories, and I also want to, I think one of the most important things in life is our experience to one another and sharing experiences. We make a lot of things important in life that's not important, and your experience to people is something that is extremely important before you leave this earth. So um a big why of mine is how how I'm I'm experienced and how I can be of an experience to people or be a part of an experience, you know what I mean? And so those that's that's essentially what my why is. That's what keeps me going. Um like we talked about how I'm into I'm really big into mental health. Um, I also I also do therapy, and so and I feel like that's helped me um be a better actor. You know, it as more I learn about myself, the more I unpack about myself. And um just you know just growing into a a better person and and as on on this journey of life that can be so difficult sometimes, man. Um this it helps me. You know what I mean? So those those essentially my whys.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. I mean, even speaking of of that, if I'm interject, I remember um which we all we all know like the you know your ta your your other actor friends. We we know them like Will and Jeremiah and Irvin, like the Chicago Boys, the young men at Rumble. Um, that's where I met y'all, like I connected with y'all. Yeah, um, and we we were all on Instagram live talking, and I think it was it was the mental health talk. Um, and it's a conversation that you have on live on Instagram with other artists um surrounding just the industry and mental health. And um, I remember feeling what you're talking about, like the experience of experiencing others. Um, and it just felt like such a safe space. And so what made you what made you want to start having these conversations, especially with other artists?

SPEAKER_03

Um first of all, it's just it it boils down to it being as simple as as simple as it being necessary. These conversations are necessary, and it's it's not conversations that um men or and men our shade get to have the space and opportunity to have these types of conversations. Um and then and and we're forced to to touch upon certain things, certain aspects of life and truths of life being artists and doing this craft that we do, right? And so it's uh it's all tied in to me. So um I just I just think it's it's necessary. And um like I said, like I do therapy, and that's there, I connect the therapy to so much of if I feel like that's made me a better actor. Because like the the life imitates art, vice versa. Like the more I know myself, the more I can pour into this craft that I do. So that's can it's just all connected to me, if if that makes any sense. Um, and then just and just some of the things I've gone through in life, it as of like recently in the last five years, I've been through a lot, uh, a large portion of it being grief, and um, you know, just trying to moon maneuver that and um and live life with these with these heavy things and also use it in my art, use it in a constructive, positive way. So it's everything's connected. Yeah, yeah. I hope that answers your question.

SPEAKER_00

Well, so uh what what I what I found um just interesting about when you're saying um the therapy aspect, I think it comes with a lot of healing. I think a lot of times when we think about actors that get lost in their characters or certain things, like sometimes if your method it sticks to you a little longer is because you haven't healed in certain areas, and so you're relying on going back into those places that's not healed to create these characters, but because you haven't healed from those spaces, it still lingers. And I think therapy is the uh the healing process of allowing you to be able to go into that because now you understand and done the work in those spaces to where it can be utilized for your good within your character.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, and I'm glad you articulated it like that because it just made me think about how when when I champion therapy, whenever I get the chance to talk about it, I I talk about it because it's it's for so long it's been taboo in our community, and there's this misconception of what therapy is. You think it's you know, we think it's what we've seen on TV. You think you're sitting on somebody's couch and it's just it's all dramatic, and it's it's not like that at all. It's you you're sitting with yourself, it's you holding up a mirror to yourself. Somebody just happens to be there. And think about what acting is. It's being it's being private and public. You know what I mean? So it's it's connected, it's like it's I connect that so much. Um it's it's you in acting, it's you as this character, you know. If it's truthful, it shouldn't be completely a whole nother person, it should be you as if you was this person, especially when you're going through the process of finding out who this person is. And in therapy, it's you with you, and you're finding out who you are.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I know we're gonna have church this morning, bro. Like, we don't talk. No, I'm all for it though, because like like you said, like we gotta have these conversations, especially absolutely the art and everything, the noise that we all deal with that we know that we deal with on a regular daily basis. Yeah, um, it's not just social media, but just going out into society and just dealing with the shenanigans of that.

SPEAKER_03

Um, so I appreciate you know it's absolutely it's weight on us, is these chains on us that don't have to be there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and I and I appreciate you for doing what you're doing too, because that that's a lot in itself to have others from different backgrounds and different settings to come in and talk and share these things, which is so you know, you know, blessings to you, bro, for real. That's that's a lot, that's wonderful that you do that too. Thank you, man. And um, and I was gonna say, you know, before we go on with this conversation, you know, of course, we know we'll get into you know some of the projects you've done, but before we continue this, bro, you the vastly commercial, dope, love it, but that ninja trader commercial, brother. Like, I don't know if you it's ironic. I don't know if y'all seen it, but man, that was a funny one, man. He it was fun, man. But your whole chest, I felt you told this man what to do.

