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[0:00] Antwayn Hopper: And she turned to me, I swear to God this happened, it was just over a year ago. She said, I will give you four when you win an Oscar. I held my hand out, she shook it, and I have not brought it up once until just now. You remember that, honey? You do? Okay, then I just have this to say to you, Jazz. Love of my life. Ye of little faith. No pressure. I love you. I'm really sorry I did this again. And let's get cracking on those kids. What do you say? I love you.

[0:41] Eila Mell: Hello, and welcome to Behind the Awards. I'm Eila.

[0:45] Bruce Gotlieb: As always, I am here with Bruce.

[0:48] Eila Mell: Hello there, Eila. How are we doing today?

[0:51] Bruce Gotlieb: I'm good. I love Succession and I love Kieran Culkin. So that was his Oscar win.

[0:59] Eila Mell: Yes. And, you know, so funny because he's apparently, him and his wife have had this pact in the past, if I win, now I get another baby. So when he was making the speech, saying, well, it's going to be time for number four, and she was to the camera, this isn't happening, you crazy man.

[1:17] Bruce Gotlieb: Okay. Well, now was she coerced or did she go willingly?

[1:24] Eila Mell: You might have to have her in for like an exclusive sit down.

[1:27] Bruce Gotlieb: Maybe. Either that or an intervention or, you know, how many kids do they have already?

[1:34] Eila Mell: It's going to be number four.

[1:36] Bruce Gotlieb: Okay. Well, I'm sure they have a wonderful family.

[1:40] Eila Mell: I'm sure they do. But if the rate is going with award shows, I feel bad for her.

[1:44] Bruce Gotlieb: I know. What happens every time?

[1:47] Eila Mell: I don't know if she can keep up fiscally. That's a lot.

[1:50] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, I guess she now knows not to make any more deals like that.

[1:54] Eila Mell: This is right. So did you see Real Pain, the movie that he won the Oscar for?

[2:01] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, I did.

[2:02] Eila Mell: And what did you think?

[2:04] Bruce Gotlieb: It was fine. A little slow for me. I also felt like nothing against him. He does it well, but I feel like it's always the same character.

[2:13] Eila Mell: Yeah, I would agree with all of that. And then in Glengarry Glen Ross, he was still another version of that character, but it worked, you know, I liked it better in Glengarry Glen Ross than I did in Real Pain.

[2:25] Bruce Gotlieb: I think Real Pain was very, very close to Succession. Glengarry Glen Ross was a little bit different. You know, I mean, he's always going to bring his quality to something.

[2:36] Eila Mell: For sure. But that movie felt like it maybe needed a little bit of a softer end.

[2:42] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, for his character.

[2:44] Eila Mell: Yeah, for sure. Because it seemed like the same character, just in a different situation. Although my favorite part of that was watching it in the beginning and being Jennifer Grey.

[2:54] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, I know. Because we don't get to see her very often.

[2:58] Eila Mell: I know, not too much. I don't know. I will take the controversial stance that I like her new nose.

[3:07] Bruce Gotlieb: I think, you know, she looks different, but I think she looks good.

[3:11] Eila Mell: I think it enhanced her look.

[3:13] Bruce Gotlieb: I don't dislike her new nose, and it certainly has made her a little bit more, shall we say, streamlined.

[3:20] Eila Mell: Yeah. But there is something to be said for features that set you apart from other people.

[3:27] Bruce Gotlieb: No, that's true. But I just feel like people were very harsh with her because she should not have not had a career because she got a new nose. I mean, that happens every day. People get a lot of new body parts and no one seems to care.

[3:41] Eila Mell: Well, then not as frequently as now.

[3:45] Bruce Gotlieb: Maybe. I don't know. Maybe we heard about it less back then.

[3:50] Eila Mell: Maybe. I don't know. Well, I mean, I think we heard about I think everything was less back then, right? You couldn't just up and call people or, you know, post or, you know, none of those things happened.

[4:01] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes. Although, you know, I remember friends at 16 getting their noses done, you know, as soon as they were able to.

[4:09] Eila Mell: Well, there were a lot of deviated septums.

[4:12] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. That's right. Although, you know, my one friend who did it regretted it, even though, you know, she didn't have a great nose to begin with, but she said it didn't really change her life in any way. And, you know, she said, why did I put myself through that?

