549 ADAM DAVENPORT - NAACP NOMINEE

549 ADAM DAVENPORT - NAACP NOMINEE

Author: Hilliard Guess March 2, 2026 Duration: 1:47:47

In this episode, writer-producer Hilliard Guess and guest co-host actor-writer-prod-dir Dalila Ali Rajah sit down for an educational conversation (we do talk a bit of politics in this one - FYI), with actor/writer/coach and 2026 NAACP Image Award nominee ADAM DAVENPORT, recognized in the Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism category for his essay examining Audra McDonald’s 2025 Tony Awards performance of “Rose’s Turn.” The piece reframes the performance as a landmark cultural moment - serving as an act of protest, reclamation, and artistic defiance within the lineage of Black women reshaping American performance.

 

The nomination is a full-circle moment for Davenport, as the NAACP was the first organization to recognize his writing when he was in high school. He can speak to the nomination as well as his broader career as a multidisciplinary artist working across acting, writing, directing, producing, casting, and education.

A Chicago native and Yale graduate, Davenport is a member of SAG-AFTRA, BAFTA, the European Film Academy, and the Recording Academy. His screen work includes Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix), for which he received a Satellite Award for Best Ensemble alongside multiple critics’ group honors.

 

In 2020, he founded The International Acting Studio (TIAS), where he coaches actors working at the highest international level. Two performers he coached are current 2026 Czech Lion Award nominees, and his clients have appeared in projects including The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, The Crown, and numerous network and cable series.


Read the Essay here:

https://www.bronzecommhub.com/blog/audra-mcdonald-took-the-stage-and-rewrote-the-rules


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Step inside a space where the polished veneer of Hollywood gets stripped away, replaced by the raw, unfiltered conversations happening behind the scenes. Screenwriters' Rant Room is guided by Hilliard Guess, a working WGA writer, director, and producer whose own path includes a role as Director of Development and now executive producing an Amazon series. He brings that grounded, insider perspective to every episode. Rather than rehearsed interviews, you’ll hear the kind of frank talk that happens after a long day on set or in a writers’ room. Hilliard sits down with guests or engages with rotating co-hosts, and together they drop what he aptly calls "industry bombs"-those unvarnished truths, frustrating anecdotes, and hard-won insights about writing, producing, and surviving in TV and film. The tone is as hilarious as it is candid, making the complex machinery of entertainment feel human and relatable. This isn't a lecture on structure; it's a living, breathing, and often laughing chronicle of the creative grind. For anyone curious about the real stories behind the screen, this podcast offers a front-row seat to the rants, revelations, and camaraderie that define a life in storytelling.
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