SPEAKER_01

No, listen, dude. Devontae is dude, Devontae is funny, bro. I be following you on TikTok when you be going live, bro. No, you and Wit like y'all are so funny, bro.

SPEAKER_03

Like his and I but I believe that, but I'm I'm I feel like I'm the funny that I'm not trying hard at. I'm not trying, I just sometimes I'd be dead serious, and people think it's so hilarious, I'd be serious as a heart attack. Um I'm just I think I'm gonna unin unintentionally funny sometimes.

SPEAKER_02

Hey, that'd be the best sometimes, man. It's like when you say something with a straight face, and it's like like no, like nigga, you something wrong with you, and you just been looking at some stuff too. I'm like, bro, Devontae is hilarious, bro. Without yeah, without and speaking of that, too. Get a little bit back into the wedding. I'm happy for you, brother. And it's like y'all had a grand old swell time, man.

SPEAKER_03

It was I paid for I paid for it, and I was just like, we me and my wife, we was just as shocked as everybody else was. We walked around looking, I'm looking at ice sculptures and roses on railings and chandeliers, and I was just as flabbergasted as everybody else was. We had an amazing time, man. It was it was beautiful. I I couldn't have dreamed of uh anything better. We're surrounded by so much love, man. People came near and far to be with us. It was crazy. It was crazy. People didn't want to leave. People did not want to leave. Usually people want to leave and people leave weddings earlier. I don't I don't like to stay at a wedding too long. People did not want to leave.

SPEAKER_01

I remember no, I remember you talking about it. Um, because and this this goes back to you know, Devontae talk you talking about you being an experience, like people experiencing who you are. Um, and man, I remember when I was in New Orleans and we got a chance to work, like you you literally was like, you hosted me, my mom. Like, I needed help with an audition. And I called you up, and you were so gracious to help me, dude. And it was like, wow, and I remember you talking about the wedding and talking about everything. Mom was like, How you feeling? You were like, Man, I'm excited, I'm I'm ready. And you were you were like getting everything together, and to see from that, that was I don't even remember how long ago that was.

SPEAKER_03

That was almost so I think it was sometime last year. It was sometimes last year because and this was the funny before we started um recording. This was the funny story I was I was I had mentioned with Ronson. Um I had, you know, me and Ronson had just met on live with me with Will. We had done live and Will was up there, and maybe Irvin and Ronson came up and chopped it up with us. Um but unbeknownst to me, I think me and me and Ronson was up for the same co-star, um, a Netflix co-star that Ronson ended up booking. And I didn't put that together until um Ronson was over at my house and I'm helping him out with a uh with a self tape. And he was great, his mom was great, and I was so happy for him, man. And I, you know, you know, those things happen sometimes where we'll we'll be in the same company and we'll be up for the like some of the same roles sometimes, and one person will get it. And I just thought that was so dope, and I saw why he got it. He's such a great actor, man. And um, it was great to meet him and his mom, and they were there, and his mom still keeps up with me, Ronsa still keeps up with me. I keep up with all your TikToks, man, the commercial king, man. Um Just I love that kind of stuff like that. That's that's what I mean when I talk about um experiences and just uh you know being authentic and just a genuine people, man. Um, because people remember how you treat them, you know, they might not always remember what you say, they they'll remember what their experience was with you, you know, and that's all we all are, whether it's whether good or bad, preferably good, but we're all in experience to one another.

SPEAKER_01

And it's a testament to not to cut you out, it's a testament to the fact of the matter is, and I made the connection again, you ended up booking something recently that I was that I was up that I auditioned for as well. So it's it was a flip-flop. It's like I always say blessings are in the neighborhood, bro. It's so crazy.

SPEAKER_03

That's so true. That's so true, and I know exactly what you're talking about, too.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and you see it all around, especially within this group here. I'm consistently seeing people where me, man, me and Jack Joff, we was on a uh set together. Yeah, and Ronson and did our things together. We probably had well, we ain't worked together yet, but we just we just be locked in, bro. We've been locked in for like three or four years now, yeah. And then we got connected with y'all, Will, Devontae, and uh a few other people. So that's always been good. So uh what show? Uh did you have another question, uh James? Go ahead, go ahead, bro. Um, I'm trying to think. Nah, I don't I don't I don't think I have nothing yet. I don't think I have nothing yet. I think I I really enjoy the fact that uh the camaraderie that you have and the love and the joy, uh it's infectious, and I understand it. Um because it's crazy just us four, we're consistently pouring into each other without even knowing it at times, and and how we post, how we move, how we interact with different people, the things that we're able to have conversations about, seeing each other's wins and championing each other's wins. You know what I mean? I think that's where people get it misconstrued that sure we're in competition, but not really. We're not really in competition because whatever the client wants, the client gets. We have no we have no control.

