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When a museum celebrating the Ku Klux Klan opens in a small South Carolina town, the idealistic Reverend Kennedy resolves to do everything in his power to prevent long-simmering racial tensions from boiling over. But the members of Kennedy’s congregation are shocked to discover that his plan includes sheltering Mike Burden, a Klansman whose relationships with both a single-mother and a high-school friend force him to re-examine his long-held beliefs. After Kennedy helps Mike leave behind his violent past, the Baptist preacher finds himself on a collision course with manipulative KKK leader Tom Griffin. In the face of grave threats to himself and his family, the resolute Kennedy bravely pursues a path toward peace, setting aside his own misgivings in the hopes of healing his wounded community.

IMTA alum Garrett Hedlund stars as Burden, alongside Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, Tom Wilkinson, Andrea Riseborough, Tess Harper, Crystal Fox, and Usher. The film, which is based on a true story, initially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 where it won the Audience Award.

When “American Idol” returns for its 18th season on Sunday, among the singers vying to become the next star will be IMTA alum Dillon James. James, who won the inaugural Songwriting Competition at IMTA in 2012, also was the Most Sought Male Talent 2nd Runner Up.

Following IMTA, James signed with Unified Management and began auditioning in LA. His first acting role was as a young country singer in Dolly Parton’s TV movie, A Christmas Country Story. He also appeared in the historical short film The Haircut, about the first class of female cadets accepted into military service academies, and the Lifetime TV thriller, A Teacher’s Obsession.

Joining the lineup of Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movies is Christmas on My Mind, in which Greene stars as Lucy alongside Andrew Walker as her ex-boyfriend Zac, and Jackée Harry as Dr. Caroline Albright. When Lucy wakes up with a wedding dress in hand, she believes that she is late to her wedding with her ex-boyfriend Zac. However, she has no recollection of the past 2 years, including the fact that she is engaged to another man. With Zac’s help, Lucy sets off on an adventure in Bedford Harbor to fill the gaps in her memory, and finds old romantic feelings reigniting during the Christmas season.

Greene also takes on the role of former Fox News personality Abby Huntsman in the feature film Bombshell, which deals with the real-life harrowing experiences of women at Fox News and their harassment by CEO Roger Ailes. John Lithgow takes on the role of Ailes with Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, Margot Robbie as producer Kayla Pospisil, and Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly. Allison Janney plays trailblazing feminist lawyer Susan Estrich, with Kate McKinnon, Mark Duplass and Alice Eve also featured. Elisabeth Rohm and Spencer Garrett appear as Fox News hosts Martha MacCallum and Sean Hannity, and Alanna Ubach plays Fox News host Jeanine Pirro.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, the four friends — Spencer, Martha, Fridge and Bethany — are all excited to reconnect over Christmas break after going their separate ways after high school. However, Spencer is fighting to overcome a new series of anxiety attacks and believes that the only way to regain the confidence he found in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is to return to Jumanji. Unfortunately, after re-entering the perilous magical jungle realm, he discovers that the game has changed and Bethany, Martha and Fridge must enter the game to rescue him.

Returning to Jumanji: The Next Level is IMTA alum Madison Iseman, starring as Young Bethany in the character she originated in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain and Morgan Turner also return, alongside Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black. Added to the cast are Awkwafina, Danny DeVito and Danny Glover.

Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran is a man with a lot on his mind. The former labor union high official and hitman learned to kill serving in Italy during the Second World War. He now looks back on his life and the hits that defined his mob career, maintaining connections with the Bufalino crime family. In particular, he focuses on the part he claims to have played in the disappearance of his life-long friend, Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who mysteriously vanished in late July of 1975 at the age of 62.

Directed by Martin Scorcese, The Irishman stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jack Huston, Kathrine Narducci, Jesse Plemons, Domenick Lombardozzi, Paul Herman, Gary Basaraba, and Marin Ireland. IMTA alum Jeremy Luke also stars as Tommy Andretta, who—with his brother Stevie—were prime suspects in Hoffa’s kidnapping and killing. The real Tommy Andretta, now 80, resides in Las Vegas, allegedly long retired from his days working for the east coast mob. The Andretta brothers were convicted in 1979 for labor racketeering and sent to prison.

December 23, 1983: Just days before Christmas, the Oliverio family readies their Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian tradition stretching back to the old country of Calabria. Amidst the preparations, Tony Oliverio, a young man with big dreams and a bigger heart, wonders if he'll find love this Christmas season or spend it alone with his loud and loving family: Great Grandma Nonnie, Grandpa Johnny, Great Uncles Frankie and Carmine, his parents, his brother, and a host of friends. When Sarah, the girlfriend of his best friend Angelo, introduces Tony to Beth, it looks like Tony's holiday experience might take a turn for the better. That is unless Nonnie thinks Beth isn't good enough for her great-grandson, and Beth's Ivy League suitor doesn't steal her heart first.

