🎙️057 | Rob & Helen Bee: From Solo Booths to Social Buzz
Offstage Acting
Today’s guests are Rob and Helen Bee — voiceover professionals, podcast hosts, and community builders behind The VO Social, a UK-wide grassroots movement that’s changing how voice artists connect and grow. Rob and Helen talk with Todd Kramer and Jay Reum about the loneliness of the VO life and how they’ve worked to combat it — not just with their podcast, but with real-world meetups, business services, and grassroots support. They share their journey from working VO professionals to running a creative services company tailored specifically for voice artists, helping them with tech,...
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🎙️056 | Kenneth Jay: From Backstage Patience to Onstage Presence
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Kenneth Jay, a seasoned Canadian actor with decades of experience across theatre, film, and television. Known for his dedication to craft and his deep respect for storytelling, Kenneth has built a career that bridges continents and philosophies. In this inspiring and laughter-filled episode, hosts Todd Kramer and Jay Reum chat with Kenneth about the unique discipline of being an understudy, the art of preparation without certainty, and why truth is always at the center of performance. Kenneth shares his journey from Ottawa to Ryerson Theatre School, his surprising connection...
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🎙️055 | Kym Jackson: How To Hustle Into Hollywood and The Secret Actor Society
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Kym Jackson — Aussie actor, author, and co-founder of the Secret Actor Society. Kym’s journey spans continents and platforms: she launched her career onstage in Australia, made the leap to Hollywood, and hasn’t stopped working since. You’ve seen her on Criminal Minds, NCIS: LA, This Is Us, and SWAT — or in films like Snitch, Iron Sky, and We Bury the Dead. But acting is just one facet of her creative powerhouse. In this episode, Kym opens up about navigating the business with grace and grit — from managing self-tapes and raising a family to launching an...
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🎙️054 | Todd & Jay: Motivation for When You’ve Got None
Offstage Acting
Today’s episode is a little different — it’s just Todd and Jay, mic’d up and mood-swinging their way through one of those actor chats that starts with “I’m not feeling it” and ends with “okay, I’ve got a little fire back.” In this candid bonus conversation, Todd and Jay explore the ebb and flow of motivation in an actor’s life — why it disappears, how to rediscover it, and the tools they’ve each developed to stay (or get back) on track. From inner drive to outer community, yoga hacks to time-blocking, and even the occasional black hole of self-doubt, this is a...
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🎙️053 | Brendan McNamara: From Child Roles to Casting Roles
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is the brilliant Brendan McNamara — actor, former child star, and founder of Beach Casting, a casting agency making waves across the UK and Ireland. From appearing in films like Angela’s Ashes and War of the Buttons to launching one of the most actor-friendly casting studios in the game, Brendan shares his uniquely personal journey through both sides of the audition table. We talk candidly about the transition from actor to casting director, the kind of performers he loves to work with, the shifting landscape of self-tapes, and why kindness and professionalism still matter....
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🎙️052 | Alexa Morden: Actor, Advocate & Voice of the 98%
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is not only a brilliant actor, but one of the loudest, clearest voices advocating for honesty and safety in the industry. Alexa Morden is best known as the co-creator and co-host of The 98% Podcast — a refreshingly unfiltered look at life for the vast majority of actors who don’t earn their full living from acting. She’s also an award-winning performer in her own right, with credits in Skins, Fresh Meat, The Great Train Robbery, and the indie feature The Colour of Spring, which earned her over 25 Best Actress awards on the festival circuit. In this episode, Alexa opens up...
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🎙️051 | Kezia Burrows: Welsh-Born, RADA-Trained, Game-Changing Actor
Offstage Acting
This week on Offstage Acting, Todd Kramer welcomes the brilliant Kezia Burrows — a Welsh actor whose career spans classical theatre, television drama, and the high-stakes world of motion capture and video game performance. Born in Neath and raised in the seaside village of New Quay, Kezia trained at RADA and now voices and embodies characters in some of the most acclaimed games out there. You might know her as Amanda Ripley in Alien: Isolation, Dr. Emma Fisher in Observation, or from Cyberpunk 2077, CrossfireX, Hellblade, and more. We dive into: 🎭 Her classical training and transition...
