Breaking Big Honorees Sing ‘The Climb’ at SCAD Savannah Film Festival

Written by Micaela Alomia. Graphic by Micaela Alomia.

As funny and surreal as it may sound, there is no better way (or song) that could summarize the obstacles, acting-career tips, and life takeaways that were shared during yesterday’s Breaking Big panel at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Moderated by Entertainment Weekly Editor-in-Chief Patrick Gomez, this year’s honorees included Julia Butters (“Freakier Friday“), Tati Gabrielle (“The Last of Us“), Tonatiuh (“Kiss of the Spider Woman“), Grace Van Patten (“The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox”/”Tell Me Lies“) and Tyriq Withers (“Him“). In conversation with these talented panelists, attendees were able to hear and learn from their origin stories, early passions, successes, and failures in the acting world. 

Julia Butters opened the discussion by sharing how her love for performing began through playing pretend with her dad, saying that “I was very imaginative as a kid”. Funny enough, her first professional experience came when a family friend cast her to play a kidnapped child on “Criminal Minds”, just at four years old! As small as it may seem, this opportunity sparked her passion for acting, and despite her parents’ initial hesitation, Butters admits, “I just got really lucky from there”. Actress Grace Van Patten shared that acting had always been her passion, but “I never really saw it as a career, not because I didn’t love it, but because my dad, my dad is a director, and I saw the unpredictability of it and that scared me.” “And I really didn’t have faith in myself,” Van Patten revealed, and it took her taking a gap year after graduating high school and meeting her manager to truly see something in herself. As a kid, acting was a way to get in touch with certain parts of herself that she wasn’t capable of connecting with in real life, so it became very healing. 

“Tell Me Lies“ co-star Tyriq Withers then shared how growing up in the sports world in Fla., “you don’t really have a direct path to the arts.” As a former athlete at Florida State University, his first interaction with the acting world came when he skipped football practice to audition for a Black Student Union play and landed the role. Although he didn’t pursue acting right away, it was years later, after his brother’s tragic passing in 2021, that he turned to acting, “looking for a place for this pain and grief to live outside of my body.” Withers shared that he now pours his pain, trauma, happiness, joy, healing and all in between into his work, hoping it can “help connect with other artists, other people, audience members, and help inspire.” 

When asked about mentorship, the panelists recalled other actors and actresses they’ve gotten to do scenes with, or just looked up to as important figures that shaped them professionally or personally. Butters spoke fondly of Jamie Lee Curtis, saying that “she gave me so much, not only advice, but just wisdom, and the way that she carried herself, and how seriously she took the art of it, and not just the sparkly side.” Tati Gabrielle cited Giancarlo Esposito as a major influence, noting that “he just gave me all kinds of game on the industry, on how to carry myself, (…) especially as a person of color in this industry, which can be quite hard at times.” With Esposito playing her father in Netflix’s “Kaleidoscope“, Gabrielle shared that he was “making sure that we were here, that we were centered, that we’d start every day (…) taking as long as we needed to, to connect and being present with each other (…).” 

Other mentions were Bill Condon and Jennifer Lopez, industry leaders whom Tonatiuh reflected upon as he shared that he has “kind of adopted this mentality that I’m a perpetual student, and the day that I stop learning is the day that I die. “While Van Patten praised Nicole Kidman’s impressive work ethic: “It was not what I was expecting, going on to a set with her and thinking that it was just, you know, she’s so talented, she just flips on the switch and it’s there,” Van Patten said. “No, she’s constantly working at it and thinking about it and living it, and changing her process with each job and discovering things. (…) She’s just like paving the way for other young women to come in and be inspired by that.” 

Ending this discussion with a lovely “awwww” from the audience, Withers took a moment to “give their flowers” to Van Patten herself for showing him kindness and inclusion early in his career when they filmed Hulu’s “Tell Me Lies“. “I’m not just being cheesy, but, you know, when you walk on a set and you are, like, bottom of the call sheet and you don’t have any business hanging with the cast, that’s how you feel,” he said. “You don’t remember what everyone always says to you, but you always remember how they make you feel. And Grace has always shown me nothing but love and acceptance,” Withers said, thanking Van Patten with a quick hug. 

The conversation also touched on rejection and resilience. “I’m a statistics guy”, Tonatiuh said, revealing that it took him 1,130 auditions before landing a leading role. For him, success came from perseverance and purpose. “So if you don’t get comfortable as students now with the word no, please leave. I’m serious. It’s not a sprint,” he said, offering advice to all SCAD students in the audience. “For some people, it is their first audition. They skyrocket, and it’s amazing, and that’s incredible. But again, you need a strong why. You need a strong why to push you through it.” Adding to Tonatiuh’s point, Gabrielle talked about the importance of embracing rejection and never taking it personally. “If you love yourself and love what you’re doing, that no means nothing. And really, the no means nothing regardless, because sometimes it’s not about your talent. It’s not about you know, how good you actually did on the audition. It’s the way you look, how tall you are (…)”. 

To close the conversation, Tyirq Withers was honest and straightforward: “I like rejection. I like being rejected, (…) yes, rejection therapy”. His comedic timing was flawless as he quoted Miley Cyrus’ iconic song, “The Climb“, connecting its message to the acting journey. There will always be another audition and another obstacle to face, but you’ll eventually reach where you’re meant to be, because what is for you will never pass you. 

For any acting students reading this, follow the career and life advice from this year’s young yet wise panelists: enjoy the process, embrace the unpredictability of the industry and always make sure you feel like a beginner in the room, because there is always more to learn. 

P.S. Yes, they really did exit the stage singing “The Climb”.