In the new family comedy Playing with Fire, professional wrestler turned actor John Cena plays Jake, an uptight fire superintendent who must face his hardest task yet — babysitting three kids he and his crew rescued until they can locate their parents. The children are saved from an encroaching wildfire only to discover their parents are nowhere to be found. Cena's straight-laced character then struggles to both take care of the kids and do his job effectively. What results is a series of silly disasters with Cena and his fellow tough-guy firefighters, played by Keegan-Michael Key and John Leguizamo, seemingly developing soft spots for the children amid various slapstick incidents.

Alum Brianna Hildebrand play the oldest of the rescued children, Brynn, alongside scene-stealing Finley Rose Slater as Zoey and Christian Convery as Will. The film also stars Judy Greer and another wrestler turned actor, Tyler Mane.

Since the iconic series “Breaking Bad” ended in 2013, IMTA alum Aaron Paul has taken on a variety of roles in feature films such as Need for Speed, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Eye in the Sky and Central Intelligence, as well as TV series that include Hulu’s “The Path” and Netflix’s adult animated “Bojack Horseman,” on which he also serves as an Executive Producer. He had just completed the independent feature The Parts You Lose in early 2018 when “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan secretly contacted him to see if he would be interested in an idea he had for a movie about Jesse Pinkman, Paul’s character in the series about a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer who turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family's future.

Skip forward 18 months to August 2019. The Samuel Goldwyn Company reveals the trailer and October 4 release date for The Parts You Lose. And, Netflix surprises “Breaking Bad” fans with news of a TV “event” for October 11: the debut of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

Evan is your typical family man – devoted father, loving husband, hard worker, and occasional murderer of bad parents. A high school guidance counselor, his affection for the young and the innocent yields some interesting results. When his infant son cries in the middle of the night, he lets his wife Lauren sleep while he tends to the boy’s needs. When his lady frets over their newborn’s inability to gain weight, Evan invites his mother to come and help out around the house while he’s at work. When his student shows up at school with a shiner, Evan takes it upon himself to remove the threat from the situation – or, in layman’s terms, take the abusive father to an abandoned mansion, tie him to a chair, stab him with a large hunter’s knife, and bury his cold cadaver deep in the earth.

IMTA alum Seann William Scott is primarily known for his wise-cracking comedic roles in films such as Goon, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Rundown and the American Pie series of films, as well as voicing Crash in the Ice Age franchise and Skiff in Planet 51. In recent years, Scott has taken on roles that allowed him to stretch his dramatic side, such as the role of Wesley Cole in the third season of the Fox series “Lethal Weapon” and an abusive stepfather in Already Gone. In a clear departure from his previous roles and playing against type, playing Evan in the horror thriller Bloodline allows Scott to delve into his darkest role yet.

Riot Girls is an action sci-fi feature set in an alternate 1995 where a mysterious illness has killed every adult. With the adults gone the town of Potter’s Bluff has split into two factions: on the East Side are the poor kids working together to survive by scavenging the ruins of the former town; the West Side is the home of the rich and popular who have made the high school their base. Behind the West’s brutal dictator Jeremy, the area runs with a cult-like precision, and anyone that dares to disobey is dispatched, often in a public display. When Jack, the leader from the East, is caught stealing water and batteries, it is up to his sister Nat and her best friend Scratch to rescue him in a mission that will forever change the future of the town.

IMTA alum Madison Iseman stars as Nat opposite Paloma Kwiatkowski as Scratch. “We hit it off as soon as we met, and she’s a really great friend of mine,” Iseman said of her co-star. “And that’s what you always hope for, that you find someone that you naturally have a great chemistry with. We had a lot of fun together, too, because we were both just diving into these characters. We both changed our hair, and we got cool haircuts. She made it very easy to have this on-screen romance, and we became such good friends.” Written by Katherine Collins and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic, Munro Chambers, Alexandre Bourgeois, Ajay Freiese, and Atticus Mitchell also star.

High in the Columbian mountains of South America, a group of child and teenage soldiers train and wait for instructions while ensuring that their American hostage, the Doctora, stays alive. The young group of rebels — bearing names like Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom — perform military training exercises by day and revert to youthful self-indulgence by night. After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, both the mission and the intricate bonds formed within the group begin to disintegrate.

Monos debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, winning the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award. Since then, it has won multiple awards at film festivals throughout the world, culminating with its selection as the Colombian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Starring in Monos is IMTA alum Moisés Arias. Born in NYC to Colombian parents who fled their homeland due to violence, Arias’ personal history is intricately tied to the conflict that has burdened the country for decades. Upon reading the screenplay for Monos, he agreed to spend four months in Colombia for a demanding cinematic undertaking. “It was described to me that it would be a very difficult experience, because we’d be up in the mountains of Chingaza near Bogota, about 14,000 feet in the air, for about a month or two, and then move into the jungles of Medellín for about four weeks.”

