#92 - Reviewing Our IMDb Pages - Smosh Mouth

Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Smosh Mouth Episode #92 - Reviewing Our IMDb Pages

Release Date: May 5, 2025
Hosts: Shayne Topp, Amanda Leehancanto
Guest: Angela Giratana

Introduction: Announcements and Setting the Stage

The episode kicks off with Amanda excitedly announcing her pregnancy, which had been previously shared on their favorite subreddits. Shayne and Angela express their enthusiasm, setting a personal and engaging tone for the discussion.

Notable Quote:
Amanda Leehancanto [00:00]: “So we've already announced that I'm pregnant on the last episode.”

Diving into IMDb: Understanding the Platform

Shayne introduces the primary topic: reviewing their IMDb pages. The hosts discuss IMDb as a comprehensive database of acting credits, likening it to LinkedIn for actors but emphasizing that users have limited control over the information listed.

Notable Quotes:
Shayne Topp [00:40]: “Today we are diving into our IMDb's, which, if you're not familiar with IMDb, it's just a list of all of our acting credits.”
Angela Giratana [01:05]: “It's kind of like Wikipedia where people go and they can do stuff.”

IMDb Inaccuracies and Personal Reflections

The conversation shifts to the inaccuracies found on their IMDb pages. Shayne humorously points out incorrect details like his height, leading to a playful debate about their real measurements. Amanda highlights missing early credits, revealing how IMDb might not capture all aspects of their acting journeys.

Notable Quotes:
Shayne Topp [06:00]: “They wrote it in all 3 meters.”
Amanda Leehancanto [05:34]: “There you go.”

The Evolution of the Acting Industry

Angela shares insights on how the acting industry has transformed with the advent of social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. The hosts reflect on the shift from traditional auditioning to creating and sharing content online, making acting more accessible but also more saturated.

Notable Quotes:
Angela Giratana [03:17]: “It's kind of like that. Actors have a website... Now it's kind of like your socials, your social media kind of has replaced it.”
Shayne Topp [03:47]: “Now, like, kids are just making their own content and like making their own sketches and short films. Like, you can just...”

Early Acting Careers: First Jobs and Audition Experiences

The hosts delve into their first acting roles, sharing anecdotes about their initial projects and the challenges they faced. Amanda recounts her experiences with student films and the pressures of early acting opportunities, while Shayne discusses his swift entry into acting in Arizona and subsequent move to Los Angeles.

Notable Quotes:
Amanda Leehancanto [10:15]: “What was everyone's first job they ever did? Like, first official project, like, is vulnerable.”
Shayne Topp [24:02]: “Back in Arizona. I got an agent because I did Arizona.”
Angela Giratana [26:03]: “I was like a... I was like a....”

Navigating Auditions: Successes and Embarrassments

The discussion turns to their audition experiences, highlighting both successful bookings and memorable flops. They share stories about unconventional auditions, such as Shayne’s humorous approach to a Tostitos commercial and Amanda’s struggling performance for a role in "Barry." These anecdotes underscore the unpredictable nature of auditions and the importance of resilience.

Notable Quotes:
Shayne Topp [56:13]: “I had a commercial audition for Subway and I... Stuffed my mouth with tortillas.”
Amanda Leehancanto [48:35]: “It was... So bad, I couldn't. I had memorized lines so well that I. I wasn't there.”

48-Hour Film Festivals: Creative Collaborations During the Pandemic

Angela reminisces about participating in 48-hour film festivals with friends during the pandemic, creating short films under tight deadlines. She highlights projects like "Chloe Mary Lydia" and "The Haunting of Dolly Parton," illustrating the creative camaraderie and the challenges of rapid filmmaking.

Notable Quotes:
Angela Giratana [35:25]: “We were like, we have to. But me and all my friends wanted to write something... It was our addiction.”
Amanda Leehancanto [36:07]: “And then we got to shoot it because just the camera girl and our sound guy just went to everyone's house.”

Digital Footprint vs. Traditional Resumes

The hosts debate the relevance of traditional acting resumes in the digital age. They argue that social media profiles and online content have taken precedence over printed resumes and headshots, reflecting the industry's shift towards digital presence.

Notable Quotes:
Amanda Leehancanto [04:10]: “Resumes aren't really a big thing. Like there are so many things that aren't big anymore...”
Angela Giratana [06:48]: “It's worth your time to maintain and update your IMDb and other profiles.”

Embarrassing Moments and Embracing Vulnerability

Shayne, Amanda, and Angela discuss their most embarrassing moments in acting, emphasizing how these experiences have shaped their confidence and authenticity. They laugh over past auditions and mishaps, reinforcing the idea that embracing imperfections is essential in the creative journey.

Notable Quotes:
Shayne Topp [43:15]: “I've done everything to embarrass myself.”
Angela Giratana [43:24]: “There is a mountain of those.”

Conclusion: Embracing the Journey and Future Reflections

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on their acting journeys, acknowledging both the highs and lows. They express pride in their growth and the importance of continual learning and adaptation in the ever-evolving entertainment landscape.

Notable Quotes:
Amanda Leehancanto [44:41]: “I will say I'm going back on these credits, and I'm pretty proud of myself.”
Shayne Topp [69:35]: “Or don't leave it buried.”

Final Thoughts

Episode #92 of Smosh Mouth offers an insightful and humorous exploration of the hosts' IMDb pages, revealing the complexities of maintaining an accurate digital persona in the acting industry. Through personal stories and candid reflections, Shayne, Amanda, and Angela provide listeners with a relatable look into the trials and triumphs of their creative careers.

