When Dominique Fishback was first offered a role on the Prime Video series Swarm, she said no — and after talking to co-creator Donald Glover, she wound up with the lead instead. That's just one of many ways, she tells David Canfield, that she's betting on herself these days. And for Paul Walter Hauser, the experience of embodying a serial killer on the Apple series Black Bird stuck with him so deeply that he changed his entire life, including getting sober. He tells Rebecca Ford about the role's impact on his life, and the surreal awards season that has already followed.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @vfawardsinsider

Email us at [email protected]

Follow our hosts: @kateyrich, @rilaws, @beccamford, @davidcanfield97 

Our editor and producer is Brett Fuchs.