Each fall as a new television season begins, it is gratifying to note the IMTA alumni who add to their résumés with work on “television.” In this century, “television” is not just a “smart” TV, but any portable device or computer with internet access. Networks and cable channels produce their own line-up of original shows and films, as do streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and Apple TV. YouTube and Vimeo serve as platforms for independent filmmakers and writers to release original series and films. All of these outlets provide unlimited — and ongoing —possibilities for IMTA alumni to appear on “the small screen” by making their full catalog of shows, new and old, available on-line so that they may be viewed year-round, 24-7.

Below are just a few of the IMTA alumni working on network, cable or web series, appearing on returning or new series in regular or recurring roles, announced guest-starring appearances, and lead or supporting roles in TV movies and mini-series. Our apologies for any names missing. IMTA is equally proud of all of the alumni working in the entertainment industry and we try to keep track of as many as we can. Please let us know of castings, guest appearances and other successes of IMTA alums.

Every young actor has to start somewhere, and what better start than a role in a new series with one of today’s most critically acclaimed actors. LA18 alum Brady Amaya will appear in episode 8 of the new Fox series “Ratched,” which stars Sarah Paulson. The series follows a young nurse (a younger version of the sadistic Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) at a mental institution who becomes jaded, bitter and a downright monster to her patients. No air date has been announced. Amaya, from SB Talent, was a finalist for Male Pre-Teen Talent, Male Pre-Teen Model and Most Sought Male Talent.

“I was too old when Dora came out. I was already past that stage of watching cartoons, but boy, did she have an impact on me even though I didn’t watch it regularly. Everybody knew who Dora was, especially in the Hispanic community, and everything that she represented on a mainstream television [show]: to see this little girl speaking Spanish, and she was brown like us, and she was positive!” — Eva Longoria Bastón

Raise your hand if you remember when “Dora the Explorer” made her debut on Nickelodeon in 2000. She was the first animated Latina character in a leading role, and remains the star of the longest-running American TV show featuring characters speaking Spanish. Now, 19 years later, the live-action Dora and the Lost City of Gold gets the big-screen treatment in a family action-adventure that is breaking boundaries and stereotypes.

Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora for her most dangerous adventure ever: high school. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots, Diego, a mysterious jungle inhabitant, and a ragtag group of teens on a mission to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization. The film stars IMTA alum Eva Longoria alongside Michael Peña, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Trejo, Eugenio Derbez, and Isabela Moner as Dora.

“I was born in Senegal, West Africa, and I moved to the States when I was six years old. When I first came I had to assimilate. I learned the language in two months and I was in school two months later, assimilating into this culture. And sometimes I just feel like an outsider too, right? I think a lot of people can relate to that.” — Anna Diop

Accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, Adelaide Wilson returns to the beachfront home where she grew up as a child. Haunted by a traumatic experience from the past, Adelaide grows increasingly concerned that something bad is going to happen to her family. Her worst fears soon become a reality when four masked strangers descend upon the house, forcing the Wilsons into a fight for survival. When the masks come off, each stranger takes the appearance of a different family member.

From writer/director Jordan Peele comes the horror feature Us, which stars Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, and IMTA alum Anna Diop.

“You should always live outside your comfort zone. I have always been a fan of doing things that are outside of my comfort zone, and challenge me as an actor or a person, whatever.” — Moises Arias

In Five Feet Apart, Stella Grant is a mostly normal seventeen-year-old, attached to her laptop and her friends. But unlike most people her age, she's got cystic fibrosis and has to spend a ton of time in the hospital. Her boundary-filled, controlled life is tested when she meets Will Newman, a fellow patient who also has CF. Despite their instant connection, they must keep a safe distance between them because of their condition. Things intensify and temptation rises to throw caution to the wind and embrace their attraction.

IMTA alum Moises Arias co-stars in Five Feet Apart as Poe, best friend to Stella, opposite Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse as the young couple in love. Justin Baldoni directs from a script by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. The cast also includes Kimberly Hebert Gregory, Parminder Nagra, Claire Forlani, Emily Baldoni, Elena Satine, Gary Weeks and Sophia Bernard.

“Back in Minnesota, one of the only ways you could leave the farm was through sport. That’s why everybody in the Midwest—or at least where I grew up—is a triathlete. We all just wanted to get out. But for me, the way to get out was acting.” — Garrett Hedlund

Triple Frontier centers on a group of former Special Forces operatives who reunite to plan a heist in a sparsely populated multi-border zone of South America. For the first time in their prestigious careers these unsung heroes undertake this dangerous mission for self instead of country. While each of them has served the U.S. in multiple operations—and been wounded as a reward—they still don't have the money to put kids in college, so a new plan dangles that money in front of their faces. But when events take an unexpected turn and threaten to spiral out of control, their skills, their loyalties and their morals are pushed to a breaking point in an epic battle for survival.

IMTA alum Garrett Hedlund stars in Triple Frontier alongside Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Adria Arjona and Pedro Pascal. The film is directed by Academy Award nominee J.C. Chandor and co-written by Chandor and Academy Award winner Mark Boal. The action feature is set to join the exclusive group of Netflix original films that get a theatrical release in select theaters before premiering on the streaming service.