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Transcript717 lines

[00:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
Is this after my favorite subreddits? So we've already announced that I'm pregnant on the last episode.
[00:06]
Shane Topp
Woo.
[00:07]
Angela Giratana
So it's on the subreddits. You announce it.
[00:08]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[00:09]
Angela Giratana
So you say I'm pregnant and then you read Long island subreddits.
[00:14]
Shane Topp
Hi, welcome to Smosh Mouth. I'm Shane.
[00:16]
Amanda Leehancanto
Hi, I'm Amanda. And we have a very special guest with us today, Angela Girattani. Tana Giritane.
[00:23]
Angela Giratana
You know my last name?
[00:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
Giratana. Giratana Ghirardelli.
[00:27]
Angela Giratana
Ghirardelli.
[00:28]
Amanda Leehancanto
No. How do you say it?
[00:30]
Angela Giratana
Guys, I'm nervous for this.
[00:33]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[00:35]
Angela Giratana
We've done a lot of things on Smosh that's vulnerable. This.
[00:38]
Shane Topp
This is one of them.
[00:39]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[00:40]
Shane Topp
Today we are diving into our IMDb's, which, if you're not familiar with IMDb, it's just a list of all of our. Our acting credits.
[00:48]
Angela Giratana
A little like LinkedIn, but for actors in a sense that anything you've ever touched, they could put on there.
[00:55]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[00:56]
Angela Giratana
And list it in an official way.
[00:57]
Amanda Leehancanto
And you, you, you might not have any say of what's put on there. That's what's. You might not have any say of what's written on there too.
[01:06]
Shane Topp
That's true. It's. It's kind of like Wikipedia where people go and they can do stuff.
[01:10]
Amanda Leehancanto
They can do stuff.
[01:10]
Shane Topp
So there might be stuff that's inaccurate. We'll correct it here. Are you okay? You're looking around a lot.
[01:15]
Angela Giratana
I haven't been.
[01:16]
Amanda Leehancanto
You looking at the set?
[01:18]
Angela Giratana
It's like a new set.
[01:20]
Amanda Leehancanto
Have you not been on the new set?
[01:22]
Angela Giratana
This is crazy. Shane.
[01:24]
Shane Topp
It's been a long time since you've been on.
[01:25]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, it's been a hot second. This is crazy. Harambe, we look at that IMDb, the. That is crazy.
[01:34]
Amanda Leehancanto
What's weird is. Yeah. Every time behind Shane, there is an rip grave in the pool.
[01:40]
Shane Topp
Never forget.
[01:42]
Amanda Leehancanto
Literally never forget. I can't believe it's been that long.
[01:45]
Shane Topp
Yeah. Wow.
[01:46]
Angela Giratana
Well, welcome back, but thank you so much. Yeah. Anyway, I wasn't trying to change, but you're really nervous. Yeah.
[01:50]
Shane Topp
Looking. Attracting credits.
[01:51]
Angela Giratana
I think this is, is like, I don't know, for like people who aren't in this industry, I'd say that, like, early on you kind of want to say yes to just anything and everything always. And that's like how you get your foot in the door. And so having like a roster of every single thing you've ever done sometimes is pretty. It's, it's. And during the pandemic, me and my friends made some wild, weird stuff just to just feel something. And then you put it on IMDb. My friends would put it on IMDb. So you have like a lot of credits.
[02:23]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[02:23]
Angela Giratana
But then at some point it's just like, it's like an underwear drawer where it's like, it's accumulating some like, weird shit.
[02:29]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's like, remember when you would do acting class and they're like, guys get in student films to make your real. And you're like, absolutely a terrible.
[02:37]
Angela Giratana
And then people find it and you're like, I don't know, man. I don't know, man.
[02:42]
Amanda Leehancanto
I know.
[02:43]
Shane Topp
No, but that's, that's kind of how it goes. I mean, when you start, it's so hard to find any work that when work comes your way, you're like, yeah, you gotta do it because you also.
[02:53]
Amanda Leehancanto
Want to get life.
[02:54]
Shane Topp
You also want to practice.
[02:55]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[02:56]
Shane Topp
You know, like you don't. It's like, that's what makes it such a weird job is it's a job where like, you don't get to do your job when you want.
[03:02]
Angela Giratana
You need permission to do it. Like, like as an artist you have to be granted. Like how a guitarist could just pick up a guitar and play guitar. Like, like you can't, you can't. I mean, you can pick up a monologue and, and do it, but like, you need to be given the like, permission.
[03:17]
Shane Topp
What? Also we're kind of of the last era, I think of actors before, like social media is what it is now, where. Yeah, you can, you can now make content online so easily. Right. Like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram. You can be making sketches, you can be making shorts and just putting them out there. When I first started acting, there was no means of putting anything out there. You had to hope that someone was making something and you got on board with it 100%. Whereas nowadays, yeah, like we're making stuff all the time. I could go home and make a short film in my home tonight if I want.
[03:48]
Angela Giratana
I mean, I think actors are still kind of doing it, but we're kind of phasing out of it. Where like actors have a website where it lists all their credits and stuff and then their IMDb. And now it's kind of like your.
[03:57]
Shane Topp
Socials, your social media kind of has.
[03:59]
Amanda Leehancanto
Replaced it and resumes aren't really a big thing. Like there are so many things that aren't big anymore, like postcards, bringing your headshot and resume staples in the back. That doesn't really exist anymore.
[04:11]
Angela Giratana
I Went in for a musical, I want to say, like a year and a half ago, and someone was like, to print your headshot resume. And I was like, are we in the 50s?
[04:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah. Theater, definitely. With like, theater. I feel like they still do that.
[04:23]
Angela Giratana
Yeah. Oh, 100%. You have to have it printed out.
[04:26]
Shane Topp
Funny.
[04:26]
Angela Giratana
And then your resume is just like, things you list. It's just so funny because our digital footprint now is a bigger. Even if you're not an online person, I think that's a bigger online indication of what you do.
[04:37]
Amanda Leehancanto
And so now they have these, like, sites where agents and all that and casting directors go to these sites and you already have everything there. You have like, your measurements, your face clips, resume. That's still a thing.
[04:49]
Angela Giratana
There's also a bio that I don't know who cultivates the bio, but we'll get into it because they're funny.
[04:55]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[04:56]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, for IMDb.
[04:57]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[04:58]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, God.
[04:59]
Shane Topp
It's got all of our facts and everything.
[05:00]
Angela Giratana
It's kind of like we're going through, like, old lockers that we haven't opened. Like, you know what I mean? They're just like, old fashioned and they're.
[05:06]
Shane Topp
I guess first what we should do is.
[05:07]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, yeah, I did not write this.
[05:09]
Shane Topp
We should go through and make sure that all the information is correct.
[05:16]
Amanda Leehancanto
Should we?
[05:17]
Shane Topp
My bio. Shane Topp was born on 14th September 1991 in Florida, USA. He is an actor and writer known for Dear Lemon Lima, the Big. The Big what if? Which was the series we did back in 2016 on Smosh and Every blank ever.
[05:32]
Amanda Leehancanto
Every blank ever. Yeah, I know that series.
[05:35]
Angela Giratana
I know that series. Wow. That. So. So you're at a party, right? And you're like, oh, what's your name? And you're like, I know that guy. What's that guy from Every domino, you go, oh, he's from Lemon Lima.
[05:44]
Shane Topp
All right, guys. Dude, someone. Someone did something diabolical.
[05:51]
Angela Giratana
Did they go into your bio?
[05:53]
Shane Topp
Born September 14, 1991. Height five two and a half.
[06:01]
Amanda Leehancanto
That's not true.
[06:03]
Shane Topp
Someone said that I am five foot two and a half.
[06:07]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[06:08]
Angela Giratana
Hey, bud, that's. There's plenty of.
[06:10]
Shane Topp
There's nothing wrong with that.
[06:11]
Amanda Leehancanto
4:11. You're right there.
[06:12]
Shane Topp
There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not true. I don't like that. That misinformation is out there.
[06:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
You don't tell lies here. So how tall are you?
[06:21]
Shane Topp
I'm not five, two and a half.
[06:22]
Amanda Leehancanto
Can I guess how tall you are? Ooh, maybe I shouldn't.
[06:25]
Shane Topp
You know, how tall I am?
[06:27]
Amanda Leehancanto
Do I? Yeah. 5, 8, 5, 9.
[06:29]
Shane Topp
I. I think I'm somewhere between 5, 7 and 5, 8.
[06:32]
Angela Giratana
I was gonna say 5, 8.
[06:32]
Amanda Leehancanto
5, 8. I didn't know exactly how tall you were.
[06:34]
Angela Giratana
How tall are you?
[06:35]
Amanda Leehancanto
Six feet. And they got that right. Let me tell you that they wrote 6ft 1.3.
[06:42]
Shane Topp
They wrote it in all 3 meters.
[06:43]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[06:44]
Shane Topp
6Ft.
[06:45]
Amanda Leehancanto
Huge. Big.
[06:47]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[06:48]
Shane Topp
It says next to height.
[06:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
Amanda, Cabin Lee Hand Canto. Huge.
[06:52]
Angela Giratana
Saying I'm represented by. I'm a huge. Okay, wow. Let me see my bio.
[06:59]
Amanda Leehancanto
Read your bio. Because mine only says mini bio. Is there a larger bio that I'm supposed to be aware of?
[07:05]
Shane Topp
I also have trivia.
[07:07]
Angela Giratana
This website is crazy.
[07:10]
Amanda Leehancanto
Trivia. I want trivia. That's the thing about IMDb, guys, is you don't add anything to it. It gets added for you. I want trivia. Okay, now I'm jealous.
[07:22]
Shane Topp
Sorry.
[07:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
I'll read my mini bio. Amanda leehancanto is known for Reopening, which is a full improvised movie that I did.
[07:29]
Angela Giratana
Whoa.
[07:30]
Amanda Leehancanto
Smosh. Yeah, it was really fun.
[07:32]
Angela Giratana
That's cool.
[07:33]
Amanda Leehancanto
I was at the Groundlings and I played a stage director.
[07:36]
Shane Topp
Okay.
[07:37]
Amanda Leehancanto
And she was a hoot and. And Bigfoot Famous, which is a movie that Steph did.
[07:44]
Angela Giratana
Okay.
[07:45]
Amanda Leehancanto
She has been married to Godze Petapechka since May 4, 2023.
[07:50]
Angela Giratana
Is that correct, the date?
[07:51]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah, that is correct.
[07:53]
Shane Topp
There you go.
[07:53]
Amanda Leehancanto
That's a little wild. And then my only family is my spouse. Thank God.
[07:59]
Shane Topp
Family.
[07:59]
Angela Giratana
Oh, thank God. Keep it clean like that.
[08:01]
Amanda Leehancanto
Keep it clean.
[08:02]
Angela Giratana
Angela giorton was born October 1, 1993, in Santa Clara. That's not true.
[08:09]
Amanda Leehancanto
Okay, that's good.
[08:10]
Angela Giratana
She is known for Minx, ABC discovers, and Maggie. We'll get into all.
[08:14]
Amanda Leehancanto
Look at that, Maggie.
[08:16]
Angela Giratana
And we're off to the fucking race.
[08:18]
Shane Topp
And we're off to the races.
[08:19]
Angela Giratana
And then you go. And you scroll lower and it goes. Other. Other people that have clicked on her. And then you see, like, Courtney. You see. This website is weird, man. It's like a weird Google.
[08:30]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's not really organized. Super well, if I could be completely.
[08:33]
Angela Giratana
Honest, it's like, covered in ads these days.
[08:35]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[08:36]
Amanda Leehancanto
This episode is brought to you by Aura Frames. Shane, it's almost Mother's Day. Are you going to get me a gift now that I'm going to be a mother?
[08:44]
Shane Topp
You know what? Maybe I will. And you know what the perfect gift for any mom is? Is an aura frame, which was named the best digital photo frame by Wirecutter. And it was in 495 gift guides last year, so I think any mom will love this.