SPEAKER_03

Our industry is competitive, we don't necessarily need to be exactly. Oh beautiful, and I'm glad I'm glad you said the things that you just said because um because I'm I'm big on just being a genuine person. I'm big on brotherhood, I'm big on not being a hater, not being weird. And man, me and you haven't even we're we're familiar with each other, but me and you haven't even met in um in person yet. But um, you went out with Will and them to go see my movie when it came out in theaters, and that I thought that was so dope. I don't know if you and this is my first time getting a chance to really tell you how much like I appreciated that. Like, you don't really you don't really true me truly know me from Adam, but you you linked up with people who can't vouch for me, and you went out to help support me, and I appreciate that so much, man.

SPEAKER_02

That's dope, man. I I love bro. This is some good energy and good vibes, bro. I love this, and I love that what you said too, Devontae. And it's so what's dope about all of it? Like, it's four different young black males right here, four different looks. Of course, yeah, sometimes one of us might get you know get the same thing or different things, but I just love seeing it, like how Tyrone was saying the camaraderie, like we rooting for each other, like when Michael B. Jordan just got the award, obviously, like everybody, you know, stand on ovation and everything, but it's like everybody just felt that and just came together to congratulate this man, and that's how it is, that's how it should be.

SPEAKER_00

No weird energy, but yeah, I think people they're always writing something, they're always making something, they're always gonna be another streaming service, there's always gonna be another project, you know what I'm saying? So it's not about I'm doing more than the next, it's about dang, we're doing this thing together. I when I get all when I get on social media and I see y'all post y'all work that y'all book and stuff, like I genuinely have a an excitement about seeing other people win. I don't know where it came from, I think it just built over time because I know what it's like to lose a lot. I know what it's like to not have body, nobody cheer for you. So when I see y'all winning, I feel like I'm winning. I feel like I booked that mud and I celebrate and I think that's very important because how you celebrate others is how I ain't gonna lie, God celebrates you. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_01

That's a good one, Tyro. That's that's like uh kind of like what you coupling that with what you know Devontae just said, too. Like our industry is competitive, but we don't have to be. And I think I always say too, it's like it's always about the work. That's the testament of it all. It's about the work. At the end of the day, we're guys that put in the work. We love the craft, we put in the work. That's what therapy teaches you. I feel like, and I that's something that I've been wanting to look into as well, you know, kind of talking about the lines of grief and and and being able to relate to that. Um, it's like, yeah, but any sort of like learning about yourself, you learn to really quiet the noise. And you make the main thing the main thing, and the craft is the main thing. And I feel like the people who make the craft the main thing, and then they live life, but they they they have this reverence for the craft, are the people who we're working. And I feel like that's why we've always all of us have run like in the same circle, because the common, the common thing, like Joffy said, we all have different, you know, looks, we have different personalities, um, but we all have different things that are an asset to any cast director. Because we are assets to cast directors, people book it for a reason. Um, proof is in the pudding, and but I think the main commonality between all those things is um we all have this reverence for the craft, and it's not a joke, it's not a facade. We love it because we love it, yes, you know, um yeah, man, and Devonta, like I like you're the seeing you blossom and seeing you really grow into everything that you've been doing, is just like hey, I mean speaking about Resurrection Road, it's streaming, bro, yes on ours now, bro. Yeah, it's what share that experience, bro.

SPEAKER_03

Oh man, that Resurrection Road was my first uh SAG project. It was my first time on a SAG set. Um, so professional. Everybody was so great at their jobs and their respective roles and duties on set. Um, we filmed that in Oklahoma for a month. Um I really got a chance to tap in and just and just soak up and learn from um from from actors who were like a little further farther alone along in their journey than me. And it was just and then it kind of it kind of paralleled to what my character was, and then that that experience helped me create the experience for um the character that was playing. And it was it was just great, man. And it if it's something about it that felt divine, man. And just talking about the grief, like um a year prior to booking that role, I lost my um younger brother in Oklahoma. Um wound up booking that and filming filming that movie right there in Oklahoma of all places during the same time that I lost my brother a year prior. I yeah, it was divine. It was it was divine. Like um that that role that role had my name all over it for reasons outside of what I what I even knew about. It was an amazing experience. I loved doing that project.