[4:25] Eila Mell: Yeah, I guess it depends on what the person's expectation is.

[4:28] Bruce Gotlieb: I guess so. Your nose is like your most prominent characteristic.

[4:32] Eila Mell: Yeah. So it can really change your face.

[4:34] Bruce Gotlieb: As Jennifer Grey found out.

[4:37] Eila Mell: Absolutely. For me, she looks great.

[4:39] Bruce Gotlieb: She looks amazing now.

[4:41] Eila Mell: She looked good then. You know, I'm team Jennifer Grey.

[4:44] Bruce Gotlieb: There you go. Let's get her in more.

[4:46] Eila Mell: Doing more things.

[4:47] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. Now I'm on Broadway stage.

[4:50] Eila Mell: That would be great. Why not? Her and her father should do something.

[4:53] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. That would be great. Now, I am also team Antwayn Hopper.

[4:58] Eila Mell: Well, I mean, is there any question?

[5:02] Bruce Gotlieb: No, he's our guy. And we are so happy to welcome him back.

[5:07] Eila Mell: Absolutely. We do a little bit of a deep dive on Will Trent with him and how that kind of came to be his whole process in discovering that character.

[5:15] Bruce Gotlieb: So exciting. He also tells us about some dream roles he wants to play down the road. So if any producers are listening, maybe get a pencil out and jot down.

[5:24] Eila Mell: That's right. Antwayn is so much fun. Let's bring him out here.

[5:26] Bruce Gotlieb: Absolutely. Eila, how excited are we?

[5:33] Eila Mell: We have our friend to the show and Broadway star, TV star. And just one of our favorite people.

[5:41] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes. Welcome, Antwayn Hopper.

[5:44] Antwayn Hopper: We adore you.

[5:46] Eila Mell: I adore both of you.

[5:48] Antwayn Hopper: How are you doing?

[5:49] Bruce Gotlieb: We are so thrilled to have you back. We wanted an episode that was just you because you are such a superstar.

[5:58] Antwayn Hopper: God bless you. Thank you.

[5:59] Eila Mell: Thank you. So when we first became aware of you long ago, you were a Broadway star, but now you're a TV star, too.

[6:11] Antwayn Hopper: That is amazing. You're conquering everything, Antwayn. How does that feel?

[6:22] Antwayn Hopper: I don't know, because, you know, when you're fighting the battle as I'm learning from many documentaries that I watch, including shout out to Maria Callas and shout out to Angelina Jolie. I finally saw that movie. I'm so inspired. But when you're running the race, as you two know, and many of you know, watching out there and listening, you never look at where you are and think in awe. Oh, my gosh. You keep going. You keep going. And I think we are all on a beautiful journey. And I'm excited to see where the path leads. And I think that is when you know you're doing your calling, when you're just running, running, running, doing your best and letting the Lord, the universe, whoever you believe in, the greater power lay bricks before you and you just step forward, but you just don't give up. You do your best. That's what I'm just in gratitude.

[7:22] Eila Mell: Absolutely. And we'll get to Broadway because obviously we're on the Broadway Podcast Network. But Will Trent, that arc that you had on that show has just taken storm like wildfire. It just exploded. It's everything that I see in people talking about the show. I mean, the show itself is great and people are enjoying it, but they love you on that show.

[7:48] Antwayn Hopper: It just makes me... It doesn't seem real.

[7:56] Eila Mell: Yeah, I can imagine, you know. How did that come to you? Go walk us through that process of securing that role.

[8:03] Antwayn Hopper: Well, as you all know, I was doing Cats and we were coming upon our the end of the second extension. And my agents had sent me a casting for Will Trent, and it was through Jessica Daniels. And we just we sent it because it aligned with the dates in terms of renewing for the third extension. And it was a great opportunity because I've always been after a character that is strong and misunderstood, but low key, the champion, the hero you want to root for and who was gay and revered and respected. And then comes Rafael. And believe it or not, it was another name. I can't remember the name, but it was a different last name. And it was an entirely different first name, three different names. But I sent my audition tape in and like the legend has been started.

