Silvan is joined by actor and musician Justin Stanek for a conversation about acting, music, Next Door and the reality of pursuing a creative career in Los Angeles.
Justin takes us back to where it all began, from community theatre and an unexpected first commercial to packing up his life and moving across the country to LA. He opens up about the less glamorous side of being a working actor: endless auditions, day jobs, rejection, last-minute bookings and learning to confidently say, “I’m an actor.”
Of course, we have to talked about River, his character from the Next Door. Justin shares the story of almost playing a completely different character in Next Door, his chemistry read with Nick, developing River with director Caroline Plyler, and why those lingering looks at Kit were absolutely intentional. We also get into the rapidly growing world of vertical filmmaking, what Justin thinks the format gets right, and wrong, and why he believes verticals aren't going anywhere.
We discuss Justin's love for music. We dive into musical theatre, songwriting, finding confidence in his own voice, his love of beautifully sad music, his dream of releasing original material and the musician he'd love to play in a biopic. Plus: Ben Platt, Rachel Zegler, The Last Five Years, Waitress, Phoebe Bridgers, a potentially lost Tori Kelly Vine and our campaign to get Caroline to make a boy-band movie.
This was such a fun conversation about taking chances, finding your people and figuring out what kind of artist, and person, you want to be.
The next episode of the Long Game podcast will be released on Sunday 27th September 2026.
Find Justin:
Instagram: justin_stanek
TikTok: _jutty_
Long Game Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LongGamePodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Join our Long Game Podcast Book Club on Fable to read along with us each week.: https://fable.co/club/long-game-pod-book-club-with-long-game-pod-349252537194?invite=fc285de0-86ea-45c4-ab3f-8dcc82b8cad8&referralID=4tVUzsxlCC
Find us on instagram: longgame.heatedrivalry.pod
Write to us: longgamepod2481@gmail.com
Find Declan:
Instagram: declan712
Tiktok: declanmccallion1
Find Silvan:
Instagram: Silvates
Tiktok: silvates1
Listen to the Podcast on:
Apple podcast:
Spotify podcast:
Amazon podcast:
Watch it on youtube: https://youtu.be/g0NBXcO3wdY
Listen to Silvan’s ‘Silvates’ podcast on mental health and wellbeing here:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/silvates/id1531620495
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2xMX59teVzpf6M86Cv7WG9?si=016f5477aed14697
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Justin Stanek
02:10 The Journey into Acting
05:03 Transitioning to LA Life
08:02 Family Support and Relationships
11:04 The Reality of Being an Actor
14:15 Auditioning and Resilience
17:04 Booking Roles and Project Selection
19:39 Behind the Scenes of Next Door
36:44 Exploring Vertical Filmmaking
40:28 Collaboration with Caroline and New Projects
44:23 Character Development in Next Door
53:11 The Impact of Vertical Filmmaking on the Industry
57:34 Navigating Social Media as an Actor
01:07:35 The Intersection of Music and Acting
01:10:46 Musical Theatre Memories
01:14:49 The Art of Songwriting
01:18:09 Musical Inspirations and Influences
01:24:33 Future Roles and Aspirations
01:30:23 Connecting with the Audience