SPEAKER_02

Bro, I didn't that that part I didn't know right there. Thank you for being vulnerable enough. Yeah, most people have yeah, I mean, because you know, you share what you share, but I mean, thank you for being vulnerable enough to share that with us. Absolutely. And you know, uh, you know, you honored your brother by getting not just by getting cast, but you know, showing your art through that and being there, like you said, divine, and that's that's beautiful right there. Um, you know, it's the thing about and make sure five viewers go watch Resurrection Road. I watched it too. And um, the thing about that too, we kind of got some type of ties to Resurrection Road. The first Agency that I was with, I didn't audition for your role, but I auditioned for uh can't think Abe Abe Rossmore, yeah, who plays the pastor, I believe.

SPEAKER_03

Oh no, that's um that's Stevens. Stevens, there you go.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, Stevens, yeah. Auditioned for his role as the pastor. And when I did that audition, I was like, oh man, because I got that right after I got the um did the Street Fighter commercial, and then a year or so passed, and I you know, significant. Then I saw that you got it, and that's why I started really getting heavy into you know following the others and seeing, and I think that's when I comment or mission. I was like, bro, congrats! Uh like you got on there, and I remember that, and I like I was following that movie heavily, and just to see you in it, I was like, bro, come on, man. So that's that was beautiful, and that was dope. This to see you.

SPEAKER_03

And we recently won a uh uh indie award too, man. Out in out in Cali, man. It was it was that was it was great. That that movie was it really it really blessed me. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Being that you've been exposed to that level of that caliber of work, you know. I talk about it a lot. Um, with actors, me and Tyrone talk about all the time, and Joffy talk about all the time. The point the boy Tyrone got triggered. We talk about it all the time being exposed to that caliber of work. Um, I mentioned um you booking something recently. Um we won't mention it. Um but how like it's a two-part question. For one, how is how how important it is, how important is it to know the mechanics of how a sag set is ran versus an independent set? And what would you say is you know one of the main things that makes a tape something that's sag worthy?

SPEAKER_03

Okay, so um repeat the first question for me one more time. So make sure I'm gonna.

SPEAKER_01

First question is why why do you think it's so important? What is important about learning the mechanics of a sag set versus an indie set?

SPEAKER_03

Got it. Um, it's just so many, it's so it's it's just the utmost professionalism. And and with and with that amount of professionalism and and a money tied to everything, and so many moving parts, and so many moving people with with different roles, it's very important that it's just it's it's very important all around, but it's it's very important that you know how to um maneuver and handle yourself um in a setting like that in more ways than one. Um and it and a lot of that comes down to a really big important thing too, is sometimes even when you're auditioning, because it gets to a certain point, and I'm in a point right now when I'm auditioning for a movie where it's less about my acting. Well, they keep calling me back, it's less about my acting now, it's more about how is this guy gonna be on set? And who is this person I had to work with at least probably a 12-hour day, you know what I mean? So um that's that's a loaded question, but I hope I hope that answers a little bit of it. Like it's it's it's so many different things that's important on a set like that. And um, as far as the tape, um I hear you talk about some of these same things all the time, man. You know, um, it's about getting them at hello, um, and living truthfully, you know, and and um making bold choices, sometimes uh bold and sophisticated ones, um, and showing them who you are or how you perceive this character, or what you can bring to this character, or showing them something that they may they may not have known that they wanted. Uh it's it's yeah, man. It's it's it's a and it's a lot of the things that that you talk about with your business and with your experience, with your experience auditioning um the way that you do.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. No, man, you you hit everything on the head. Um, and I always ask that, like I said, because Joffy Tyrone, me, we've always talked about the how what that's like. Like that caliber of being on a sag set and what it takes. Go ahead, Tyrone. I saw you on mute. I already know.

SPEAKER_00

Levels to this thing, man. You know what I'm saying? Like I usually well, I don't really do a lot of indie stuff anymore, but um, I try to treat it the same. Me, I I treat myself the same, no matter what. Because at the end of the day, at the end of the day, I've always used the independence features or these opportunities to prepare myself to build that professionalism. So when it's time to be in the game, as they say, the NBA, then we know exactly how to operate because we operated that way before we got. You know what I'm saying? Now, I think it all just comes down to execution. It's execution. It on both sets, there's you know, hurry up and wait. On both sets, you're still waiting for lighting on both sets and third, but it's the execution of overall ending of the project. All we can ever control is our performance. That's all we can ever control. What we bring to the what we bring to the film, what we bring in front of that screen. That's all we ever have control over. But once that thing is in the editor's hands, once that thing and and everybody has to do their job, the execution relies on them. And hey, it and and and and we and we usually see what we get from one product from the other product.

