Long Game Conversations: Justin Stanek: The Reality of Being a Working Actor

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_

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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