#31 — Staci Dickerson

Actor, writer, and sometimes singer Chris Gross knows to always be ready. He’s studied and practiced his craft from Los Angeles to New York, and has gathered stories, credits, and connections along the way. He tells how waiting tables led to getting a manager, which led to booking the Showtime series Roadies, and why its creator Cameron Crowe should have given him a writing credit. In addition to self tapes, A.I., and faking it until you make it, we talk about how Chris found his creative communities, football ambitions, how he found love IRL on the set of Law & Order and much more.https://www.instagram.com/chrisgross_/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

In addition to having a long-standing presence on QVC, actress and model Staci Dickerson has amassed many credits on the runway and in print, commercials, television, and film. In our conversation she dishes on working on Song Sung Blue with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, as well as Law & Order, and her origins of getting started as a model with no experience. We also touch on the blessing and curse of typecasting, healthy agency relationships, having large roles in independent films, the reality of working at QVC, how to get your butterflies to fly in formation, and much more.www.stacidickerson.comhttps://www.instagram.com/stacidickerson/https://www.youtube.com/@stacid717/videoshttps://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Filmmaker Christian Jude Grillo’s latest project is the sci-fi/horror feature Intruder — a movie in which the First Refusal Podcast host Paul Monte is happy to be in. In this conversation that independent filmmakers and cinephiles will enjoy, we cover many aspects of moviemaking: budget, rehearsals, distribution, gear, and in Intruder’s case, lots, and lots, and lots of blood. Christian touches on his inspirations of owning a recording studio, French cinema, and The Toxic Avenger, his “odd approach” to writing, and how to turn fan conventions into grass-roots research for your project. He also tells a remarkable story of how he asked Doug Bradley (Hellraiser) and Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) to appear in his movie Deer Crossing while attending a Monster Mania convention.Intruder is available October 24 2025 through transactional video-on-demand and advertising video-on-demand (Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum, COX, Fandango, Tubi, Plex and more).Facebook & IG: @intruder_filmshttps://www.instagram.com/intruder_films/https://www.instagram.com/christian_jude_grillo/https://www.youtube.com/@ChristianJudeGrillohttps://www.youtube.com/@MrPotenthttps://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Baltimore-based actress, model and host Amy Gamper does what it takes to elevate her image. After a rainout in the northeast canceled a photoshoot, she decided to go to Florida, hop in a sprinter van with a photographer and makeup artist, and in one day capture multiple looks in multiple locations in a lifestyle shoot that refreshed and expanded her branding. It’s an example of the lengths one can go to market themselves. We touch on many of Amy’s experiences in commercials, movies, and her moderating and hosting financial analysts for Stansberry Research. We discuss favorite gigs, Los Angeles headshots, adventures in working with kids and animals, how Covid caused increased competition, how to take control in the audition room, self-tape setups, the Lifetime Movie Network experience, the temperature of the Baltimore market, local hire economics, why Skittles at craft services are a no-no, and much more.https://www.instagram.com/amy_gamper/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Actor and model Albert Davis found his funny bone during the pandemic, and has been killing on stages as a stand-up comedian ever since. He has embraced the style of building tension with his audience, only to twist and release a premise with humor. In this informative and occasionally raunchy conversation, we discuss first gigs, working with your real family, the high of getting laughs and the horror of bombing, the parallels of comedy with golf and jujitsu, the anatomy of writing and performing jokes, comedy conduciveness, the reality of open mics, the gift of ADHD, earning the pass to be 💩, the benefits of “dream juice,” and much more. https://www.instagram.com/albertdaviscomedy/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Widely regarded as Florida’s premier casting director, and host of the Casting Confidential Podcast, Rose Rosen is known for going above and beyond to find the right talent for the job. She regales with adventures that may or may not include hanging in bars after hours, as well as her insightful reasons for why she doesn’t miss being in the room for traditional casting. We discuss the relentless pace of industry change, the importance of special skills, working as a local hire when you’re not local, the state of the industry in Florida, the global competition of incentives, the chasm between influencers and actors, why less is more, and of course, AI. Paul reveals one of his worst commercial shoot experiences, Rose reminisces on working with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp on Edward Scissorhands, and much more. https://www.instagram.com/castingconfidential/https://www.castingconfidential.com/https://castingbyroserosen.com/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Jason Loftus is an award-winning casting director and partner of Heery-Loftus Casting, one of the top casting companies on the east coast. In this wide-ranging conversation, he offers insights that actors need to hear. From self-tape dynamics to globe-trotting local hires, and the ominous rise of AI, Jason provides no-nonsense and eye-opening guidance on the state of the industry. We talk about whether he misses being an actor, how directors get annoyed by slates, his appreciation for actor Walton Goggins and embracing uniqueness, being personable, whether look outshines talent, how casting decisions are made, stacking auditions, how he navigates actors with multiple agents, industry outsourcing, and his wildest audition story. Paul tells how Jason cast him in a Mountain Dew commercial, how two phone calls from Jason’s office changed his life, and much more.https://www.instagram.com/heery_loftuscasting/https://www.facebook.com/heeryloftuscasting/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Aaron Marcus is an exemplification of success for regional actors. He’s acted over 40 years, appearing in around 1,300 projects, most recently with Tom Hanks in the movie A Man Called Otto. What’s more impressive than the length of Aaron’s resume is the wealth of knowledge he offers fellow actors as the founder of The Actor Career Center (howtoactandmodel.com). We talk about how he sustained his career regionally and by not moving to New York, why he doesn’t believe in competition, traveling to be a local hire, self-tape essentials, and how it took 15 auditions for Aaron to book Netflix’s House of Cards. He takes us into how he fell from a train platform in A Man Called Otto, explains how to start in the industry from scratch, how it’s just business and not personal, and much more. Enjoy and learn from this conversation with a true acting and modeling veteran.The Actor Career Center: howtoactandmodel.comAaron’s Book: https://howtoactandmodel.com/product/how-to-become-a-successful-model-and-actor/Aaron’s Mentoring Program: howtoactandmodel.com/mentoringprogramAaron’s Acting & Modeling Quick Tips: youtube.com/c/AaronMarcusActingAndModelingQuickTipshttps://www.facebook.com/HowToModel/https://x.com/aaronrmarcushttps://www.instagram.com/aaronrmarcus/IMDB: http://www.imdb.me/aaronmarcushttps://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/https://www.instagram.com/first_refusal_podcast/paulmontejr.com