SPEAKER_01

And then too, I have to bring it back up about what he just said because we always talk about this too. How, and it's so important, people need to really understand. He said it gets to a certain point to where they know what you can do, you've proved to them what you can do. Now they just want to know who you are as a person, because you can be the best, yada yada, yada, so and so and so and so. But if you're not somebody pleasant to have on set, they don't they know that's not gonna work, and yeah, that's so yeah, word goes around word of mouth, it it means something. The impression that you make as far as your because yeah, it gives a point because everybody you've reached a caliber where as Devontae, people know what you can do. Yeah, we know what you can do, people know what you can do, but now it's like and it goes back to what you said about people experiencing who you are, it's like your character. Um all of that's connected, it's all connected, it's your character. Learning more about yourself it sharpens you're learning more about who you are, and that that you knowing more about yourself brings out more of who you are, and that reflects on set. And when people, if that's infectious and people want to be around you because you created a conducive environment, it's like you know, yeah, we we we already got him to put him on tape for for season one, but he's really cool, he's a really nice guy. Like, let's bring him in.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, and they'll they'll don't take that the nice the guy who has the skill and the nice guy, or the guy who almost had the audition nailed. Maybe he was a little, maybe he needed a little direction, or maybe he wasn't quite there, but he's a great guy, over the guy who might have nailed it, but he's a knucklehead, or whatever for lack of a better term, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01

That's that's levels to the game. That's what people don't it's levels to the game, people don't know that, like that's they see certain parts of the craft and don't understand that there's levels to it, and you have to know, like we talk about, and that's a big part of it. People just think it's all about they're so obsessive over getting the tape right, and it's like who are you as a person?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, on you want to see that. Yeah, I was gonna say onset etiquette can be crucial, and people need to the way no, the one they go.

SPEAKER_03

No, say what you gotta say because no, that's you, I mean you what's understood, don't need to be explained. That is very important. That's one of that's like when I mentioned there's a there's several different things that makes the question that that Ronson asked me so important on a sag set, man. That and that etiquette, bro. The way you treat PA's and and and sound, and you know, with saying thank you or acknowledging people's presence, you know, it's just little the little it's really little things that uh that hold so much weight, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Ah man, bro, there needs to be it definitely needs to be a class about that right there. Absolutely. Oh my god, the things I've seen and heard. If I if I was a woman to clutch my pearls, my god, bro. I'm like, bro, y'all need this about to be a whole different podcast, a whole different conversation.

SPEAKER_03

Man, listen, yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02

But um, but also, bro, I saw that um I know not too long ago that you booked that episodic for TV1. Yeah, uh, so congrats on that. Can you talk can you talk about that a little bit? I know it came out already.

SPEAKER_03

Um, I'm I can't say any details, but um yeah, that was that was a that was a nice weekend trip. Yeah, um, enjoyed myself, enjoyed um the folks there, they enjoy me. And um it was it was something it was something nice and quick. My first time, this will be my first time being featured on uh TV. I've been auditioning for a lot of TVs, I've been auditioning for some great TV projects, and that's that's my goal this year. Um I've I think I'm on my like my fourth film, yeah, and I've been acting four years. Uh Lord say the same. I'll I'll be announcing a fifth uh film soon. Um I'm actively auditioning for a film. I'm in my um I just finished my second callback for a film like in real time as we speak. Um yeah, man. So I'm I'm I've I'm done these films and I kind of wanna I want to do a little more TV, and so I'm I'm excited to be doing that this year.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I'm I'm excited for you, brother, man. That's yeah, that's dope. Like the skies, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That was cool, and that's something I wanted to check off my box. There's a couple things that I had on the list of you know, a couple things I want to check off and doing one of those TV1 shows where it was one of them because I like I watch TV one, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

That's on time. I know Tyrone, you booked something on TV one before too.

SPEAKER_00

Was it um the fatal attraction, you know, how that that that that whole that being able to do that, that was pretty fun, actually. That when we do that, 2023? Yeah, uh 20, yeah. I think that was 2022. We filmed it, came out in 2023. Yeah, so yeah, that was pretty fun. And I drove, I drove to uh Knoxville Tennessee from Dallas. So drove where to Knoxville, Tennessee. That's where y'all was filming. Uh yeah, that's where it films at. Rose. I'm gonna roll. I'll do it again. I'll do it again.

SPEAKER_03

You just do it again.

SPEAKER_00

But I'm in a position now where I can get the flight. So I it's the journey.