I did my audition tape in a yellow bonnet, silk bonnet. Because I had, you know, my hair from Cats. So I have to sleep in a silk bonnet. And I also did it in my cat print Moo Moo outfit. And you guys know I had my orange nails from Cats. And that's right. So I just, you know, I had to open the door and I was like, can I help you? And I'm supposed to be the drug dealer. And so I guess they took a liking to it. And I thought that I was doing what everyone else is doing. But Jessica got on the Zoom with me, Miss Daniels. And just a side note, speaking about everything, it seems coincidental, but it's already laid before you. Jessica Daniels was the name of my best friend at Bishop Elementary in Topeka, Kansas.

[9:50] Eila Mell: Oh, wow.

[9:53] Antwayn Hopper: I just look, you know, I told her that. I said, this is a sign. She was just like, OK, let's get to work. And I was like, I'm awkward. And she literally stayed on that Zoom with me for an hour and she just, you know, worked with me. And then we did another Zoom and then it was the day before I left. I found out I had it before the show of Cats and I had to let them know by 10 p.m. on the next day. I was in Atlanta learning the fight choreography for episode one with Ramon Rodriguez and come to find out he's the one along with Dan Thompson and Liz and of course, Karen Slaughter and the other executive producers that created this role intentionally because the theme of this season was being misunderstood. Don't judge a book by its cover. I said, that's my life. So that's incredible.

[10:38] Eila Mell: Mm hmm. I love that.

[10:39] Antwayn Hopper: Mm hmm. Do you think the outfit helped to make to grab her attention in the first place?

[10:45] Antwayn Hopper: Well, you know, Ramon told me that he based this character. He wanted to make one after his best friend who passed away, Michael Williams, you know, from The Wire, Ramon played Michael Williams' lover on The Wire. And he said he was always strong and but outlandish, but respected and an individual. So I think they sensed with the outlandish. That's just him. He's a colorful shell. And they didn't know this. But, you know, my dad's a trained boxer as well, black belt. And he was in the Army. So he, you know, in the Army, they have different sections of sports. And my dad was the boxing coach. So my brother, myself, we would watch karate, kung fu movies. And I learned, you know, a little one, two step.

And then, of course, I played Killroy at Camino. I have the Goodman for Camino Real and I trained with a boxer for that. So they were kind of gag, you know, this dude wearing the muumuu. And, you know, you're a trained boxer. And, you know, when I showed up, I gag, but I was, you know, they were like, dang, your shoulders, whoa, you are stacked. And I was like, why? I'm just a butch queen. You know, it's so interesting, right, is that Omar was a gay character and that was an unusual gay character on The Wire for, you know, what people expect gay people on TV to look like. Right.

[12:09] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. Right. Right. Right.

[12:10] Antwayn Hopper: So, you know, pushing boundaries. And, you know, it was a conscious effort to present Rafael as colorful as I could take him because I'm going to be honest. And Ramon, you know, when we did our first take and I was behind the jails thing, that was my first, you know, I recorded that the day after I left tracks. I was like, look, you know, I'm a professional. Yeah. So I was like, yo, he was like, wait, stop. Wait, no, no. I was like, what's what's wrong? He was like, that is no. He said, be you. And then I thought about Billy Porter doing the light and I said, OK. He was like, just, you know, you just have different. But it's, you know, because I it bucked up. He was like, it's a different cat.

You know, you've got to wear brothers, Loki, and you've got to be level. Right. So that's what we fell in love with was that you were authentically you. And they pushed that. So they let me have say with costumes behind the legendary Mary Jane. But here's the gag. All those sweaters and things. And when I would tie my I would do that in honor of her because I love the way she dresses. But she would have little things out. And I'd say, honey, what would you wear on that? And she said, I'd wear this with no pants tight. I said, well, why don't wear this with this and some tight black jeans? And she said, and Timberland and Timberland boots. I'd go. And then she'd have all the latest Nikes. I was like, who knew that you would be a sneak freak? She said, I'm a sneaker freak. But I and then Camille, you know, who was nominated for the Oscar for Black Panther. Yeah.

[13:50] Antwayn Hopper: Episode 1 and 2, we ain't seen many men who are in a boxing scene with an updo and edges laid.

[14:21] Antwayn Hopper: So they honored Macavity by letting me keep the orange. And they let me, Ramon and Howie, the legendary Howie Deutsch, the director of Pretty in Pink and his daughter was just in that beautiful show on Broadway. We love Zoe. Our town. Howie is my father. He's, he's, you know, I get, I get on his nerves. Thank God for Howie. He was the one that really was like, he's like a Gene Hackman. He has to have a tan and everything, but he's nice. Let him, you know, work with him. And they did. And that, that's why I laugh when you guys say that about Rafael, because when I tell you that is on, on, on top of me praying to Michael on behalf of Michael, when I realized Ramon and him are really close, I mean, Ramon had tears in his eyes.