Actor and model Kevin Towell knows his lane — it’s comedy, preferably full of energy and antics. He also knows it’s okay to start out not knowing what you’re doing, but to just put yourself out there. Kevin talks about his early days in showbiz, and how he turned his experiences working with children and mugging for his friend’s camera into acting and modeling gigs, including a role on a popular PBS kids show. We discuss how he was able to perform without acting, the ethics of ads, the classroom of background work, embracing the role of comedic relief, his connection to the new Superman, snazzy suits, timelines, the process of mental health, and much more.https://www.instagram.com/kevin_towell_/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/paulmontejr.com

Allyson Malandra is an all-encompassing creative. As an actor, teacher, and business-owner, she combines performing, voice coaching, and running a social media management company into creative and professional fulfillment. Ally takes us into the tapestry of her life. She talks about her training days that took her from England to Iowa, her notable theater and film roles, including Dry Land at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, being the star of a show (or commercial), and starting a marketing company. As a teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, she goes in-depth on the holistic nature of our voice and how to serves as a barometer for our bodies and being. We also touch on motherhood and creativity, working with Lance Henriksen, ChatGPT’s ominous forecast for screen actor viability, and more. http://www.allysonjeanmalandra.com/https://www.fitzmauriceinstitute.org/teacher-gallery15/malandra-allysonhttps://www.instagram.com/allyjean3/https://www.instagram.com/pmontejr/paulmontejr.com