SPEAKER_03

It's a journey.

SPEAKER_00

No, for real. Hey, levels.

SPEAKER_01

Get it out. Yeah, it's dedication. And I'm nerding out. I'm sorry I have to nerd out. Um you say that you're in the that's another thing, bro. It's the levels, bro. I nerd out on things like that because you see the levels to things. Like there are a lot of people who haven't even who don't even understand the process of the second callback. Like they haven't hit that yet. Like that, like the technicals behind that. That's why I tell people even and Tyrone knows it, James knows it's the commercial, you know. When you when you hit that call, that virtual callback, you gotta book the room twice. It's not just once, you gotta do it again. When they got you on Hey Joe or in the virtual audition room, and they bring you in and you see all the screens and you gotta slate and then do the audition. And wow them, and they send your stuff off, and it's just like, but you're on your second, you're on your second callback.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_01

I got one question. Was it it was probably a it was a virtual audition, right? It was virtual?

SPEAKER_03

No, it was the tape. It was no, and so um last month, like top of last month, was um I sent in the tape. Sent the tape, submit and forget. Also, I was auditioning for a big show and it had a little more of my attention, but um, and they kept calling me back in. Um, but I sent the tape in top of last month, and then my agent called me randomly um a few weeks a couple a couple weeks ago and was like, Hey, this director wants to see you on Zoom. And I'm like, What director? I was like, I know, I I know you ain't you ain't calling to tell me I booked nothing. I was like, so I was like, really was wondering. What the call was about. He was like, director won't meet me. I was like, what director? He was like, Oh, yeah, I probably should have mentioned that. He was like, director for this project, such and such project. And I was like, I don't even remember that. Because I had a lot of auditions. Um, last month was a good audition month for me. And so I had to go dig back through my emails to see what this project was even was, which is great because that submit and forget is great because you don't want to be hung up over these auditions. Yes. Especially if if you get a certain amount, you don't want to be hung up over every one of them. So I found I went, looked and saw what he was uh referring to. And I was like, oh yeah, I remember this tape. Um they wanted to see me on Zoom like uh that following week. So I hopped on the Zoom, um, performed again, it went great. Was it was me, the director, and casting, and then uh Tuesday, they wanted to see me in person for the second callback. Um same kind of went the same um as the uh the zoom one went, except this one felt more like they were trying to get to they just wanted to feel my presence. They wanted to know who I was, and they it was very conversational. It's very I was getting a lot of just personal compliments, and it was less about the work and more about about me. And the the uh casting director was there, director was there, and one of the producers was there, and it I was in and out. I was not there long. It was it it all felt great. Even uh casting was this this is the same casting director that that booked me in uh my last project, which you mentioned, uh Ronson. And he he was even he was even bigging me up. He was like, Yeah, uh Devontae booked his first audition with me. Um, and then we they wrapped that in November. And he didn't need to say that. Casting doesn't need to say those kind of things, he said that on purpose. Um, and so now there's a relationship being formed there.

SPEAKER_00

So casting will fight.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, they will fight for you, they will try, they will they're gonna bring you in, they'll lift you up, they'll bring you in. I was just telling somebody, student like casting. You you just want to book casting. Book casting. What there's nothing more else you have to do.

SPEAKER_00

And what man, shout out to calling me in the room all the time.

SPEAKER_01

Bro, getting called in the room is crazy. And being first off, let's just all send in good energy towards you. I feel like I would consider myself a prophet of some sort. Uh I think you got I know you like come on, bro. That's it, gets a certain point to where your radars go off to where you're like, bro, that's definitely booked, bro. That's what you just booked the room.

SPEAKER_00

It's alignment, man. It's alignment. That's booking the room. He got married, he's moving in order, it's healing there, healing energy there. It's something about alignment and moving in your purpose and moving in obedience. It all just falls in line. You become the person primed for and it has no choice.

SPEAKER_03

It has no choice, it is absolutely, and I'm that's that's that's one of the main reasons why I don't consider myself um a competitive person. Like, I don't think there's anything wrong with that competitive spirit, but I but I also believe that um everything that's for me is for me. It's nothing that anybody can do about it but me. Nobody can drop the ball but me. And if my name's written on something, that's just what it is. And I don't I don't feel the need to have to be competitive just because I'm in a competitive ring. Real. Do you it's comparison?

SPEAKER_01

And I would say, what's your note to somebody who because I'm sure we've all dealt with it at some point, um, and maybe you know, all of us haven't, but comparison being a thief of joy when you're in that season in your life where you see things pass you by, where you thought your name was on something, and it felt like your name was on it, and you saw it get handed to someone else. If you've ever experienced that, what is your advice to people to get through the whole comparison is the thief of joy phase of things?

