Most actors are lucky to be part of a single major film franchise over the course of their career. However, in just five years, Katy O’Brian scored roles in three of the biggest franchises of all time — Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Mission: Impossible. Yet another jaw-dropping and very well earned acting feat? Just a few months after Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning hit theaters, O’Brian had not one, not two, not three, but four major releases debut — Queens of the Dead, Christy, Maintenance Required, and now Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man.

O’Brian plays Jenni Laughlin in the film, one of three people selected to participate in The Network’s most popular and most dangerous game show, The Running Man. The risk is high, but so is the reward. If Laughlin, Glen Powell’s Ben Richards, or Martin Herlihy’s Jansky manage to evade McCone (Lee Pace) and The Hunters for 30 days, they win a whopping billion New Dollar reward. The odds of that happening? Mighty slim given no one’s ever won The Running Man, but producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) ensures their pursuit of that jackpot has sky-high entertainment value every single step of the way, even if it means putting the contestants’ lives at greater risk or manipulating his audience.

With The Running Man now playing in theaters nationwide, O’Brian returns to Collider Ladies Night after first making an appearance on the “Pre-Party” edition of the show for the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and then being part of the first-ever live Ladies Night at San Diego Comic Con in celebration of Twisters. This time around, not only does O’Brian break down her experience playing “chaos personified” in The Running Man, but she also looks back on the last five years and reveals which projects opened new doors, and which ones didn’t boost her star in this industry as much as you might expect.

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When Asa Germann started working on Gen V, it was only his fourth day on a film set — ever. He had worked on Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story with Evan Peters for three days, but that was it. Germann had theater experience and always felt “very committed to training as an actor,” but he still had to wait for his big break on the screen to come through. It may have taken time — six years, in fact — but Germann finally booked a game changing TV role playing Sam Riordan in The Boys spinoff series. While it took time for Germann to finally book a role, it took nearly none at all for him to prove that he was made for the screen.

Germann absolutely sizzles as Sam. Whether he’s bubbling over with rage, desperate for Cate (Maddie Phillips) to calm his mind, or yearning to be his best self, Germann captures the complexity of the character’s situation to the fullest, showing off immense range via a single role, especially in Season 2. At the end of Season 1, Sam turns to the dark side and plays an especially big part in the massacre at Godolkin University. Can a character ever come back from something like that? Had you asked me that question in November of 2023 when Gen V Season 1 wrapped up, my answer would have been a resounding no. However, thanks to Germann and the Gen V writing team, Sam makes the turn quite successfully in Season 2, not by quickly wiping the slate clean but by challenging the character to face his mistakes, acknowledge that there’s no quick fix and sort through the wealth of emotions that come with such a situation.

With Gen V Season 2 now available to stream in full on Prime Video, Germann swung by the Collider Forces studio for his very first solo longform interview. During the conversation we touched on his parents’ influence as experienced actors themselves, what it was like powering through six years of auditions before he finally scored Gen V, the difference between what he thought was in store for Sam in Season 2 and what wound up happening, what the future could hold for the Sam and Emma (Lizze Broadway) relationship, and so much more.

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In celebration of the release of Hedda on Prime Video, Tessa Thompson joined Perri Nemiroff for a Collider Ladies Night conversation!

During their chat, Thompson revisits working on Veronica Mars with Kristen Bell and discusses how Justin Simien's Dear White People was a personal acting game-changer. She also digs into the reality of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and celebrates her longstanding collaboration with Hedda director, Nia DaCosta.

Hear about all of that and so much more in this interview!

Here's the official synopsis for HEDDA: "A provocative reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, Hedda follows enigmatic newlywed Hedda (Tessa Thompson), who is outwardly composed but hiding a simmering discontent that threatens to explode when the brilliant and charismatic Eileen Lovberg (Nina Hoss) reenters her life. Over the course of a raucous party, the high and low of society endure the consequences of this dangerous and unknowable woman yearning for a past love. What ensues is a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy, and betrayal collide. Written and directed by Nia DaCosta, Hedda is a daring exploration of power, desire, and a woman’s refusal to be confined."

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