[08:57]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wow.
[08:58]
Shane Topp
I got my mom one a couple years ago and she's a big fan. It can have so many photos in it. We've got all the photos of the pets around our office in it.
[09:06]
Amanda Leehancanto
Aw.
[09:07]
Shane Topp
Yeah. And you can upload photos from your phone at any time. It also can play video up to 30 seconds.
[09:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, my gosh. And look, it's the easy touch on the top that you just get to move the photos.
[09:17]
Shane Topp
Yeah. This is the Carver matte frame. They're one of their classics.
[09:20]
Amanda Leehancanto
Well, look what I have. I have the Walden frame. It's a lot bigger. It's so cool. You can hang it up on the wall and you can do portrait mode or landscape. Look at that. Ooh, and there's a big speaker in the back. So, like you said, 30 second videos. So you can play videos on here, you can do reactions on here, and you don't have to wrap it. They put it in a premium gift box with no price tag.
[09:45]
Shane Topp
Sounds like it.
[09:45]
Amanda Leehancanto
Incredible.
[09:46]
Shane Topp
Sounds like a home run of a gift, if I'm being honest.
[09:48]
Amanda Leehancanto
Can't wait for it.
[09:49]
Shane Topp
Okay. Keep your eyes out.
[09:51]
Amanda Leehancanto
Okay.
[09:52]
Shane Topp
Aura has a great deal for Mother's Day. For a limited time, listeners can save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off, plus free shipping on their best selling Carver mat frame. That's a U R A frames.com promo code. Smoshmouth. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. All right, back to the show.
[10:15]
Amanda Leehancanto
Let's go.
[10:15]
Shane Topp
Beginning at the beginning.
[10:17]
Angela Giratana
Let's go all the way to the beginning.
[10:18]
Shane Topp
What was everyone's first job they ever did? Like, first official project, like, is vulnerable.
[10:26]
Amanda Leehancanto
But. But here's the thing. I know this isn't my first job.
[10:29]
Shane Topp
What do you mean?
[10:30]
Amanda Leehancanto
Like, I've.
[10:31]
Angela Giratana
It's like, what's.
[10:31]
Shane Topp
Oh, that's okay. If it's not on there, then there's. I noticed that something that I did isn't on here, and I'm kind of shocked.
[10:38]
Amanda Leehancanto
Same. Like, there's. There was stuff that I did that was before this, but I guess mine was a. It was a TV miniseries. And I know fans know about it because they've been commenting about it recently. 2016. I was just in this guy's series, super sweet guy. It's called Lonely Together.
[10:54]
Shane Topp
Okay.
[10:55]
Amanda Leehancanto
And it was. It was really fun. But I remember it being like a very big. It's a very big acting thing. Like, it was like his face, my face. His face. My face.
[11:06]
Shane Topp
Wow.
[11:07]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[11:07]
Angela Giratana
And it was a short or a digit. Like a. I think it was a short.
[11:11]
Amanda Leehancanto
I haven't re. Watched it in forever. I haven't watched a lot of stuff, but I remember. I remember really enjoying it.
[11:17]
Shane Topp
How long after you had moved out here did you get that?
[11:20]
Amanda Leehancanto
I think that was, like, three years, because I was doing student films and shorts. Like, right when I got out here, I did that. And then I met Steph, and we did vine, like, a year and a half in Cool to being here. And that's what I was doing a lot. I was doing a lot of vine and a lot of Instagram videos and then YouTube stuff. And then from that, that's where this guy found me.
[11:45]
Shane Topp
That's cool.
[11:45]
Amanda Leehancanto
And then we did Lonely together.
[11:47]
Shane Topp
What was your first. What was your first student film or short film? Like, how soon, like, you moved out here? And, like, how soon did you do a project, you know, on it?
[11:56]
Amanda Leehancanto
No, I talked about this one.
[11:58]
Shane Topp
Okay.
[12:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
I did a student film, and it was literally. It was. It was the scene from Aaron Brockovich, right?
[12:07]
Angela Giratana
Oh, my God.
[12:07]
Shane Topp
Yes.
[12:08]
Angela Giratana
Oh, my God.
[12:08]
Amanda Leehancanto
And so I have to remember, someone found the footage, and I cannot bring myself to watch it because it was such a weird experience for me.
[12:17]
Angela Giratana
Wait, is it the one where she's doing the monologue and she's like.
[12:20]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's the one where she's like, their boobs. Their boobs, Ed. Or whatever, and she's that one going around. I think she might be doing the monologue. I can't remember which scene.
[12:31]
Angela Giratana
We have to do Aaron Brockovich sometime.
[12:33]
Amanda Leehancanto
I love Aaron.
[12:34]
Angela Giratana
It's my favorite.
[12:35]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's so good. But here's the thing. And I learned this the hard way. The student, I was like, he wasn't giving me enough. Enough direction. And I had already been working with Steph forever, and we were always directing each other, so I, like, kind of got in trouble because I'm like, an actor. And I came on the student film, and it's in the college, and they have, like, a whole setup, and there was an older professor, like, over watching the whole thing. And this guy is, like, really, really shy, really awkward. He's like, okay. And I was like, do you want me to sit over here? Because I can just sit over here, and I'll probably, like, play with the files, and I'll probably, like, grab the files, and I could like. I'll be a little bit rude here. And the professor was this older guy who was like, super la. He was like, hey, can I talk to you for a second.
[13:23]
Angela Giratana
No.
[13:23]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah. No. Yeah. And I was. I was brand new to la and I was like, yeah, sure, what's up? Like, thinking we were going to collab. And he was like, don't give the director notes ever. This is not your project. And I remember being like. And I was like, that's.
[13:43]
Shane Topp
And then you turned into Aaron Brockovich.
[13:45]
Angela Giratana
And I literally went, what that Boobs Ed.
[13:48]
Amanda Leehancanto
I became Aaron Brockovich.
[13:51]
Angela Giratana
That's wild.
[13:52]
Amanda Leehancanto
But I remember that was like my first. Like. No. And. And I will say it definitely. I definitely have. Were on. Was on set like, yes, ma'am, for like, a few years. But it's hard. It's hard when you're making your own videos a bunch because you're constantly directing each other. You're like, oh, do this to this.
[14:12]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[14:12]
Amanda Leehancanto
You're like, oh, I know exactly your vision. Here, let me work on this. But then it was just like, But I get it. He's the professor.
[14:19]
Angela Giratana
It's truly like one of those things where you only. The more you're on set, the more you understand the line of the. The chain of command and stuff. And if you aren't, you can. Like, I used to do early. I used to, like, with my best friend. She was a production designer. And I think I've talked about this. I used to, like, be her second and assist her a lot. And it was so obvious to me, the people who hadn't been like. And we would just do, like, short films a lot. Most of the time.
[14:41]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[14:41]
Angela Giratana
And. And you would see, like, people who don't know kind of what to do. Yeah. And I was at. As well. And the only way to do it is still keep going and showing.
[14:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
You have to keep doing it.
[14:50]
Angela Giratana
But it was like an actor would ask me, like, where's. Like, can I. Where can I get a water? Or like. And I was like, oh, that's not my department. You know what I mean? And being like, oh, you learn, like kind of each department who talks to who.
[15:02]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[15:02]
Angela Giratana
But it's. When you're young, you're like, I don't know. Especially when you're doing short films. Most of the time it's like.
[15:07]
Amanda Leehancanto
But it was like, so not the right thing for me to do. And did I learn that lesson early? And it was like, oh, yeah, of course. Yeah. A fucking actor's like, oh, yeah, I'll just do this. And you just. And of course, like the director. That's the thing is you can only learn that shit by doing it. By doing it and being on set and having those weird moments.
[15:27]
Shane Topp
It's why I feel like I see this pattern where when people come out and they become, like, overnight successes very quickly, they're often the ones who are, like, I hear, are awful to work with. Right. Cause they come out here and they don't learn anything. Whereas, like, the Steve Carells of the world, you only hear that they're the nicest. But he was acting for, like 20 years or so before he even started working a lot.
[15:50]
Angela Giratana
Or it's like, I don't know. Some of my favorite are all started out as PAs.
[15:56]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[15:56]
Angela Giratana
And I used to pa. Because I was just obsessed with, like, being around it and seeing it.
[16:02]
Amanda Leehancanto
That's smart, Angela.
[16:03]
Angela Giratana
No, but it's hard. And you get paid nothing.
[16:06]
Amanda Leehancanto
But you see, I think it's so smart as an actor to, like, see everything that's going on. And you're not an actor, you're just on set. Because on set is a totally different vibe.
[16:16]
Angela Giratana
Especially like, when you go to school for theater. Like, I was like, I had no idea what a DP does when I was like, all I was working on was, like, my freaking body awareness. You know what I mean?
[16:25]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's, like, so different being in your body and monologues. Yeah, yeah.
[16:29]
Shane Topp
No, it's so true. And, like, when you start acting, you start. You think about it like it's gonna be on stage, and you. You watch movies and you're like, oh, wow, I could do this. But then you don't. You forget that, like, when you're on set, you're delivering your lines to a piece of tape on the side of a camera. You're not actually delivering your lines to another person.
[16:47]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[16:47]
Shane Topp
And you're just kind of taking, like, pieces of a line and saying it. You're not getting to, like, perform. You're kind of just doing these weird.
[16:54]
Amanda Leehancanto
Your direction is hitting your mark in the exact part of the camera. Turn your body a little bit, wardrobe's at you, makeup's coming in. And then you deliver your line. Like, all right, moving on because.
[17:04]
Angela Giratana
But then here's my thing is because if we're going back to the beginning of our filmography here, there's indie filmmaking, which is so, so different, especially in the hands of young 20 year olds. And you are doing everything. Oh, yeah, you are. Like, I. I have so many stories, so many short films I've done where it's like, you're. You're using someone's house and they go, you can't use our trash bins. So you have everyone's crafty. And you have to put the trash in your car and then you gotta drive somewhere that says do not dump. And you gotta dump and you gotta run for your life because you have all this trash. Like, it's just like little things that people don't realize where you're like, oh, yeah. Like the amount of times I said I would run sound and I was like. And the only thing I had to do was listen to see. Yeah. I'm like. He was just like, oh, this is blah, blah, blah kit. And just make sure you don't hear anything. So you'd be like, I think I heard a plane.
[18:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
Which is crazy.
[18:01]
Angela Giratana
That again, you don't know if you're peeking. You don't know.
[18:04]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's huge.
[18:05]
Angela Giratana
And then I. And then we would just like all drop the cards to the one guy who knows how to do everything and be like, here you go.
[18:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
And they're like, thanks. And you're like, okay. And it's been 18 hours. Like a 30 minute break. And all the fucking crafty is bread.
[18:20]
Angela Giratana
The amount of times I did. I did production design and sound at the same time. And I would hold the moon, be like, I don't know, getting it.
[18:28]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yep.
[18:28]
Shane Topp
That's so funny. Yep.
[18:30]
Angela Giratana