That's when I felt honored. That's when I said, I want to be a part of this because it's about integrity. We're an army. What we do is maybe for play to most, but you got to have heart and you got to, you really got to have passion behind it. When he looked at me, when I came out on my outfit the first day, I said, I, I'm, I'm obsessed with him. And I literally follow everything he does. I watch everything he does and I get on his nerves because I'm always like this. And he's like, whoa. And I'm like, it's so refreshing to be that guy in the room again, but I'm learning a lot and a lot from, from Ramon and a lot from Sonia and a lot from Howie, but sorry, y'all.

[15:48] Eila Mell: Nothing to be sorry for. Do you think that you'll continue to do more TV?

[15:52] Antwayn Hopper: God willing. I'm realizing though, as I watch Ramon, the name of the game is get, make as much money as I can and become an executive producer because I'm thinking of things like, and I want to say it here because if they're done, thank God for my attorney, a prior cash me. I want to say first, for instance, I would start in a remake of Mrs. Doubtfire and I would play Mrs. Doubtfire, but here's the thing. My best friend is a woman of a particular, you know, she's a, uh, I guess we would call it trans woman. So she'd given me permission to go into drag. So I dare you come for the movie, but the bottom line is the story and what it gives an actor to be able to play because Robin Williams is one of my idols as well.

I want to do that. And another one is remember Karina Karina? No, I said, I said to lean away. I said, why don't you do Corey Corey? And the housekeeper is gay. And I'm thinking about that, man. He just got divorced. I'm not thinking about him, but the boy likes me. The little boy that I want, she has, he thinks that me and his dad should be together. I don't want to be with the dad. I'm not thinking about the pasta. And then there you have it. And it's kind of like a, um, my girl meets Karina Karina. Wouldn't that be lovely to see a gay black man fall in love innocently with a straight man. I'm not thinking about him. And it'd be even cute when they kiss. You can't, I'm not interested. I only date gay men.

I'm not, no, wouldn't that be refreshing? It would, because we haven't seen that before. We haven't. So then I'm coming. That's right. Although it happens in real life all the time. It happens all the time, but that's my goal now. And that will, then I'll be able to be like Ramone where I can write as well as direct the first two episodes of a series and then have say in every single thing and make careers and dreams come true. Like Ramone and Jessica and all them did for me. I gagged when they gave me that role, I gagged, I gagged. And then it was only two episodes. Y'all we went from two to what? Seven. I was like, yeah, I know. That's the biggest compliment you can get. You guys, I owe them everything. I owe them everything. So, you know, and I'm just, I'm just so thankful. I'm so thankful.

[18:14] Eila Mell: Well, you surround yourself, right? It's who you know, and you surround yourself with the network of people and all these people that you've now been in touch with that couldn't help. Like you said, build that road that you want, you know, pave it whatever color you want and get that EP title that, you know, writer, creator, all of those things. You never know who's going to be able to lend a hand in making that dream come true.

[18:35] Antwayn Hopper: Amen. Amen. And I can't wait to join forces with you all for the Antoine Hopper Presents Behind the Awards podcast presents the Tony Awards.

[18:42] Eila Mell: Absolutely. We can't wait either. But you've been to the Tonys. I mean, you.

[18:49] Antwayn Hopper: I love the Tony Awards. You killed it in your outfit. Love that white jumpsuit. And you said that was a tribute to André De Shields, right?

[19:01] Antwayn Hopper: Yes. And this was the second. This is after the second one when I had the Ag Bobley. Oh, OK. Anyway, yes, it was a tribute to André De Shields. Yes.

[19:11] Eila Mell: Was he someone who you just love growing up?

[19:17] Antwayn Hopper: Oh, wow. You know, De Shields and I did in 2012 at the Goodman Theater, Camino Real by Tennessee Williams. Yeah. And he played the Baron. Hello. And he had a band. It was literally like this. I want to play him in this movie. Here's my audition. Hello. Perfect. And I play Kilroy. And that was Calyxto Bieto's American, North American debut. And, you know, he was dubbed the bad boy of Spanish theater. So we did it at the Goodman Theater. Robert Falls was the artistic director. And that's when I met André De Shields. And I remember we did the table read because I could tell he's one of those no shade, what we call in the church mothers that you say hello and they'd be like. But when you prove yourself to them, they're like, you want to go to lunch.