SPEAKER_03

On to the next opportunity. That that was if that was truly meant for you to have it, it would be sitting in front of you. You'd be living in it. Absolutely. And it just sometimes we think something is for us and not quite. And maybe maybe, and if it is for us, sometimes it just looks a little different. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03

Um I've I I have background in culinary arts. I have a degree in culinary arts. I used to cook and be a chef for for years. Um, I've in culinary school, we all would get the same exact recipe for something. I remember one of my first classes we did pan-fried chicken. We all had the same ingredients, same recipe. Everybody's things came out differently. Everybody's things. One girl's chicken went up in flames in the classroom. Went up in flames. Um, everybody's thing is different, you know. And and me and Ronson could make the same chicken, and they both could be really good chickens. But I don't have I don't have Ronson's touch. His chicken is just not gonna taste like mine. I don't have his touch. Yeah, same, and you know, same vice versa, you know. Oh girls, chicken went up in flames. Very sorry. That was her that was that was her story. Maybe when we do fish, she'll be she'll be at the top of the class, you know what I mean? It's just that's that's the note I'll I will give to that man. That's it's about it's it's about mindset too and perspective. And I hear you talk about mindset all the time, and it's it's truly what it is.

SPEAKER_01

That's good, bro.

SPEAKER_02

That is that is a dope word and beautiful knowledge.

SPEAKER_00

I just wanted to say, uh, allow yourself to feel it. Allow yourself to feel it. I tell people all the time, don't tell me, oh, it'll be okay. Don't tell me. I don't want to hear that. I know it's gonna be okay. But I accept what it is, I feel it in that moment, I pray for more for that person, and then we move on to the next thing. Absolutely. You gotta check that. You gotta check it, you gotta accept it, you gotta check it, and then you gotta move in grace and peace. Because I think sometimes when we try to hold back those feelings, we're only skills.

SPEAKER_03

You they're not doing nothing but simmering. So that's and I'm glad that you that you said that and you mentioned that because that's absolutely valid. Um, allow and I'm I'm big on um allowing people to feel your emotions. I just just don't park there. Boom. Don't park there. You know, like you said, you gotta keep moving. Don't park there, but allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you're feeling. Because it otherwise you, you know, you think and you you, you know, oh, you know, it's it's it's cool, though, it's okay. But really, you're letting that fester up in you, and then that turns into other things and other spirits that you don't want attached to you.

SPEAKER_00

You're inviting too much into you, you're inviting too much to to keep space in you when you don't allow that that emotion, those feelings to to linger, or not linger, but to to feel it, and then release it.

SPEAKER_03

And you're not and you and you're not being truthful. You're not being truthful.

SPEAKER_01

Come on, that's like we all have emotions, we all feel in a connection to the craft, and sometimes it can hurt. And like you said, to allowing yourself, but then also extending the grace of okay, it just wasn't for me, yeah, on to the next. That's submitted forget, and even me in my in my where I'm at isn't learning how to just be like, Hey, I'm done, I forget it. Uh submit and forget it. Uh, what's the next thing? What's what's next? Yeah, you attach yourself, emotionally attach yourself to something at the wrong stage. I believe it's certain stages where you can attach yourself to it. For example, the stage that you're at, Devontae, go ahead and sign, still deliver it. That joint to me, that joint yours. Thank you, bro. There's no way that that cannot like ever all everything is aligned and all the boxes have been checked. I feel the same way. And now we're he he, y'all are he heing and haha in the room together. Kiki, like it's that's yours.

SPEAKER_03

I think sometimes there's certain phases where even the initial self-tape phase, we could just do a really good tape and be like, bro, that tape was good, like and that tape was great, and then you don't get it, you're like, what the like and then when it's it's it's this funny thing that happens with us, man, when you don't attach yourself to the stuff all the time and you know attach your word to things, it's things still have a way of like being attracted to you. Like, I almost did not submit a tape for Resurrection Road. I almost did not submit a tape. I read the um the plot line and I was like, Why do you think so?

SPEAKER_01

Wait, and that's another thing, too. Not because you are, but why I've always wanted to be able to trap that in a bottle and have him explain that. Why do you think it is that the auditions that we are the least emotionally invested in are the ones that we book?

SPEAKER_04

Ooh.

SPEAKER_03

Because I want to say because that's when we're being the most truthful. And we don't, it's like when you it's just something that that shifts when you want something too desperately or want something too bad, you know what I mean, or you're just you're hyper-fixated on something. And it's cool, it's cool to be excited about something and and and to want something, but um, I don't know, man. That's such a it's such a hard question to to answer.