And there's like, it's. There's just so many, like, hours of that.
[18:35]
Shane Topp
No, it's always a journey. Every single film is a trash fire at some point.
[18:40]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[18:41]
Shane Topp
Like, there's never an indie film that doesn't have like, smooth.
[18:44]
Amanda Leehancanto
Really?
[18:45]
Shane Topp
It's insane. Every time.
[18:48]
Angela Giratana
Yeah. And we're talking about, like, I think with indie films, it's like, sure, it's like, we're not talking about Marvel movies, but we're also talking about like, like student films. Like, people who are like, okay, I have a budget of a hundred dollars or I want to make this for fun. Or it is kind of. When I hear like, like young YouTubers and, and creators, it is the closest thing that I go, oh, I remember, like, when I would do everything with my friends. And that is kind of the medium. Yeah.
[19:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's also super satisfying to like, do everything, edit it all, and then put it together. And you're like, holy shit, we did this for like less than 100 bucks. But you work, but you do so much. And then when you finally, if you are lucky enough to get to a set and you're like, it takes a village.
[19:34]
Shane Topp
Oh my God.
[19:35]
Amanda Leehancanto
To run this one scene.
[19:37]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[19:37]
Amanda Leehancanto
And everyone has specific jobs and you're like, whoa. You're like, hey, I'VE held the boom before. What's up?
[19:44]
Angela Giratana
There's like nothing. Like when you do your first short or you do shorts and then you watch it in the edit and you go, what?
[19:51]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[19:52]
Angela Giratana
What is that? It's really hard.
[19:54]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[19:55]
Shane Topp
What was your first project like, that wasn't just like, oh, I'm making this with some friends. Like, do you remember, like the first one you. You went on?
[20:03]
Angela Giratana
I was like a. I was like a. When I was like 12, I was like an imovie girly and I was like doing a bunch of stuff on imovie, so it's hard to find, like, what's like my first thing.
[20:13]
Shane Topp
Like, what was the first thing you auditioned for and got.
[20:16]
Amanda Leehancanto
Whoa, that's a good one.
[20:17]
Shane Topp
That's kind of like, you know, because. Because, yeah, I think most actors do make a bunch of stuff.
[20:22]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[20:23]
Shane Topp
Friends.
[20:23]
Angela Giratana
But like, do you remember audition for and got.
[20:26]
Shane Topp
Is that not on your IMDb?
[20:28]
Amanda Leehancanto
Did you start auditioning?
[20:31]
Angela Giratana
I started. Oh yeah, my first. This is actually kind of lame. Okay, here are the first two. That's funny. I auditioned, I started auditioning. I did an audition before I went to ucla. My. I like, had met a casting director through my mom's church.
[20:50]
Amanda Leehancanto
Hell yeah.
[20:52]
Shane Topp
Awesome.
[20:52]
Angela Giratana
And I was like, hi. And I was about to go to ucla and she was just being sweet and being nice and she was just like. And I was just asking her questions and I emailed her and I asked her to get coffee. And this was like, before I was like, wow, really knew anything.
[21:04]
Amanda Leehancanto
You're like 14.
[21:04]
Angela Giratana
I'm like, truly like, like 17 being like, haha, wow, it's so nice to meet you. And I must have just been so annoying that she was like, I'll send her out for one thing. And that was my two broke girls hipster number two.
[21:16]
Amanda Leehancanto
I mean, I think she didn't just send you out for things. She was probably sending you out.
[21:20]
Angela Giratana
No, that was. It was one thing. And I had to. And I remember like printing out the sides and I had to say vagina. And I was like, oh my God, this is crazy. And then I got SAG eligible from that. But then that was like, it's never like that. Because then after that it was a dark, dark hole. My next credit, which was my next audition that I remember, and sometimes people find this and just drop it. Just drop it. It was a discovery ID show.
[21:52]
Shane Topp
Okay.
[21:52]
Angela Giratana
Where those shows that reenact crime.
[21:55]
Amanda Leehancanto
Whoa, Fun. Cool.
[21:58]
Angela Giratana
Not fun.
[21:59]
Amanda Leehancanto
What happened to you in this crime?
[22:01]
Angela Giratana
It was one of those, like, you're not speaking and it was like. And then Miranda goes and kills her boyfriend. So we weren't like rolling sound. You were just doing interactions, were you, Miranda? I was this like weird killer girl. Don't even want to bring that much attention to it because it's so bad and embarrassing. But that's like what we're doing. You know what I mean? It's like, it's like bad.
[22:21]
Amanda Leehancanto
And I remember watching reenactment.
[22:23]
Angela Giratana
Me too. And now I watch them and I'm like, I love all those actors. Those actors are hardworking. But that was my next one. I'm trying to think. Honestly. After that it started it was like short film mania, which was like. Which I could talk about forever because me and my friends got addicted to these things called these 24 Hour Film Festivals. 48.
[22:42]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah. Where you don't sleep and you fucking write it and then shoot it and then put it together. They're so insane.
[22:48]
Angela Giratana
That is like.
[22:48]
Amanda Leehancanto
You actually kind of make good shit in a weird way.
[22:51]
Angela Giratana
You really do. Wait, what's your first credit?
[22:54]
Shane Topp
My first one is back in Arizona. I got. I got an agent because I like did it Arizona.
[23:04]
Amanda Leehancanto
And it's not me, it's me.
[23:08]
Shane Topp
Guys, bingo has happened. Ha.
[23:10]
Amanda Leehancanto
Real quick. Sorry to interrupt. So Shane, why got you for bingo?
[23:16]
Shane Topp
Hell yeah.
[23:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
Arizona was the last one that I needed.
[23:21]
Shane Topp
I had to mention Arizona.
[23:22]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[23:23]
Shane Topp
And it happened.
[23:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
So what I have is looks to the side when something crazy gets brought up.
[23:28]
Shane Topp
Okay.
[23:30]
Amanda Leehancanto
Arizona mentioned. So funny, but not actually laughing. You do that a lot? Yeah.
[23:37]
Angela Giratana
To me, everyone.
[23:39]
Amanda Leehancanto
A sports reference. We've said it sometimes.
[23:42]
Shane Topp
Of course. Of course.
[23:43]
Amanda Leehancanto
And then covers your face with your hands. You do that?
[23:46]
Shane Topp
I do that.
[23:47]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, you do that a lot. Yeah.
[23:49]
Shane Topp
All right.
[23:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh my God.
[23:50]
Shane Topp
Bingo.
[23:51]
Amanda Leehancanto
I'm shocked. You got bingo before me.
[23:53]
Shane Topp
Bingo beat you.
[23:54]
Amanda Leehancanto
I'm shocked. Sure I've missed some just because like it's a lot to keep track of, but yeah.
[23:59]
Shane Topp
Hell yeah.
[24:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah, baby. So what does that mean?
[24:02]
Shane Topp
Nothing. It's funny.
[24:03]
Amanda Leehancanto
Guys. Shane got bingo before me and I feel like incredible right now.
[24:09]
Angela Giratana
I can't believe it. Shane got bingo, so now he has to shit in a cup.
[24:12]
Amanda Leehancanto
Shit in a cup.
[24:14]
Shane Topp
Shit in a cup.
[24:15]
Amanda Leehancanto
Now what does that mean?
[24:16]
Angela Giratana
It means you have to shit in.
[24:17]
Amanda Leehancanto
A cup because you mentioned Arizona.
[24:19]
Shane Topp
So. So back in Arizona. Uh huh. I. My acting career kind of like happened out of nowhere. And it like happened fast, right? Because I was not into acting whatsoever. And then in fifth grade we did a play. We did Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And I was the only one who auditioned for Willy Wonka, and it was just in a classroom, okay? And I loved it. I had so much fun. I've mentioned this before, how we wanted to do the play in the auditorium like a school would, and our principal said, there's no educational merit to theater. And so. Ew.
[24:51]
Angela Giratana
Give us his address.
[24:52]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah, we'll find him for you.
[24:54]
Shane Topp
So we did it in the classroom. Just in a tiny little classroom. We did the whole play.
[24:58]
Angela Giratana
What a fucking loser.
[24:59]
Amanda Leehancanto
You can't do a play in a classroom.
[25:01]
Shane Topp
We managed to play anywhere, Amanda, But I had so much fun doing it. I became obsessed with it. And then afterwards, people were like, oh, you should get him into theater. He seems to love this. And I was a very quiet kid. Like, I was not, like, some big, loud entertainer, but I got really into it, and they got me into a community theater play. And then I did one community theater play, and then it was like, oh, we'll get you into an acting class. And it happened to just so be an acting class that was very, like, audition and film focused and improv. So I just, like, by accident, they diverted me into, like, this type of stuff. And this is back in 2003, right? But they would have a camera in the class, and they were teaching you how to, like, act in front of a camera and how to do auditions and things, and also were doing improv. And they quickly were like, oh, you should get him an agent. You should have him go. And so, like, within, like, a year of doing that classroom play, I then was, like, getting an agent in auditioning. So I went from never acting in my life to that. And I went out. I went out for two. This has never happened since, right? This. This guy gave me the wrong impression of the industry I had.
[26:17]
Angela Giratana
First two things you booked.
[26:18]
Shane Topp
First two auditions I went out for, I booked. Now, granted, I mean, same.
[26:22]
Angela Giratana
But this is.
[26:22]
Shane Topp
This is part of why, like, I don't recommend it. I don't promote this. But, like, they say, like, the whole gist of why they motivate people to take their kids out to be actors is that it's a lot easier to book work when you're a kid because there's less competition and they don't expect you to have credits and a resume when you're 13 years old. And I was in Arizona, so it was even smaller market. So I booked the first two jobs that I got. One was a student film, which was crazy. We filmed, like, a bunch of scenes, and then, like, it was like, a year later, we filmed a couple more okay, of course. And I look back and at the time I was just like, you know what? This is acting. There's a scene where they have like a gun pointed at me and I'm like, yeah, there was really no like safety on that, on that set.
[27:11]
Angela Giratana
Like a kid.
[27:12]
Shane Topp
I was just a kid. And it was just like, all right, we have a scene where like this guy's gonna point a gun at you. And I'm just like, all right. Like dude. And I'm like, okay, yeah, probably should have thought about that a little more.
[27:22]
Amanda Leehancanto
Damn.
[27:23]
Shane Topp
I survived. But then the other movie I booked was this movie called Moon Pie which had several actors from, from MAD TV in it. And it was, and it was direct Mad tv. So it was directed by Drake de Ramis, who later directed the movie like crazy in 2011. It's. It was a movie with. It had Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence. Yeah. So like he. But this was his debut as a director and. But this movie had like Michael McDonald and Stephanie Weir from Mad TV like crazy.
[28:02]
Amanda Leehancanto
I remember that.
[28:03]
Shane Topp
But anyway, so I was a huge Mad TV fan and so then I booked this movie with Michael McDonald and I was just like, oh my God, I'm working on this.
[28:08]
Angela Giratana
Holy shit.
[28:09]
Shane Topp
Yeah, this is so cool. But I was like a small like weird bully character and I, I am in like a class, like an elementary school classroom and my character is just so much older than everyone else.
[28:22]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[28:23]
Shane Topp
That it's really, really stands out and is funny. But I had a lot of fun. I mean it was my first like movie working on. It was like a, you know, an independent low budget film but pretty friggin big for like a first project.
[28:38]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah. Michael McDonald was huge.
[28:40]
Shane Topp
