Anna Camp and Krys Marshall join UNCSA’s “The Arts & Everything” podcast to rethink the myth of the Hollywood “big break”
UNCSA has released a new two-part episode of its podcast, “The Arts & Everything,” exploring what a “big break” really means for working artists and what it takes to sustain a long-term creative career. In “The Arts & The Big Break,” host Brian Cole, chancellor of UNCSA, speaks with School of Drama alumni Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect,” “True Blood,” “Mad Men”) and Krys Marshall (“For All Mankind,” “Paradise”) about the preparation, persistence and personal conviction behind the moments that appear, from the outside, to be overnight success.
Hosted by Chancellor Cole, “The Arts & Everything” examines timely issues shaping the arts and their future through conversations with thought leaders and arts and entertainment industry experts. Past episodes have included interviews with violinist Jennifer Koh (“The Arts & Your Brain”) and actor Stephen McKinley Henderson (“The Arts & Empathy”), among others.
Anna Camp
Anna Camp: When one small play changed everything
In Part 1, Camp reflects on a pivotal early moment in her career: a small off-Broadway production of Sean Cunningham’s “God Hates the Irish: The Ballad of Armless Johnny” at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Legendary director Mike Nichols happened to attend and later cast her in her first Broadway role: Clifford Odet’s “The Country Girl,” opposite Frances McDormand and Morgan Freeman.
“It felt very cinematic, right? This amazing director who had directed ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ and ‘The Graduate’ coming up to me,” Camp says. “It just felt like I was in my own little movie or something. It just felt like something I’d heard about, but I never thought would happen to me.”
But Camp emphasizes that sustaining a career required more than one fortunate night. She discusses navigating typecasting and turning down roles that would have confined her to a narrow stereotype.
“I had to trust myself and trust the fact that I’m a talented actor who can do a multitude of things,” she says.
Camp also speaks candidly about comparison and the pressure young actors feel to “make it” immediately after graduation.
“Everybody graduates college and they want to hit it big right when they get out,” Camp says. “But there’s something about saying I want to do this forever, I want to do this as my career, as my life.”
For Camp, UNCSA’s conservatory training provided the foundation to weather those pressures and build a career defined not just by visibility, but by artistic growth.
Krys Marshall
Krys Marshall: Turning opportunity into longevity
In Part 2, Marshall unpacks her own “big break” story: a last-minute audition that led to seven seasons on Apple TV+’s “For All Mankind.”
“There is sort of this myth that it’s important for me to dispel, which is the idea that, you know, you’re an actress and you’re just pumping gas and you’re humming a tune and along comes Steven Spielberg, who’s like, ‘You kid, you’ve got it,’” Marshall says.
Instead, she describes years of preparation and the mindset she brought to even the smallest roles. In her first episode of “For All Mankind,” she appeared in only a handful of scenes.
“I was a steward of those scenes,” she says. “I didn’t see them as like, oh, I’m just playing this little, small part … I behaved like a girl who belonged as a part of this family.”
Over time, her role expanded into a central character across multiple seasons. Marshall credits her training at UNCSA for instilling the confidence to show up fully prepared.
“I’m grateful for my School of the Arts experience for reminding me like, wherever I go, there I am. I can bring Krys with me,” she says.
Marshall also discusses one of the boldest decisions of her career: advocating for her character’s death at the height of the show’s success in order to pursue new challenges.
“When I did season four of ‘For All Mankind,’ I spoke to my showrunners before the season started and I said to them, I think that Danielle has to die,” she says. “It’s like the craziest thing an actor could ever say to producers and showrunners.”
Her decision reflects a central theme of the episode: That long-term careers are built not just on opportunity, but on agency, boundaries and the courage to walk away when growth demands it.
“The moments where I thought I can’t bend, I’m going to break … those were always the moments right before the next windfall,” Marshall says.
Visit www.uncsa.edu/artsandeverything to listen to “The Arts & The Big Break” Parts 1 and 2 and for past and future episodes of the podcast.
About Host Brian Cole
UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole
Brian Cole is the ninth chancellor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Since becoming chancellor in 2020, he has led the development and implementation of the university’s strategic plan, “UNCSA Forward,” guiding the institution as it adapts to a transforming arts and entertainment landscape. His initiatives include expanding industry partnerships; launching the university’s mission-driven media publishing arm, UNCSA Media; and elevating campuswide mental health and wellness efforts. Cole has filled key leadership roles, overseen several major capital projects, and is leading the comprehensive $85 million renovation of the university’s performing arts center and learning laboratory, the Stevens Center in downtown Winston-Salem. An experienced conductor, Cole previously served as dean of the School of Music at UNCSA, founding dean of academic affairs at Berklee Valencia, and associate dean of academic affairs at the Puerto Rico Conservatory, and holds degrees from Louisiana State University and the University of Illinois.
About “The Arts & Everything”
“The Arts & Everything” is a production of UNCSA Media, supported in part by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. The podcast is produced in part by UNCSA alumni and faculty, including School of Design and Production alumna Maria Wurttele. Music was composed by School of Music faculty member and Filmmaking alumnus Chris Heckman and performed by André Vasconcelos, Chris Heckman, and School of Music students Miah K. Cardoza and Gabe Lopez.
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February 18, 2026