So the first day I'm like, oh, my God, John Roberts, Marilyn Dodd-Franks, Jacqueline Williams, André De Shields. Oh, I'm nervous. Hi. Then we had to read. And then we did the play. And, you know, I did what God, you know, blessed me to do. And he said, you want to cook lunch? Not be when I get like, you want to cook lunch? So I cook lunch for De Shields. And he came over and we hung out for about five hours laughing and we would walk through rehearsals hand in hand. He would give me notes and I would allow him to, you know, I would beg for notes. And he became my father. And one time I was really in really low and he blessed me beyond it. You can't even express it. And that's what being a legend of an actor, a deity, humility.

And that's why he's my father. And that's why it's crazy. We did Macavity. It's meant to be. And I got to honor De Shields when he directed Ain't Misbehavin'. I got to wear his original green outfit when it honored when they honored New Jersey Pack, honored Crossroads. And André asked me to, you know, and I did my thing for him. And so when we met up again for Macavity and Deuteronomy, it was just it was so what an honor. And that little moment with the fan, with the band, and he clapped. And that's our relationship. Because it's like, mind you know what I mean? Yeah. And then him taking the trophy and taking the blame like a father would. That's where that came about. That was based off personal things. So forever, our DNA will be all over that show. Thank you, Jesus.

[22:01] Eila Mell: And he's just forever a legend. Just if he only did The Wiz, that would have been enough. But the career he's had.

[22:05] Antwayn Hopper: Well, when the time is right, your boy will do The Wiz. That's one of the things that I will honor him. And I'm so honored. I know I can't wait. That will be a moment when we do The Wiz in about give me 15 years. We'll be there. Can you imagine?

[22:23] Eila Mell: Yeah. It's nice to have those dreams that have time to grow and evolve like you don't have to rush for it because you have plenty of time to get there.

[22:28] Antwayn Hopper: Yeah. Including I would love to do Gypsy. Why couldn't Gypsy be an uncle, like an Uncle Mane? No reason. Why not? No reason. You know what I mean?

[22:42] Eila Mell: Cartney?

[22:43] Antwayn Hopper: Yeah. Life's a lie. We got nothing. Honey, sit there. Watch this. Watch this. Get off my face. It's a different beast. And I can't I look forward to doing the college and kudos to Billy Porter and I will be auditioning for that for George. So here we go.

[23:03] Eila Mell: Excellent.

[23:05] Antwayn Hopper: Amazing. We even had Isla and I on the side when the announcement came, we were like, hmm, so if we were going to be playcasting director.

[23:10] Eila Mell: Tell me. Tell me.

[23:15] Antwayn Hopper: Please. Well, you know your name. We said, oh, we could see it easily.

[23:20] Eila Mell: Wow.

[23:25] Antwayn Hopper: I just want to say real quick, you guys, I'm sure you're like, why are you so happy? I'm one. I just want to say I'm so happy because behind the awards podcast, one of the few places where they possess integrity and what they post and they root the people on and they encourage because this is not a competition. This is all from our natural ability by the grace of God and our hearts and what we love to do. And I'm I love I'm excited because you guys you guys know the ins and outs of theater and I rarely get to speak to people and I'm a really I'm a real theater geek. Like don't open that. I don't want to embarrass myself too much because, you know, I do want to go out for certain roles. So that's right.

You know, that little, you know, but anyway, I'm really excited. But I wanted to say it's not ever, ever, ever, ever bad you all to name it and claim it out loud. It does not mean you're conceited, does not mean you have ego, does not mean you're better than that one or that one. It means that you want it for yourself and that's OK. And if someone wants to put something else behind that, leave that. But I'm trying to encourage others. Say what you want out loud, because Bruce has taught me.

[24:36] Eila Mell: Yeah, go ahead.

[24:42] Antwayn Hopper: Bruce has taught me to put it out there for the world to hear. You know, I'm always so modest and I always I don't know. I don't like to say anything until it's actually happening. But Bruce has kind of changed my attitude about that.

[24:46] Eila Mell: Yeah. Amen.