Yeah. But what was funny, like my first experience with acting was. Okay, we're going to drive to set. And it was like a good like hour and a half from our house in Arizona. So we drive out there in the middle of summer, so it's blazing hot.
[28:52]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[28:53]
Shane Topp
We get there at 6:00am, 6:00am call time. And I'm there and like you know, just kind of random, crafty. We're just hanging out. There's a lot of kids on set. And I was there until I want to say like 6pm and I never got used that day.
[29:07]
Angela Giratana
Oh my God.
[29:08]
Shane Topp
And I was like, this is my first experience with acting is like sitting on set for 12 hours on a day and then being like, we didn't get to your scene. I'm like, okay, like chill. And that's acting. I mean it's that famous quote of like, they pay me to wait. So. But then eventually I got to do my scenes and very silly. I look back on those and I cringe for sure. Because I'm like, I do not know how to act.
[29:32]
Angela Giratana
It's so hard.
[29:33]
Shane Topp
I am a. I'm not. I have no experience. They just threw me on a set. But that was. Those, my. Those are the only two jobs I did in Arizona. And then very quickly it was like, oh, go out to pilot season in L. A.
[29:45]
Amanda Leehancanto
This episode is brought to you by zocdoc. Shane, I have to tell you this. I just had the wildest experience at the dentist. They were doing a full clean and they were literally having a conversation with me, trying to have me respond with like full answers, not yes or nos. Oh, yeah.
[30:01]
Shane Topp
Wow. I think you can find a new dentist.
[30:04]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah, I'm gonna look for a new dentist on zocdoc.
[30:07]
Shane Topp
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[30:22]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, yeah, I was gonna say, do they take your insurance?
[30:24]
Shane Topp
Yeah, you can make that part of the search. You can make sure every doctor you're looking at is covered and you can book appointments really quickly. Some like 24 to 48 hours. It's awesome.
[30:33]
Amanda Leehancanto
Okay, that's amazing. If I need a doctor, I am absolutely using Zocdoc.
[30:38]
Shane Topp
Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.comsmoshmouth to find and instantly book a top rated Doctor today. That's Zocdoc.com Smoshmouth Zocdoc.com SmoshMouth the jingle.
[30:56]
Amanda Leehancanto
I know.
[30:57]
Angela Giratana
And I.
[30:57]
Shane Topp
And you missed it.
[30:58]
Angela Giratana
And I did it.
[30:58]
Shane Topp
I went like this back to the show.
[31:01]
Angela Giratana
You talking about like your first acting jobs? I'm like, oh, of course I did. Like, my first acting wasn't 2 Broke Girls. It was a bunch of plays and school stuff.
[31:08]
Shane Topp
But I straight from it, but I hardly did. And that's wild. It's really weird. Like, it just. So many people were motivating my parents and me to be like, oh, you should do this, you should do this. And so I think within like two years of doing my very first play in a classroom, I then was going out to LA and auditioning for stuff in la.
[31:29]
Amanda Leehancanto
We're just thrown into the deep end. I. I do think that the time in the industry is like, of course. You always go like, damn, I wish I, I wish this opportunity came when I just knew a little bit more. But that's not how it. That's not how it happened.
[31:43]
Shane Topp
Yeah. I mean, and I don't bother with like thinking about what I would have done differently, but it would have been fun. Fun for it to be my own journey. Like, I definitely. Anyone asking or anyone who would ever say, like, oh, I'm thinking about getting my kids into it, I would say, like, no, like, let them do it on their own someday. And also. But now we're also in a such a different beast.
[32:03]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[32:04]
Shane Topp
Where it's like, hey, like, kids are just making their own content and like making their own sketches and short films. Like, you can just. Even if even as an adult, I would say, like, you honestly might just want to make your own stuff right now.
[32:18]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, I know. It's like, I'm grateful that I got to just like mess around and you didn't have to, like, show up for work because I was like making a lot of weird, weird stuff on imovie.
[32:28]
Shane Topp
And I later on. I love imovie and obviously later on I was.
[32:32]
Angela Giratana
Of course, of course.
[32:34]
Shane Topp
But I think this is how I get started. As it started was so intense, like to go. And it's, it's so intense in the child actor world coming out here and like me and all these other 14 year olds who are all saying, like, yeah, we need to make it by the time we're 18. Like, the goal is to become successful by the time you're 18. I'm like, dude, oh my God. I look back and I'm like, like, what was that mindset? I'm like, oh, my God. I'm. You know, because now I'm like, oh, I'm 33. And I'm like, you know, I think it's normal to be still working your way up in your career at 33, but I'm like 14. To think, like, by 18, you got to make it.
[33:09]
Angela Giratana
Shelf life is till then.
[33:10]
Shane Topp
And then you turn eight and it was. You have adults telling you like, yeah, like, you need to try to get some credits by the time to. Having. Having adults pressure you.
[33:20]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[33:21]
Shane Topp
Is such a weird thing as a teenager that child actors experience on such a crazy level.
[33:26]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[33:27]
Shane Topp
And I, I don't think I experience it nearly as bad as a lot of people. I think. You know, so many of the girls I knew.
[33:32]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[33:32]
Shane Topp
Dude. It is brutal because you believe adults.
[33:35]
Amanda Leehancanto
When you're a kid, you're like, well, yeah, of course I have to do that thing. And then you, you miss out on so much of like your weird, quirky childhood where you're figuring shit out and like having crushes and it's, it's awful.
[33:47]
Shane Topp
And you know, I know in high school and middle school, like you have your peers commenting and critiquing your body and so much stuff, but to, to see like when I was a teenager, to see all these teenage girls and, and guys having like adults like critiquing how you look and they're not your parents, they're not even relatives, they're just people and they're critiquing you. Not in like a bullying, trying to make you just in a fully, like, just telling you something as a business person. It's like, no wonder so many end up so messed up later on.
[34:19]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, for sure.
[34:20]
Shane Topp
Awful.
[34:21]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wow.
[34:21]
Shane Topp
But anyways, those are my first. Those are before I moved out to la.
[34:25]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wow.
[34:25]
Shane Topp
Those are my very first jobs. Wow. Yeah. Which gave me a very misguided idea of how the industry was going to work because I was like, whoa. Went out for two auditions. I booked them. Yeah, obviously I moved out to la. And then I was like, oh, I'm not gonna be booking much at all.
[34:43]
Amanda Leehancanto
Going from Arizona to la, it's different market, different market.
[34:47]
Shane Topp
And that was, that was the thing to realize is like, oh, you're the hotshot of Glendale, Arizona. But like you're gonna move out to LA and everybody's the hotshot from their town, from wherever they've moved from, so. Wow.
[35:01]
Angela Giratana
I unfortunately got to the point of mine. I'm in the short film part.
[35:05]
Shane Topp
Hell yeah. Hell yes.
[35:08]
Amanda Leehancanto
Why all shorts where I'm like, oh, yeah.
[35:12]
Angela Giratana
And you go, I forgot about that long afternoon.
[35:16]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah, yeah. Where you were just like the whole day you're like, I am. Oh God.
[35:21]
Shane Topp
What's a, what's something of note?
[35:23]
Angela Giratana
Okay, so I was talking about those 48 hour film festivals.
[35:26]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[35:26]
Angela Giratana
Me and my friends, we were obsessed. And it was like to the point where I remember being like, oh. Like, I just, I think it's because. So what they are is like they. It's like a film festival. It's like a challenge where they're like, okay, here's the subject or here's a line of dialogue you have to put into your film. And now here's 48 hours. And by the end of these two days, you have to deliver a film and then you get to watch them all.
[35:49]
Shane Topp
So cool.
[35:49]
Angela Giratana
And I've seen people just do them on their own or like big festivals where then you get to watch them all in, like a movie theater or whatever. And me and my friends got addicted to it because it's like, you can't. You can't sit and think. You can't be like, oh, it was like right before the pandemic.
[36:07]
Amanda Leehancanto
I want to say. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[36:08]
Angela Giratana
And we were like. It was still like every piece of art and every choice you make is every. Is like, so important rather than like, quantity over quality. Right? And we did our first one called oh, my God, I will never forget. It was in the pandemic. So we were like, we can't be together. We have to. But me and all my friends wanted to write something, but we were like, we should not separate. So I remember it being like, what. What can we write? That is people on the phone. And I wrote this crazy thing with my friend called. And it was, it was. It was called Chloe Mary Lydia, okay? To sound like chlamydia. And it was about a phone call that just KE going through different people who have hooked up being like, did you give me chlamydia?
[36:59]
Shane Topp
That's awesome.
[37:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wow.
[37:01]
Angela Giratana
And we got to shoot it because just the camera girl and our sound guy just went to everyone's house outside, filmed it. And then.
[37:09]
Amanda Leehancanto
That's smart, actually. That's kind of smart.
[37:11]
Angela Giratana
But then it made me and my friends addicted, that specific group. And we started to make stuff, like, constantly that summer, and it was like every week we made something new.
[37:20]
Shane Topp
That's awesome.
[37:21]
Angela Giratana
But now I look back at them and I'm like, what were we thinking? There is a short film that I. I actually am very proud of it. And I wrote it with my friends and we did it in 48 hours and it's called the Haunting of Dolly Parton.
[37:34]
Shane Topp
Oh.
[37:35]
Angela Giratana
And I actually, I actually, like, stand by this being like, this actually has pretty good legs. But the whole thing is, like, put together with scotch tape. My grandmother had just taken a mighty fall and had to be moved into a mighty fall. A mighty fall. Had to be moved into a living facility that was like full time care. And it was like, okay, we have to move grandma out of her little shoebox apartment. And before we were moving her out, I was like, is this just empty? And it was a spooky house.
[38:06]
Shane Topp
You're like, how can I. Spooky apartment?
[38:08]
Angela Giratana
Yeah. And I was like, what if me and my friends went in there and made cinema? And we went in there and absolutely trashed it. When I tell you there we put blood Everywhere. Yeah, because we wrote a horror because it was, like, the genre we were given. I'll say, I'll send it to you guys. I actually think it's really good.
[38:30]
Shane Topp
We.
[38:30]
Angela Giratana
It was a horror, and that was the subject. They give you each a genre, and we were given horror. And I knew nothing about horror movies, and me and my friends wrote it, and we were like, what if this woman's obsessed with Dolly Parton? And then she gets haunted by a thousand of them? And then all of our friends get to play Dolly.
[38:47]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wait, that's pretty sick.
[38:48]
Shane Topp
I love that.
[38:48]
Angela Giratana
I actually stand by it, but my grandma's house was our apartment.
[38:52]
Shane Topp
Were you able to clean it?
[38:53]
Angela Giratana
Yeah. And then me and my friends cleaned it for, like, four days after. But I don't know why we thought, let's trash it. And then I was like, oh, my God, guys, there's blood all, like, fake blood all over the. The carpet. We have to clean this up.
[39:07]
Amanda Leehancanto
Did she own this apartment or rent.
[39:09]
Angela Giratana
No, she rented it. No, I don't remember the details, but.
[39:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
