🎙️ Ep 049 | Jason Baughan: From The Old Globe to Side Global, It's a Games of Roles
Release Date: 03/18/2025
Offstage Acting
The Rage virus saga storms back as Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reunite for 28 Years Later (2025), a post‑apocalyptic, coming‑of‑age horror set nearly three decades after the original outbreak. Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson dive into a secluded island community where young Spike (Alfie Williams) and his scavenger father (Aaron Taylor‑Johnson) face a mission into the infected mainland to save his ailing mother (Jodie Comer). Todd savors the surreal folk‑horror tones and iPhone‑shot visuals; Robert wonders if the emotional undercurrent and cult satire elevate the franchise—or...
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Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson peel back the visor on F1, the high-octane Joseph Kosinski‑directed drama starring Brad Pitt as a legendary driver battling both the track and his demons. Alongside Pitt, we’ve got Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem and—get this—our friend Pepe Balderrama (yes, the one who came on the podcast!) playing race engineer Rico Fazio, pulling double duty with Todd in the offstage driver’s seat. We dive into manic Grand Prix sequences, Hans Zimmer’s pulse‑pounding score, and question if the nostalgia and spectacle add up to more than cinematic...
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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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Lucky number 13? Not quite. 😱 In this spine-snapping installment of OFFstage ONscreen, Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson take on Final Destination: Bloodlines—a new chapter in the franchise that made paranoia an art form. Does this reboot have fresh life... or is it just death warmed over? We break down the kills, the thrills, and whether fate should’ve just called it quits. 🩸 #finaldestination #bloodlines #horrorreview #scarymovies #moviepodcast #toddkramer #robertnelson #offstageacting #offstageonscreen #slasherfilm
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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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Will this actually be Ethan Hunt’s last mission? 🎬 Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson dive into the latest Mission: Impossible installment and ask the big questions: Is Tom closing out the franchise at its peak. Is this the best M:I yet... or is there still fuel left in the tank? One thing’s for sure: Tom Cruise still runs better than anyone in Hollywood! 🏃➡️
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From The French Connection to The Royal Tenenbaums, Gene Hackman did it all—then vanished from the spotlight. 🎭 Todd and Robert celebrate the life and legacy of one of cinema’s most quietly commanding actors. A heartfelt tribute to a true screen legend.
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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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A diver trapped at the bottom of the ocean—true story. 😱 Todd and Robert descend into Last Breath, a survival thriller based on real events. Does it deliver pulse-pounding tension… or just tread water?
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Stark lines. Stark lives. 🏛️ Todd and Robert unpack The Brutist, a visually striking and emotionally complex film about ambition, displacement, and design. Is it a masterpiece—or just beautifully boring?
info_outlineToday’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.
Eventually, burnout pushed him toward a surprising pivot — directing voice performance in major video games like Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher. Jason talks about why actor-directors bring something special to the booth, how storytelling works differently in games, and why leaving the stage wasn’t a step back but a step toward something new.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 – Opening
02:00 – Jay’s packing panic for India
04:30 – Todd’s amateur dramatic debut
06:10 – Jason Baughan or Jason Bourne?
07:45 – Baughan’s Guildhall roots
09:00 – Theatre life and Olivier wins
10:40 – Playing drums live on West End
12:30 – Burnout and career redirection
14:15 – The “Sunny Afternoon” cast switch
16:00 – What makes a good show sour
17:50 – Discovering voice direction
19:10 – Skills actors bring to directing
21:00 – Working on Assassin’s Creed
22:30 – The Witcher voice secrets
24:40 – Directing performance in games
26:20 – Why story matters in gameplay
28:00 – Loving the collaborative process
30:30 – Actor-director dynamics
32:15 – Jay and Jason’s past projects
34:00 – Todd’s accidental name flub
35:10 – Why Jason still calls himself an actor
36:40 – Getting real about identity shifts
39:00 – Final thoughts and actor wisdom
💬 Join the Conversation
What resonated with you in Jason’s story? Drop your thoughts in the comments — or tag us on socials with your takeaways!
🔗 CONNECT & FOLLOW
🎧 Full Podcast & More: https://offstageacting.com/podcast
🤩 Facebook: https://facebook.com/OffstageActing
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/OffstageActing
🌍 Jason Baughan
🎭 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0062340/
🎙️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasonbaughan
🎮 Side Global: https://www.sideglobal.com/
💫 TODD: https://linktr.ee/toddkramer
💫 JAY: https://linktr.ee/jayreum
📣 Hashtags
#acting #actingpodcast #actor #actors #act #actorslife #ToddKramer #JayReum #OffstageActing
#videogames #voiceacting #gamedevelopment #actingcareer #Shakespeare #AAAgames #Guildhall #AssassinsCreed #TheWitcher