EP 1: Madeline DeCorso: Business Analyst Turned Actor

In my very first episode of Second Act Actors, I talk with Madeline DeCorso who I had the pleasure of meeting while doing background work on Guillermo del Toro’s new hit film Nightmare Alley. Madeline’s first act was very different to her current career as she completed a business degree and when she graduated, she landed a job as a business analyst for a bank based in Toronto. Although at the time she felt like she’d made it and had achieved success, she was unhappy in her career and never seemed to fully settle into it. She was eventually made redundant but she bounced back, taking some time off to travel and then getting into acting through background work, which encouraged her to start acting classes. She is now a full time working actor!

Madeline and I talk about the importance of developing resilience as a tool in an acting career, which is essential when facing the many barriers and moments of rejection that acting can bring. Then we talked about the difficulty of introducing yourself as an actor to new people, which means tackling your imposter syndrome head on.

Listen out for Madeline’s fun on set story featuring Willem Dafoe and don’t forget to rate and review Second Act Actors to help more budding actors to find the podcast.

Timestamps

[1:18] How I met Madeline

[3:00] Guillermo del Toro on the set of Nightmare Alley

[4:10] Madeline’s first act as a business analyst in banking and at Unilever

[5:58] Madeline’s ‘try all’ approach to creativity as a child

[7:15] Madeline’s first forays into acting

[10:52] The societal pressure to have a corporate career

[13:07] Building resilience through working in the ‘wrong’ career

[16:53] How to cope with rejection and disappointment in acting

[18:07] Turning off your analytical mind during scene work

[22:08] The hurdles and small steps to overcome in an acting career

[26:13] How to get into acting