Like, I had to clean it for weeks, dude.
[39:17]
Angela Giratana
And I like, trash.
[39:19]
Amanda Leehancanto
Stress me out, but it probably looked sick.
[39:22]
Angela Giratana
It. I. Yeah, and I. And that was in the phase where I learned that everything you could return from Amazon, you could return everything bought from Amazon. So I. I bought, like, like, oh, yeah, 15 dolly wigs.
[39:34]
Amanda Leehancanto
We're still in that phase.
[39:35]
Angela Giratana
Returned. Anyway, so.
[39:36]
Shane Topp
That's incredible, dude. So that was. That was, like, one of the earlier projects.
[39:41]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, it was that we also wrote another thing about a girl who died, and we and all of her friends go to her funeral and wanted to change her out in her casket because her outfit was bad.
[39:50]
Shane Topp
That's so funny you say that, because I have a short film that I made with some people with Damien and some other people that is of a similar kind of plot.
[39:59]
Angela Giratana
They're always, like, one location.
[40:01]
Shane Topp
Wait. Okay, so we'll get to this later, but I'll tell you about it now just because. That's so funny. We have a short film that Damien, my Damien, another friend of mine, a couple of other friends of mine, we made where we come home and our roommate has left us a note letting us know that he has ended his life. And we're all. We're all reading it, and we go, oh, my God, this has so many spelling errors and stuff. And then it's a montage of us, like, punching it up. Be like, here's how. Here's what we. Oh, we should punch it up with that. Like, oh, we're like, it's called rewrites and it's us like rewriting this whole thing. At the end, he walks out because he hasn't done it. And he's. He's like, he's like, like, what is wrong with you guys? And then.
[40:41]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, my God.
[40:42]
Shane Topp
I forget. I forget specifically how it ends, but. But I'm like, that's. It's like dark. Very dark humor.
[40:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
Very dark.
[40:49]
Angela Giratana
And I think when you're like, one location. Hilarious.
[40:51]
Shane Topp
Yes. One location.
[40:53]
Angela Giratana
Oh, my God. We took my friend's bookcase and we laid it down and made it a casket and had our friend lay in this bookcase. And then we were all like, this is so sad. She looks really ugly. Doesn't. And she. And then we change her clothes.
[41:08]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wait, that's funny.
[41:09]
Shane Topp
Yeah, that's so.
[41:11]
Angela Giratana
And that's so classic shorts, young short film where you're like, it's dark comedy.
[41:16]
Shane Topp
It's also of that era because I want to say this was like 2014.
[41:19]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[41:20]
Shane Topp
We did ours and it's just like, I don't know. That was just the vibe.
[41:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
Super dark comedy.
[41:25]
Angela Giratana
But it is so funny.
[41:27]
Amanda Leehancanto
I love that.
[41:28]
Angela Giratana
What people think of when they're like, okay, we have like, we have a living room. What can we do?
[41:33]
Amanda Leehancanto
Well, 48 hours is. I remember we did a. We did 48 hour short films. And one time we did a 48 hour full hour sketch show. I don't know if you remember this. It was when Second City was still there.
[41:47]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[41:47]
Amanda Leehancanto
And was it Second City?
[41:49]
Angela Giratana
Wait, what was the one by Popeyes?
[41:51]
Amanda Leehancanto
No, what was the other? It was IO.
[41:53]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[41:53]
Amanda Leehancanto
And they had a 24 hour sketch fest and we had to write a one hour sketch show. And this was. This was what got me onto the 48 hour short film.
[42:05]
Angela Giratana
Sounds like a TNTL.
[42:06]
Amanda Leehancanto
It was first the sketch show and it was. You had to stay up all night. And I remember we did like Scooby Doo, like, talk show or some shit. And I played of course Scooby.
[42:18]
Shane Topp
Oh, yeah, you're very Scooby coded who barely talks.
[42:24]
Angela Giratana
And I remember being like, of course I played Scooby.
[42:26]
Shane Topp
And you know, you know I played Scooby.
[42:28]
Amanda Leehancanto
Your family's the lead in on you. The lead. Your family's checking in. You're like, mom, it's crazy. I can't talk right now. I'm getting been up for 24 hours and I'm Scooby. So. And then you go and you perform it.
[42:38]
Shane Topp
I'm imagining you on the phone with your. Your mom and your mom's like, how's the acting career in LA going? Cut over to you painted over, dressed like Scooby Doo. It's going really good, Mom. You know, we're really cranking some good workout.
[42:51]
Amanda Leehancanto
It was years of that.
[42:52]
Angela Giratana
It's still.
[42:53]
Amanda Leehancanto
It still is what we're doing. I mean, you know, I'm a fucking spud. I'm. I'm like a potato over.
[43:02]
Angela Giratana
You're so right.
[43:02]
Amanda Leehancanto
It's the same thing over 12 years in L. A, and I'm a fudgeing spud.
[43:05]
Shane Topp
After everything I've done in this industry, and especially on Smosh, I've realized I'm like, nobody can ever blackmail me because, like, I've done everything to embarrass myself.
[43:16]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, I know. That's why I was, like, talking about embarrassing things on here. I'm like, if someone finds the footage of me on a Discovery ID show, like, good luck, bury me.
[43:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
Like.
[43:25]
Angela Giratana
You know what I mean? Like, yeah, let me say that, like, when someone finds your weird, disgusting cringe videos of you, you're like, okay, man. There's a mountain of those.
[43:34]
Shane Topp
I saw. There was a short of me on Sid and Olivia's podcast where we're all doing our makeup, and I'm, like, sitting there doing my, like, makeup on it. And some of the comments were like, wow, he's so comfortable with his, like, masculinity and stuff. I'm like, do you know the shit I've done online? Like, there's a million videos you could find of me doing way cringier shit than this.
[43:53]
Angela Giratana
So true.
[43:54]
Shane Topp
I cannot be. I cannot be embarrassed anymore.
[43:57]
Angela Giratana
I remember on Facebook telling friends, please untag me because I don't look cute in that picture.
[44:01]
Amanda Leehancanto
Of course.
[44:01]
Angela Giratana
We are so past that.
[44:03]
Shane Topp
We pick a thumbnail.
[44:05]
Amanda Leehancanto
Like, literally pick anything that is actually.
[44:08]
Shane Topp
True or pick a thumbnail.
[44:10]
Amanda Leehancanto
There was one. There was one recent thumbnail of you that me and Tommy. Of you specifically. Me and Tommy were like, yeah.
[44:16]
Shane Topp
What? The smudge pit? Theater room.
[44:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
Like, he looks. You look. You don't look like yourself.
[44:23]
Shane Topp
Wait, put it. Put it next to me.
[44:25]
Amanda Leehancanto
You don't look like yourself. You look. You look like a cartoon dad from, like, the Jetsons. And it's not good.
[44:31]
Shane Topp
It's incredible.
[44:32]
Amanda Leehancanto
You've been sitting on the couch.
[44:33]
Shane Topp
We are. We are emotionally bulletproof at this point.
[44:36]
Angela Giratana
Truly.
[44:37]
Amanda Leehancanto
I will say I'm going back on these credits, and I'm pretty proud of myself.
[44:41]
Angela Giratana
Like, I'm like, wow, there's a lot of shit.
[44:43]
Amanda Leehancanto
Okay.
[44:43]
Shane Topp
The only thing that I think is embarrassing, I Guess it's not embarrassing. Is. What's your oldest. What's the oldest date? On your oldest date? Like Moonlight. This is when it was released, but 2006.
[44:57]
Amanda Leehancanto
Well, here's the thing. I feel like I'm missing some things because my oldest one is 2016, which doesn't make any sense.
[45:06]
Shane Topp
Did you beat me? Were you in something as a kid?
[45:08]
Angela Giratana
I zoned out. I'm scrolling through. There's a part where it lists your roles, and it's like, self. Self. Because I got to the smosh part, and then it says bug. Nine episodes.
[45:18]
Shane Topp
Nice.
[45:19]
Angela Giratana
I'm like, when did I play a bug? Oh, I don't have anything.
[45:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
Mine's Dolores paradise for nine episodes.
[45:27]
Shane Topp
Hell, yeah.
[45:28]
Angela Giratana
Yeah. I have Tater. One episode. The Spud Hunt.
[45:30]
Amanda Leehancanto
Wait, Smosh puts all your roles?
[45:33]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[45:34]
Amanda Leehancanto
Lady D. Old lady Luigi. Ian's Date. Tinky Winky. Babe Ruth.
[45:42]
Shane Topp
What the public student people are putting that shit.
[45:46]
Angela Giratana
My earliest thing is 2018.
[45:47]
Shane Topp
Wow.
[45:48]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[45:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
Prime minister.
[45:50]
Shane Topp
My old ass. Working back in the stone Age of 2006.
[45:55]
Amanda Leehancanto
Love it.
[45:57]
Shane Topp
What sucks is so my second. My. My first job I ever booked in LA is not on here.
[46:03]
Angela Giratana
Oh.
[46:04]
Shane Topp
But my first ever pilot season, I came out here and I was like, oh, I just want to. I hope I book something. And I got. I think, you know, it was either the first or second pilot season. There was a pilot season where I came out and I didn't book anything. And it felt like defeating. It was just like, oh, shit. But one of them. I booked a guest star on a show called Eli Stone. And it was just this random pilot. I think they cut my scene. It was just a flashback scene where I played, like, an older brother to the main character. But was terrifying.
[46:33]
Angela Giratana
Yeah.
[46:34]
Shane Topp
And it was cool to go do. And it was just like, whoa, I'm booking work in L. A. This is so crazy. But I did that, and then I. And then I didn't book anything for, like, a couple years. And then I moved out here in 2007.
[46:47]
Angela Giratana
You did the thing for real?
[46:48]
Shane Topp
I. We. We were like, we need to move out here. So we move out here in 2007. And after a couple months was when I booked icarly. And that. That felt. That felt huge. It is huge because in everything I had done up until that point was, like, very small little roles where I don't have, like, scenes, you know, where I just kind of have lines here, here, and there. So this was the first time where I had, like, a scene.
[47:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[47:14]
Shane Topp
And it's still pretty small. It's A small guest starring part, but it's still like, oh, you're gonna be in the opening scene of this episode and you're gonna talk with the main character and you have, like a bunch of lions here. And it was absolutely terrifying.
[47:27]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, yeah.
[47:28]
Shane Topp
And I was there for the whole week of that. That episode. And it was just a lot.
[47:32]
Angela Giratana
See? But I don't know, it was more terrifying for me, the. Because I remember the first time I had, like, multiple scenes and it was like, oh, this is scary and cool. It's the one lines that I would. It's like how the triangle player is the most nervous in the orchestra when you have the least to do.
[47:46]
Shane Topp
It's true.
[47:47]
Angela Giratana
I remember I did a. I did. I had one line on this sitcom that I don't think ever went. No, it did. It was called call your mother with Rachel Sennett.
[48:03]
Shane Topp
Whoa.
[48:03]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh.
[48:04]
Angela Giratana
And yeah. Who was on it? There's so many famous people on it. I had one line. I just had to, like, say, happy anniversary. And my God, I was going like.
[48:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
And you're there for hours.
[48:22]
Angela Giratana
It was so hard.
[48:24]
Shane Topp
Wait, side question. Can I ask what if. If ever. Do you remember, like, your first audition where you're like, that went horrible.
[48:32]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[48:33]
Shane Topp
I bombed that audition so bad.
[48:35]
Amanda Leehancanto
I would say I had one. That wasn't my first audition. It was when I had been auditioning for years and it was a really, really bad day. It was a. I still think about it and I cringe so hard. Luckily, the casting director was like, it's all good. Let's just forget this ever happened. And she brought me back in again. But it was. I still. It. You know when you, like, wake up in the middle of the night and you're just like. It still comes to me. It was. It was after I'd already been auditioning for a while. It was for Barry, season one.
