In a very special Spotlight edition, we spoke to our Melbourne & Sydney Showreel Cinematographer James Huynh about filmmaking, creating, failing, advice for actors working on camera, and handy tips if you are ever doing a fight scene (spoiler alert: STRETCH).

Teressa Liane is an Australian actress born in Melbourne, Victoria.

Best known for her portrayal of ruthless heretic Mary Louise on the hit show "The Vampire Diaries" (Warner Bros./The CW) & Angelica on "Into the Badlands" (AMC). Teressa's first big break was on Australian television show, "Neighbours" (Fremantle Media) where she played the lovable, larger-than-life character, Rhiannon Bates.

Teressa continues to work on Australian and international projects, across a range of genres, from her portrayal of Agrippina the Younger in historical drama "Roman Empire" (Netflix), to her work in recently-released spy comedy "The Spy Who Never Dies" (Rhythmic Films) and action/survival thriller "The Reef: Stalked" (Universal Pictures).

Emily Coupe is a TAFTA Full Time Program graduate from 2012!

We asked Emily about moving to LA for Acting and Singing, and how to make the most of a transition to the United States. We also checked in on how being a multi-hyphenate has shaped her career. Read on for tips on how to prepare to move to the US, what to expect when your over there, and some handy tips on how to stand out from the crowd.

We got in touch with Stephen fresh off his role as Kevin in NBC’s Prime-time comedy Young Rock, the sitcom following Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s upbringing, and Stephen plays a pivotal role in Young Dwayne Johnson’s life!

Read on to learn a little more about Stephen’s Musical Theatre background - what his thoughts are on acting for the stage versus the screen, what it’s like to get punched in the face by The Rock and how he kept creative and was able to book this job from his bedroom in the middle of the pandemic!

Long time Sydney TAFTA student Lauren Hamilton Neill was in Los Angeles this time last year winning an award as Best Actress International for her work in a short film co-starring Zoe Carides.

She has recently heard that her new short film will be making its Australian premiere at MonsterFest!

Meg Clarke is a Sydney based professional Stage and Screen actor born in London who relocated to Sydney where she attended Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) at QUT.

Kya Stewart is an actor based in Sydney, Australia.

She is best known for her lead lead role in the thriller Black Heart, Red Hands, directed by Russell Southam. The film has won over 100 International Film awards so far this year including Best Acting Ensemble at the New York Film Awards.

Its next step will be a screening at the Silk Road Film Awards in Cannes next month after having also won Best Crime Film.

Maurice is a talented individual who's passion for film and storytelling does not pass unnoticeably. 

After completing the Full Time Program at TAFTA he signed with his first agency immediately. He then ventured off to produce, act and co-write his first successful 5 episode production.

He is currently working closely with writers, directors and producers and other film industry experts on 3 new romance, drama and comedy films he looks to release in 2021. His main focus is acting and he is a strong believer that hard work will eventually pay off. 

Co founder of the Golden Phung, an award winning Adelaide based live sketch show, Roy has featured and excelled in South Australian Theatre, and Nation-wide TV and Film projects, being the recipient of the Best Performance Award at SASA in 2012 for his role in ‘Suburban Samurai’.

Shabana Azeez is an actor who has performed in TV guest roles in ABC’s The Letdown, SBS’s The Hunting, and Channel 9’s Metrosexual. She co-won Best Female Actor at Tropfest in 2019 and was nominated for Best Performance at Stellar Film Festival and Best Actress at the South Australian Screen Awards for her work in Leela Varghese's Crush.

Drawn to acting at an early age due to a love of storytelling and a family full of Theatre actors, Lliam has been involved in Theatre, Film and Television since the age of six.

Rose started her career in the 90s selling hand drawn tickets to self-devised performances in her parents living room.

Undeterred by her best work being behind her, Rose then set out to pursue a future in the creative industry.

Jaimee is the creator and co-host of the ‘Hollywood Halt’ podcast. The podcast features incredibly insightful discussions with notable industry professionals about the effect of COVID-19 to the the acting and entertainment industry.

Our first ‘In The Spotlight’ actor is TAFTA Sydney regular, Alex Osmond!

Alex has been a part of Bay Rock Film’s hilarious skits, ‘Toilet Paper Rage’ and ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ that make light of the current COVID-19 crisis.