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A man walks 18 miles to vote and gets turned away—again and again. That true story sits at the heart of Otis’s Dream, the award-winning short that changed the trajectory of Christopher Greer’s career and galvanized communities across hundreds of churches before a pivotal election. We invited Christopher to unpack the craft and the calling behind portraying Otis Moss Sr., how the film landed on Oprah’s radar, and why a role tied to his own family’s history felt less like an audition and more like destiny.

We go deeper than credits. Christopher shares the years he juggled courier routes with on-set days for Empire, Widows, Captive State, and Chicago Med, and the hard choice to bet on himself while caring for his mother during her illness. He breaks down his approach to acting—blending Meisner, personal memory, and research—right down to discovering a “sharecropper’s gait” by channeling his grandfather. There’s a post-apocalyptic thriller on the way, a slate of scripts in the works, and original music from a multi-instrumentalist who’s written hundreds of songs.

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll get clear, practical guidance: how to begin as an extra, where to find auditions on Backstage and IMDb, and how to treat every set like a paid classroom. For writers, Christopher lays out smart first steps—register your script, leverage the International Screenwriters Association, and pitch to markets that are actively seeking your genre. Above all, he returns to one lesson he’d give his younger self: be patient. Let relationships, reps, and craft compound.

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Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

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Hello, and thank you for listening to Thirsty Topics podcast! I'm Lawrence Elrod, and every week Meryl Klemow and I dive deep into the stories that matter, the conversations that shape our world."

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