[49:12]
Shane Topp
Whoa.
[49:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
Season one. And it was supposed to be a. The detective. No, sorry, Season two. So the.
[49:19]
Shane Topp
You would have been a detective.
[49:20]
Amanda Leehancanto
The original. The original detective who they made an older woman was. They had, like, younger people. It was a big role. And I prepped so hard for it, but too hard where I kind of. I think I lost my mind. I think my soul went away.
[49:37]
Angela Giratana
I know exactly my mind.
[49:38]
Amanda Leehancanto
And I lost my mind. And I had been in for this woman before. They're super sweet. And I'd gone in and it was like her assistant and the other. It's two casting directors that work together. Her other casting director came in. Bombed isn't even the right word for how this audition went, it was. I would have. I wanted to be in a spaceship and never return to Earth.
[50:01]
Angela Giratana
I.
[50:03]
Amanda Leehancanto
It got. It was so bad, I couldn't. I had memorized lines so well that I. I wasn't there. I. It up. I was saying gibberish. I was like, yeah, I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding.
[50:20]
Shane Topp
I know. I came in and I was like, I feel it.
[50:23]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yay, you. Yay.
[50:31]
Shane Topp
Wait, did the cat director, like, look at you?
[50:33]
Amanda Leehancanto
For what? The cat director went. And they went, all right, let's just. Let's take that again. But the assistant was, like, trying not to laugh, and I was like, no, no, no, I'm not this person. No, I'm not this person. I'm not this person. So I was like. I was like, hey, guys. I was like, yeah, don't worry. Like, I'll just do it again. Like, I don't know what happened then. Trying to make a joke. They didn't laugh. And I did it again. No, no, no.
[51:01]
Shane Topp
Like, jimmy jump.
[51:02]
Angela Giratana
But I was like.
[51:05]
Amanda Leehancanto
I said the lines all fucked up. And I was supposed to be upset. I was supposed to be like. I was like. I was supposed to be like, what are you doing? What's going on with you? And I was like, you went over the fence?
[51:14]
Angela Giratana
And I just said random words.
[51:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
I died. And then the casting director and the assistant bursts out laughing, and the casting director went, I needed that. Oh, my God, I needed that. That was really bad.
[51:30]
Shane Topp
And you were like. She said, that was really bad.
[51:32]
Amanda Leehancanto
She's like, that was really bad, and I needed that. Wait, you didn't get any of the lines right.
[51:37]
Angela Giratana
She said, that was really bad.
[51:39]
Amanda Leehancanto
And then they called me in again, like, four more times.
[51:43]
Angela Giratana
Okay, that.
[51:44]
Amanda Leehancanto
And she was super sweet about it, and she was just like, it's all good. I was like, hey, so sorry about last time, but I almost never wanted to see her again. You know that feeling?
[51:55]
Angela Giratana
Oh, my God, Amanda, I genuinely.
[51:58]
Amanda Leehancanto
Like, I should actually go back to the east coast now.
[52:01]
Shane Topp
You know, it's so funny. Like, this is the thing. Like, auditioning sucks so much, and you can just have a bad day because I. I'm sitting here thinking, and I know all the people watching, like, you would have killed on Barry. Like, you would have crushed and so sweet.
[52:14]
Amanda Leehancanto
She was like, I want to find a role for you because you're so funny.
[52:17]
Angela Giratana
But that.
[52:19]
Amanda Leehancanto
I mean, she should have never called me.
[52:28]
Shane Topp
The next audition I ever get for anything, I'm doing that. So what brings you here with so much attitude? Is what makes it so funny?
[52:41]
Angela Giratana
I'm a cop. Hey.
[52:46]
Amanda Leehancanto
Here'S the thing. I was. It was like someone like your parents saw, like, talent. Someone was like, oh, I see this talent. You're going out for these big things. And I know for a fact I wasn't ready. It's like, if I went out then I could have been like, hold on. Can I take a moment? Yeah. My brain. I'm so sorry.
[53:03]
Angela Giratana
I need to go back.
[53:04]
Amanda Leehancanto
Then I was like, get through it a minute.
[53:07]
Shane Topp
Get through it. Run a train through it.
[53:09]
Angela Giratana
You honestly know, this reminds me of one of my first tapes I ever had. Oh, it's. It's bad. It was. And honestly, it's kind of similar to a Berry where you go, I can't believe this was for this show. And I got close. It was for the second season or the third season of Stranger Things was Maya Hawks character. The ice cream. And I have so good at that. I think I even went to, like. I think I had a callback. A sec. Two callbacks and my tape. Okay, so it was before I learned how to, like, do self tapes and there weren't resources. Like, they are so hard now. It's like everyone just has, like, a thing and they could put it up and you could just do it right. Like a backdrop and you just do it in your room.
[53:48]
Shane Topp
But self taping back in the day sucked.
[53:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
It was like.
[53:50]
Angela Giratana
I was like, what do I do? And I couldn't get anyone to do it with me. So my mom read it with me.
[53:56]
Amanda Leehancanto
No.
[53:56]
Shane Topp
Hell, yes.
[53:57]
Angela Giratana
And I was like 24 years old, of course.
[54:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
And your mom was probably in it.
[54:02]
Angela Giratana
And I worked so hard on this. And it was the scene where she, like, has like a. A boar. Like, it's like her famous scene. And I saw.
[54:08]
Amanda Leehancanto
I like, I think I remember.
[54:09]
Angela Giratana
And my mom botched it so bad. You. She jumps my line each time. She goes, oh, all right, keep going. And then I'm like, you know, she goes, oh, sorry.
[54:21]
Amanda Leehancanto
He probably loved that. I don't know.
[54:24]
Shane Topp
I. I think by that point, like, they know you're a good actor. It's just kind of a matter of vibes.
[54:30]
Angela Giratana
Oh, God. I was. I can't. But honestly, it's one of those things where you're like, I can't believe I went out for an early season of this massive show.
[54:38]
Amanda Leehancanto
And. And you're. You're like, it's such a great opportunity, but the pressure of the show makes your body break.
[54:46]
Shane Topp
It's awful down.
[54:47]
Angela Giratana
I think I feel it, like, on a dad Cam. Like, I think I got one of those weird, like, small. Like, I don't even know what I did.
[54:53]
Amanda Leehancanto
You do this thing where you wanted to get it done?
[54:56]
Angela Giratana
Oh, I just need to.
[54:57]
Shane Topp
That's. I used to speed through my life.
[55:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
Which is like, dude, I can take some time.
[55:03]
Shane Topp
My. My. This is going to sound hilarious to people. My issue early on with auditioning was I would talk too fast, but I would also be so quiet. I was not good at. I was. I was so like.
[55:15]
Amanda Leehancanto
That makes sense, though.
[55:16]
Angela Giratana
I was too loud.
[55:17]
Amanda Leehancanto
That makes sense. I feel like people. I definitely peaked camera a lot. I'd be like, what did you say?
[55:24]
Angela Giratana
Hey, dad, get in here, dad.
[55:28]
Amanda Leehancanto
And then your eyeline. So you're trying to, like, choose this eyeliner, and then you're like. Then you choose a different eyeline, and then the other eyeline is way too far away. You're like, hey, get in here, dad.
[55:38]
Shane Topp
You're in the middle of a scene. You're like, like, what are you saying? And then there's a knock at the door.
[55:44]
Angela Giratana
What's up?
[55:45]
Shane Topp
What's going on?
[55:46]
Amanda Leehancanto
Why don't you guys try reading it with your husband, who. English is a second language. And here's the thing. I love him, actually. It's a good trust exercise in our relationship. He now reads with me, and it's actually really fun. But for years, he'd be like, what are you doing here? Here?
[56:02]
Shane Topp
Honestly, for Barry, he'd be the perfect person to read against.
[56:07]
Angela Giratana
What are you doing here?
[56:08]
Shane Topp
What are you doing doing here?
[56:10]
Amanda Leehancanto
You don't know what you say here. I know.
[56:13]
Shane Topp
And I'd be like, oh, God, let's.
[56:17]
Angela Giratana
See, what else do I have?
[56:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
Those are. Yeah. Those obviously aren't credits on here, but also my favorite, when you book, you literally are like, I don't know how that went. That to me, I know always when.
[56:30]
Shane Topp
You book the auditions, where I truly was like, this is not gonna happen.
[56:34]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[56:35]
Shane Topp
My audition for the Goldbergs, I was like, that went bad. That sucked. I did one read. I read through once, and they're like, that's great. See ya. And I was like, okay. And then I left. I don't even think I got a callback. I think I was just like, yes, that one ended. And then it was just like, hey, you got it. And I was like, what? Like, that's so confusing, because then you'll have, like, two callbacks for something. You're like, whoa, guys, gonna get it. And then you kind of look back, and you're like, I was never close. They Just kind of were, like, looking around at different.
[57:01]
Amanda Leehancanto
Well, when you go in and you see the person, the other person who's going in with you, and they look the opposite of you, you're like, oh.
[57:07]
Angela Giratana
Or you see the show and you go, that's what the tone was. Oh, whoops.
[57:11]
Shane Topp
That's usually what happens, right? Is that they have very different vibes. And then. Yeah, they kind of go with a different character.
[57:18]
Angela Giratana
Or there's also the commercial audition stories, because those are like.
[57:22]
Shane Topp
That was my first kind of not bomb, but I made a choice. Well, see, you come out to la, this is not that bad, but. But, you know, people are like, you gotta make big choices. You gotta make them remember you. There's a. There's a. Tons of. When you come out, at least back in the day when you would start acting, you'd hear all these legends of how actors booked auditions. And it was like, yeah, Danny DeVito, when he auditioned for Taxi, he walked into the casting room office and he said, this script sucks. This is so stupid. And then he slams the door and leaves. And then he opens it up a second later, he's like, hey, was that good? And they were like, you booked it?
[57:57]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, my God.
[57:58]
Shane Topp
So people. That causes new actors to do crazy stuff. So I had a commercial audition for Tostitos. The chips. The tortilla chips. And I just always heard, like, hey, make them remember you no matter what. And I was like, all right. So it's. It's us. We're gaming and we're eating Tostitos, and we're just. We're just gaming. Have a good time. And I'm like, all right. And so I just start grabbing handfuls, and I'm just slamming them into my mouth, and I'm stuffing my mouth so much that eventually that my fellow actor was like. Was like, this game sure is awesome. I go, I just cannot speak.
[58:39]
Angela Giratana
Somebody to feed this actor. Actor.
[58:40]
Shane Topp
And I got a callback. And so I was like, gotta do the same thing I did. Because, like, it worked.
[58:46]
Amanda Leehancanto
No.
[58:46]
Shane Topp
So I gotta do it again. No. And so in the callback, I stuff my mouth again full of Tostitos. I look back and I'm like, commercial auditions, they don't give a shit about who you are, what you're doing. They look at your face and they're making a decision.
[59:01]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[59:01]
Shane Topp
So I'm like, I don't need to do all that. So I do all that. And then the director, who I remember was Australian, was like. Or he was. He was, I think, British or Australian. But he was just like, yeah, can we do that again? Can you not stuff your mouth with tortillas? I was like. I was like, yeah, for sure. I can for sure do that. Yeah. Then I didn't book it.
[59:20]
Amanda Leehancanto
But honestly, though, that commercial auditions, that cracks me up. I feel like commercial agents are casting directors. Once they know you really well, they're like, guys. Lots of people have been shoving it in their mouth. It's disgusting, and we don't want to see it.
[59:35]
Angela Giratana
I guess you grab a piece of it. When you grab a piece of pizza, it's cardboard. Okay. I don't want any bites on this. Okay.