[24:52] Antwayn Hopper: Yeah, they ask for it. So and if you don't get it, you don't get it. You know, we're soft for it. You know, maybe maybe maybe a lick of wounds here and there because you you want it so badly. And that's OK, too, because there's there's learning in that. There's, you know, within the hardship and all that, there is a blessing. There's a silver line to find. So I think there's never there's only only positive can come from that. So I like that. And I'm sure, you know, Antoine, sometimes when you don't get something, it's actually a gift that you don't realize, you know, you're being protected in some way.

[25:25] Antwayn Hopper: And that's the crazy thing about, you know, as I go through this life.

[25:31] Eila Mell: Oh, wow.

[25:46] Antwayn Hopper: Which reminds me of another show I'd love to do, Children of Eden. Did you see that? I woke up. OK.

[25:52] Eila Mell: Yeah. What did you ask? I'm sorry. It doesn't matter.

[25:56] Antwayn Hopper: I can't imagine a show that wouldn't benefit from having you in it, Antoine.

[26:04] Antwayn Hopper: Oh, that's so sweet. You know, that's what we that's that's what we strive to be. That's what we strive to hear from Carnegie Mellon, you know, where I went to school, because even on set, even though I'm realizing oftentimes it's not, it's still a collaborative experience. We're all in it to win it. And yeah, thank you for saying that, because that's what I try to bring to production ideas and, you know, collaborative energy. And so that means a lot. Thank you.

[26:24] Eila Mell: Take us back a minute, and I'm sure it was before Carnegie Mellon, but what would you remember the point, whether it was watching a movie or going to see a show live where little Antoine was like, I'm going to be on that stage or this is this is what I need to do with my life. Do you remember that? Was there a pinnacle moment or show that sparked that for you?

[26:43] Antwayn Hopper: Yeah, you know, I always say that the moment when I was like three or four, when we had to do the book, Three Little Kings or something like that, The Three Kings. At that time, we had to have been in Germany on the on base. You know, I was born in Wiesbaden. And I just remember having the foil around the heads and we had the white sheets and we had to go behind the sheet. I was so enthralled by the order of events and the ceremony. And there was something spiritual and something grand about it. And I loved being behind the sheet and then coming out and presenting. I remember that feeling because my mom got me into and I'm just remembering that this is really where it started. Bishop Elementary Summer Schools. And it was called Lights, Camera, Action. And we did Snow White. And my mom had to make my little beard out of cotton balls. And we had each had

[28:10] Eila Mell: What was it like being part of the development of A Strange Loop?

[29:00] Antwayn Hopper: It was an incredible experience. Being part of the original cast, we were all so passionate about the story and the message it conveyed. The development process was intense but rewarding, as we got to explore the characters deeply and really bring them to life.

[30:16] Eila Mell: Did you have any specific moments during that process that stood out to you?

[31:05] Antwayn Hopper: Absolutely! There were moments in rehearsals where we would break down and just connect with the material on such a personal level. It felt like we were all in this together, and those moments really solidified our bond as a cast.

[32:14] Eila Mell: That sounds amazing. How did you feel when the show finally opened?

[33:22] Antwayn Hopper: It was surreal. There was so much anticipation, and when the curtain finally went up, it felt like all our hard work had paid off. The energy in the theater was electric, and I remember feeling a mix of excitement and nerves.

[34:48] Eila Mell: And how did the audience respond to the show?

[35:16] Antwayn Hopper: The response was overwhelmingly positive. People were moved by the story, and it was incredible to see how it resonated with so many different audiences. It felt like we were part of something special.

[36:12] Eila Mell: What do you think makes A Strange Loop stand out from other productions?

[37:27] Antwayn Hopper: I think it’s the authenticity of the storytelling. It’s a reflection of real experiences, and it tackles themes that are often overlooked in theater. The music, the performances, everything just comes together to create a unique experience.

[38:25] Eila Mell: Have you taken any lessons from that experience into your current work?

[39:21] Antwayn Hopper: Definitely. The importance of collaboration and staying true to the story are lessons I carry with me. Every role I take on, I try to bring that same level of commitment and authenticity.

[40:06] Eila Mell: That’s a great perspective. What’s next for you after this?

[40:31] Antwayn Hopper: I’m excited about the future! I have some projects in the works that I can’t wait to share, and I’m always looking for ways to challenge myself as an artist.