SPEAKER_00

It's literally, it's literally nothing to lose. Like you, you're not vested in some of these roles of it's like, man, this could be the change of a career. This opportunity I always wanted. And you try not to bring that into the tape, but sometimes it just comes into the tape, it just shows up, it just shows up, but it's not what you're doing, it's just natural. But then uh um job, I almost did not submit for uh degree.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, for real?

SPEAKER_00

I almost did not submit for degree. I had got booked for another commercial that same day, that same week, and I thought I was gonna miss it, so I was like, I have to cancel it because I'm not gonna be able to do it. And then I looked, I was like, Oh, it's the day before. I submitted it. As soon as I did the audition, submitted it, I said, Bro, I'm gonna book this.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, bro.

SPEAKER_01

I feel like we all have had that story.

SPEAKER_03

Some things, some things choose you. That's it. Yeah, some things choose you like this. Like how I talked to y'all about how out of all places I could have filmed Resurrection Road, it was where I lost my brother. Wow. During the time that I lost him. My last day of work on that film was the day before his birthday, which was the last time I talked to him before he passed. Come on, wow, that's something some things choose you. It's just in the it's in the cards, it has your name written on it. It's nothing anybody can do about it, man.

SPEAKER_00

Working and healing.

SPEAKER_03

No, and I almost did not audition for for Resurrection Road. I read the plot line and I really wasn't that impressed. But I was like, I read I read in the movie styles now. So I I read Nose Faratu, I read X Slaves, and I was like, uh I don't know about this one. What made me submit a tape for Resurrection Road was that they sent the the entire script, and it's very rare, as you're I'm sure y'all know, that they send the entire script. And if they send you a script, it's it's in your best interest to read it. I read the script and it felt like a good book. I couldn't put it down. I read it all the way through. Um and I submitted a tape, and even with the tape, I was like, man, they supposed it's supposed to be like Civil War. Um, I I've I had a fresh cut. I had I forgot to take my earrings out. I was nitpicking at the tape and stuff. Um, I made I made a bold choice that I wasn't sure wasn't was gonna work. I I put I I gave myself a southern draw, and I know I'm from the south, but I didn't want it to sound you know too inauthentic. I didn't know how I felt about it. Man, I got there, we had a cast dinner. Uh one of the producers pulled me to the side and was like, man, um the executive producer, he's a very hard guy to please. We went through a lot of like good actors, and it just when we got to your tape, can't explain. It was just your vibe. He was like, you know, you just you were the most interesting person in that role. And I was just like, I didn't even know what to say. I was just like, wow, you know, it just it that was just that was just meant to that was just meant to happen, man.

SPEAKER_02

Man, I'm I'm proud of you, bro. Man, we we can talk all day about all this, but time-wise, we definitely gotta um cut things off. We you know, we will chop it up a little bit after this, after we uh end the recording. But um and I'll definitely have a story for for y'all after this too. Um sorry, ladies and gentlemen, you just gotta you'll find out later on. But uh, besides all that, Devontae, uh tell everybody where they can follow you at.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so you can follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Devontae Burst. That's D-A-V-O-N-T-E B-U-R-S-E on TikTok and Instagram.

SPEAKER_02

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Devontae Burst, man, brother, many blessings to you, your family, your wife, everybody. Um, definitely I'd love to have you come back on the show again in the future. Sure, man. Just let me know. We definitely will link up. We're gonna always gonna work together. Some I don't know why, some kind of way always gonna be on set some somewhere. I don't know. It it's uh something gonna happen. I mean and Tyrone work together already on the grid. Me and Ron never like really we've been on the same set together, but we never like traded exchanged lines. We worked in the background for one thing, but we didn't really like work work together. Um me and Devontae, I haven't met you yet, bro, but I already know we we already locked in, bro. I look forward to working with all y'all again on some capacity on some type of project. So many best to all y'all. I appreciate y'all. Thank you, Ronsa and Tyrone for jumping on here and doing the uh interview with us. Definitely get both of y'all back on to do another interview again. This has been a very heavy. I'm I'm a grown, full grown man. I'm gonna go cry somewhere, man. Y'all we just saw me that we dropped on this man, but but yeah, but uh ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Just acting up show Devontae Burst. Y'all make sure y'all lock in and follow and look at watch resurrection rolling a great film. I enjoyed it, had a great smashing good time. Uh looking forward to see what else Devontae and Tyrone and Ronson do. But uh, yeah, that's just acting up show. Peace.