[59:40]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[59:40]
Shane Topp
This is just.
[59:41]
Angela Giratana
This is just this. Okay.
[59:42]
Shane Topp
I just remembered something else. I had another commercial audition back in the day. This years later, I'm probably, like, 18, and it was like a lineup of guys, and they're going through, and they're just asking the question of, like, outside of being an actor, what would be your dream job? Right? And. And it's just genuine answers, right? This is not a comedy thing. It's just genuine stuff. And I'm sitting there trying to think, and I'm like, I don't know what to answer. I'm, like, racking my brain. Like, that's a good answer. Like, oh, probably like an architect. Someone's like, oh, I'd probably be, like a basketball coach. It comes down to me, and I truly. Full improv moment. Full speaking before I'm thinking, and I just go, probably a prophet. And they're like, what? And I was like, yeah, you know, you walk around with a cane and robes and just kind of talk about what you believe.
[60:34]
Angela Giratana
I get your job. I get your job.
[60:37]
Amanda Leehancanto
No, please tell me, did it not.
[60:42]
Shane Topp
Land, like, yeah, you don't know. It actually made people laugh pretty hard. And I was obviously, like, joking, like, once I get into it.
[60:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
Oh, my God. And all the dudes in line were probably like, oh, fuck, I should have said profit. Why did I say architect?
[60:56]
Angela Giratana
Like an idiot?
[60:56]
Amanda Leehancanto
I heard.
[60:57]
Angela Giratana
I hear a guy say profit. I go, that guy's a red flag Run.
[61:00]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[61:01]
Angela Giratana
Oh, my God. That's so funny, Shane. That made me. I have a. I did a commercial audition on Zoom. This was, like, I want to say, literally a year ago.
[61:14]
Shane Topp
This was last week.
[61:15]
Angela Giratana
This. I want to say this was so. So just happened. And I was in the waiting room. And the waiting room when you're, like, waiting to go into for the audition, and all the actors and the producers, everyone is in the waiting room waiting to go in or whatever, And I wanted to mute myself. But instead, I muted them.
[61:37]
Shane Topp
Hell yes, dude.
[61:38]
Angela Giratana
So I muted the room.
[61:39]
Amanda Leehancanto
No.
[61:40]
Angela Giratana
So they couldn't get to me. But I'm on loud. I mute them. I mute them and have a phone call. And no one can contact me during the whole phone call. Phone call. I am the whole time going, oh, my God. I know. But I know that my phone number one girl.
[62:01]
Shane Topp
I'm in this Zoom call with these losers.
[62:04]
Angela Giratana
And my friend, I finally. There was one girl I knew, and on Instagram, she DMS me. She goes, girl, you're not on mute. Girl, you're not on me. I wasn't checking Instagram at the Nightmare.
[62:13]
Amanda Leehancanto
Nightmare.
[62:14]
Angela Giratana
And at the end, they had to take me out of the room because they couldn't get me to be quiet because no one could. Everyone's going like this, okay? And I'm on the phone, and she told me by the end, I had to call this girl because I was like, I am mortified. You have to tell me what I said. I don't remember anything.
[62:29]
Shane Topp
No.
[62:30]
Angela Giratana
On this call, you guys. And it was just the waiting room, thank God. But I go like this. She goes. I remember you saying, yeah, I mean, I had a whole bottle of wine last night, and I don't know if I had the bottle or the bottle had me. You know what I mean?
[62:41]
Amanda Leehancanto
No.
[62:44]
Angela Giratana
God, no.
[62:45]
Shane Topp
And then you unmuted the room and you said, is that what you guys are looking for?
[62:49]
Amanda Leehancanto
Danny DeVito?
[62:51]
Angela Giratana
And I was like, oh, I booted out of the session. And then I went back in. They were like, hey, Ange, you were not on mute.
[62:58]
Amanda Leehancanto
That is my.
[62:59]
Shane Topp
Were you able to do your audition after that?
[63:01]
Angela Giratana
I don't even remember. No. Yeah, for Jersey Mike's. And I remember, I was just like.
[63:04]
Amanda Leehancanto
They probably loved it. They probably loved.
[63:07]
Shane Topp
That's what Jersey Mike's is looking for.
[63:09]
Angela Giratana
I don't know if I had a bottle. I know the bottle had meat.
[63:11]
Shane Topp
Not nearly as bad as that. I on Zoom. During, like, Smosh. We had a meeting, and I named my. My. My name on Zoom. Butt Idiot. Just to be funny. I was like, yeah, Butt Idiot. I'm like, we can change our names. Haha. And so it was Butt Idiot. And then I log out of Zoom. And then Goldberg's had a table read over Zoom, and I log in and I'm Butt Idiot.
[63:36]
Angela Giratana
Wait, no joke.
[63:37]
Shane Topp
And I'm sitting there with just everyone. And luckily, still, of course, I notice it. And I'm like, oh, shit, I'm trying to change it. And Sam Lerner goes, but Idiot this.
[63:48]
Angela Giratana
Is so funny, because this happened to me with Zoom. Appearances. There's a button for appearances, and you can change yourself. And I gave myself, on my podcast for fun. I gave myself pink eyebrows. And then I walked out of that meeting. And the next meeting I went on was with Rhett Link for season one of a Wonderhole. Both of them go, oh, okay, Angela. But then I was like, oh, I don't know.
[64:12]
Shane Topp
They're like, now, would you look at that?
[64:13]
Angela Giratana
And I go, I. I don't know how to turn those off. They go, okay. And I just had to do the reading, and I did.
[64:20]
Shane Topp
Now I never seen someone with eyebrows.
[64:22]
Amanda Leehancanto
What's going on, Angela?
[64:24]
Shane Topp
Now let's talk about that.
[64:24]
Amanda Leehancanto
Dude, I love that. I feel like those auditions, you just leave and you get in your car.
[64:28]
Angela Giratana
And you go, what the hell happened?
[64:31]
Shane Topp
That's most. I'd say 50, at least. You're walking out of auditions going, what the fuck?
[64:36]
Amanda Leehancanto
Especially commercials. Still to this day, they're insane.
[64:39]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[64:40]
Amanda Leehancanto
Still to this day, you do the Crate one one audition, and then what they ask you to do is crazy. I did one yesterday, and they literally were like, all right, you're going to be driving in a car, then you're going be sewing a shirt, and you're be doing all this stuff. And I was like, I don't. Who has the time? Like. And I just. I. I stopped caring. I just.
[64:58]
Angela Giratana
I did one yesterday, too, and I. Boy, did I phone it in. Oh, boy, did I phone it in. You just do the craziest thing. I walked out of there, and she was like, great work. And I was like, but really.
[65:09]
Amanda Leehancanto
But then, remember when you have to, like, go in. I remember there was one like, david Spade is gonna be in this one. And you are a pirate.
[65:16]
Angela Giratana
Ooh, you're a pirate. And here's the parrot. Parrots right over here. Guys. If you don't look up for the eyeline, I'm gonna miss it.
[65:22]
Amanda Leehancanto
I'm gonna miss it. And they were like, and you have to learn this dance. You have to learn a full dance. And then you're with actors who like, oh, it's your first year. I get it. They are like, okay, all right, we gotta do the dance. When do I. When do I put my left leg to my right leg? And when do I do the. When do I do the background spin? And you're like, I don't know. I'm sure it's gonna be fine.
[65:43]
Shane Topp
That's. That's the mark of any person who's been in their industry For a long time.
[65:47]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah.
[65:48]
Shane Topp
It's just. They don't care, I think.
[65:49]
Angela Giratana
It happened to me two days. It was a couple days ago, someone. It was for State Farm and I showed up and I didn't read the logo and there's everyone in red. And I went, I'm in white now.
[65:58]
Shane Topp
You're dressed for it.
[65:59]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, now I am. And then my friend goes like this. My friend comes out and it's my turn. She goes, do you want my red shirt? And I went, no, I. I was like, I don't need it.
[66:09]
Shane Topp
No, I. I think I'm with you on that. The moment when I realized that they don't care at all was when I had a commercial audition for Subway and I. And they wanted me to come in and play the saxophone. And I go in and I. I learned whis. I learned Silent whisper for it on the saxophone, Michael. Which. Yeah. And it's really fucking hard. And I just learned recently that it's edited, it's sped up because that's. Those notes aren't possible to hit on the saxophone. So I was. No wonder I was having a hard ass time with it. So this is forever ago when I still knew how to play saxophone.
[66:42]
Angela Giratana
I knew how to play saxophone.
[66:44]
Shane Topp
I played alto sax. And so I played a little bit and then I booked it and I was just a Subway worker just making sandwiches like, where's the saxophone? I did all that work and all you cared about is like, this guy looks dumb enough. Like, throw him out there. Like, come on, man.
[67:01]
Angela Giratana
Wait, There is a commercial. It is listed on my IMDb that, that I did for Pizza Hut. It was my first ever big spot. And I had to, I had to just be this girl's friend because it was. Oh, Becky, look at that slice in that. It was like a scroll as a reference to Becky.
[67:20]
Shane Topp
Yeah.
[67:20]
Angela Giratana
And for some reason, the pick, like the, the. The take they chose of mine, I was like, she's eating the pizza. And I'm like this. I remember. They were like, we want Becky, you to be like, like obsessed with the pizza. And then each time I did it, I'd go further and further.
[67:40]
Shane Topp
I'd be like, oh, so many thumbnails they got out of that.
[67:46]
Angela Giratana
Added to like.
[67:47]
Amanda Leehancanto
Dude, dude. I will say when you fight, when you do book the commercial and you see your spot, you're like, oh, my God.
[67:54]
Shane Topp
Oh, I can't watch anything.
[67:55]
Angela Giratana
I gotta show you guys this pizza.
[67:57]
Shane Topp
I'm waiting to see it.
[67:58]
Angela Giratana
You're gonna love it. I'm gonna send it to you. It's so good. I look not there. I look like. I'm like, look at that cheese.
[68:09]
Amanda Leehancanto
Dude. Commercials are insane. I remember one time my manager was like, whoa, they went really silly with your makeup. And I was like, I actually don't think they did. I think that color just doesn't work on me. I did, like, a full commercial. She was like, damn, they went really silly with your makeup. And I was like, yeah, bright red isn't a good look on me to this day. I'm like, I can't watch this.
[68:38]
Shane Topp
Are you Ronald McDonald? No, I'm a customer.
[68:41]
Amanda Leehancanto
I look like receptionist. I look like a woman who put on a suit and then was like, yeah, baby.
[68:49]
Angela Giratana
This is so.
[68:52]
Amanda Leehancanto
So many commercials like that. And then, of course, you send them to your family, and they're like, great.
[68:56]
Shane Topp
We're sending our fans on so many scavenger hunts right now. Just, like, find these projects.
[69:01]
Angela Giratana
Oh, my God.
[69:02]
Shane Topp
Or don't.
[69:02]
Amanda Leehancanto
Don't ever find them.
[69:04]
Shane Topp
Look. Or don't leave it buried.
[69:06]
Angela Giratana
Yeah, I'm trying to find.
[69:07]
Shane Topp
Oh, guys, we hardly got to any of our projects. I think we're out of time.
[69:12]
Angela Giratana
So many more. I didn't even.
[69:13]
Shane Topp
I didn't even make it to so random.
[69:15]
Angela Giratana
I didn't even touch Danger Force.
[69:17]
Shane Topp
God, guys.
[69:18]
Amanda Leehancanto
I didn't touch Diable and Boyd. Well, where I play the mother.
[69:24]
Shane Topp
Okay.
[69:25]
Amanda Leehancanto
All right.
[69:25]
Shane Topp
I guess we'll have to do this again.
[69:27]
Amanda Leehancanto
I guess we'll have to do part two again, because we.
[69:30]
Angela Giratana
And honestly, I'll bring in some footage.
[69:33]
Shane Topp
Please.
[69:33]
Angela Giratana
Let's fucking watch them. There is some.
[69:36]
Amanda Leehancanto
I'm not bringing Aaron Brockovich.
[69:39]
Shane Topp
We'll watch the original.
[69:41]
Amanda Leehancanto
No.
[69:42]
Shane Topp
Wow.
[69:42]
Amanda Leehancanto
Angela, thank you so much for being here.
[69:46]
Shane Topp
Oh, my.
[69:47]
Amanda Leehancanto
That made me laugh so hard.
[69:53]
Angela Giratana
Hey, it's so fun being Smashed Mouse. Yeah.
[69:58]
Shane Topp
Love it. Thank you for watching, and we'll see you later.
[70:05]
Amanda Leehancanto
Yeah, we'll see you guys later.
[70:06]
Shane Topp
Bye.