Melissa Ponzio is best known to a younger generation for her portrayal of Melissa McCall, mother of Scott McCall, the central character on MTV's smash hit Teen Wolf.  She's also known for her runs on Army Wives, The Walking Dead and her ongoing stint on Chicago Fire.  On social media, her nearly 700K Instagram followers and over 600K Twitter followers are vehemently loyal to her because she leads from a place of authenticity and genuine outreach to those who do not feel heard. Here, she walks us through the incredibly long and arduous path she traveled from obscurity to the screen in your living room.  Full of fight, passion, honesty and integrity, this conversation will have rabid fans fall more in love with her and those who never heard of her respecting the 10,000 "No"s it takes to make it as a professional actor.

 

First official credits, (2:53). The beginning of the long, arduous journey of deciding to become an actor, (5:34). " ...Be nice.  Show up on time. Know your lines," (6:49). The joy of working with Melissa on Teen Wolf - warmth, grounded, honest, (7:43).  The rabid Teen Wolf fan-base, (10:10). Melissa's HUGE online following and how she has used social media to authentically help her fans with real impact, (12:11). Childhood origins and upbringing, (15:15). Athletic background as a result of being "crazy" and needing focus, (17:54). How the mental game of Melissa's swimming background has helped her in her acting career, (19:55). The importance of listening, (21:00).  Knowing who/what you are serving, (22:31). War story from Chicago Fire regarding a baby and a bad note from a director, (26:11). A few factors from childhood that led Melissa to acting, (28:36). Acting in college, but starting in news, (29:37). The grind of being an actor in the South-East, (31:35). Some of the crazy/funny gigs Melissa booked in the early days, (34:34). The difficult decision to leave a steady corporate job for only the hint of a recurring role on the Army Wives pilot, and how that paid off bigtime, (41:05). Getting her career-changing role on Teen Wolf, (43:53). Getting a call out of the blue for a role on The Walking Dead and the amazing homecoming experience it brought her after so many years of struggle, (49:32).  How Melissa turned yet another potentially quick gig into a long run on Chicago Fire, (55:10).  The word “no” actually means... not yet, (59:40).  "If it doesn’t matter in five years, it doesn’t matter”, (1:00:19). Melissa’s advice to her younger self, (1:00:54).

 

LINKS:

IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0690754/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1

Meet Melissa:  http://melissaponzio.com/about/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/melissaponzio1/?hl=en

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/OfficalMelissaPonzio/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/melissaponzio1

 

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