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🎙️050 | Todd & Jay: 50th Episode Spectacular! 🎉
Offstage Acting
This week we are celebrating our 50th episode! Hurray. Jay and I talk about where we've been where we are and were going. We catch up with Jay after his month long yoga retreat to India. My experience doing amateur dramatics. And we dive into a few other fun topics all in celebration of the good times we've had so far and the good times yet to come. So here's to the first and the next 50 episodes of the offstage acting podcast! #acting #actingpodcast #actor #actors #act #actorslife
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🎙️049 | Jason Baughan: From The Old Globe to Side Global, It's a Games of Roles
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Jason Baughan - a classically trained actor whose journey from the West End stage to directing cinematic storytelling in major video games is nothing short of epic. In this episode, Todd Kramer and Jay Reum welcome the multi-talented Jason Baughan (yes, that’s “Baughan,” not “Bourne”) for a spirited dive into his career evolution. Trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Jason started with a love of Shakespeare and a West End run in the Olivier-winning Sunny Afternoon, where he went from guitar player to live stage drummer in front of 900 people....
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🎙️048 | Rob Cairns: From Oxford Stage to Audio Page - Why He Walked Away from Acting
Offstage Acting
Sometimes an actor goes through all of the training and all of the courses and pays all their dues and does very well and enjoys the education and the process… and then steps out into the bright lights of the industry with all its mechanisms and professional trappings, takes a long look around and says: “Meh. You know what? I don't think this is for me. I don't love it.” And today, Todd Kramer and Jay Reum talk to just such an actor. His name is Rob Cairns. But don't worry about good old Rob—he’s landed on his feet. Rob trained at UEA and the Oxford School of Drama, dove deep into...
info_outlineTodd Kramer and Jay Reum sit down with actor Nigel Barber to talk about something few performers ever achieve: a fifty-year career in acting — and still enjoying the work.
With credits spanning five decades, Nigel shares stories, lessons, and hard-earned perspective from a life lived inside the craft and profession. From major studio productions to cult projects and everything in between, this is a wide-ranging, generous conversation about longevity, adaptability, and what it really takes to stay working over the long haul.
Together, they explore how the industry has changed, what hasn’t, and why curiosity, professionalism, and resilience matter more than trends or shortcuts. It’s reflective, funny, grounded — and packed with insight for actors at any stage of their journey.
If you’ve ever wondered what a real acting career looks like over time, this episode is essential listening.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 – Welcome & introducing Nigel Barber
03:30 – Fifty years in acting: how it all began
08:20 – Early training, influences, and first breaks
14:10 – Building a career before the modern industry
20:45 – Longevity, consistency, and staying employable
27:30 – Adapting as the industry changes
34:40 – Big productions vs smaller projects
41:10 – Lessons learned the hard way
47:50 – Professionalism, reputation, and trust
54:30 – What younger actors misunderstand about careers
01:01:20 – Craft vs career: finding balance
01:08:10 – Looking back without nostalgia
01:14:40 – Why acting still matters
01:21:00 – Advice for actors thinking long-term
01:27:30 – Final reflections & wrap-up
🎬 SELECTED CREDITS DISCUSSED
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The Crown
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007 – Spectre
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Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
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Hatfields & McCoys
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You, Me and the Apocalypse
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Baywatch
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Partisan
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Roboshark
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Firequake
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50 Ways to Kill Your Lover
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Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix
🔗 CONNECT & FOLLOW
🎧 Podcast & more: https://offstageacting.com/podcast
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/offstageacting
❌ X: https://x.com/OffstageActing
📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/offstageacting
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@offstageacting
🌐 Todd’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/toddkramer
🌐 Jay’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jayreum
#️⃣ HASHTAGS
#acting #actingpodcast #actor #actors #actorslife #WorkingActor #CareerLongevity #FilmAndTV #NigelBarber #ToddKramer #JayReum #OffstageActing