New York Film Academy Alum Felipe Holguin is an award-winning director and producer. After graduating, from the NYFA MFA Filmmaking program he started his own production company, Cumbia Films, in his native Colombia. Holguin has since created several acclaimed feature-length and short films.
SNAPSHOT
Year Attended/Graduated: 2008
Location: Los Angeles, New York City
Tendo Nagenda is the VP of Original Films at Netflix. Prior to Netflix, Nagenda held the VP of Production position at Walt Disney Studios, where he was involved with titles like Queen of Katwe, A Wrinkle in Time, and Dumbo, among others.
While at Netflix, Nagenda has had the opportunity to develop films like Da 5 Bloods, Spenser Confidential, The Old Guard, and many other new titles.
His most anticipated title in development is the upcoming film The Gray Man starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling on Netflix’s biggest film budget to date.
Nagenda studied Filmmaking at NYFA in 1999 at NYFA’s New York campus.
SNAPSHOT
Year Attended/Graduated: 1999
Location: New York
Francesca Scorsese studied at NYFA’s New York City campus from 2012-2014 in NYFA’s Filmmaking Camps for Kids and Teens. Scorsese recently starred as Britney in her first big TV project, We Are Who We Are, from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino.
She has also starred in Wolf at The Door and has had smaller roles in Boardwalk Empire, Hugo, and The Aviator. In 2024, she appeared Squarespace: Marty & Francesca Make a Website with her father, Martin Scorcese. She’s set to star in the upcoming film Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point with Michael Cera.
SNAPSHOT
Years Attended: 2012, 2013, 2014
Location: New York
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Lio “Analeigh” Tipton, who placed third overall in cycle 11 of America’s Next Top Model, attended the New York Film Academy in the summer of 2005. They studied in NYFA’s six-week film camp before pursuing a career in modeling and acting.
Since, Tipton has appeared in a series of television shows and films including A Friend of the Family (2022) opposite Jake Lacy, Anna Paquin, and Colin Hanks, season one of Why Women Kill, The Big Bang Theory, romantic comedy Two Night Stand, Lucy with Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, Crazy, Stupid, Love., and The Green Hornet.
Their upcoming projects include With Love (2025) with Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’s Ke Huy Quan, The Long Home with Josh Hartnett, Giancarlo Esposito, and Josh Hutcherson, the TV series The Edge of Sleep, and My Twin Is Dead.
SNAPSHOT
Year Attended/Graduated: 2005
Header image via The Daily Beast.
Brazilian Actress Maisa Silva was first discovered in a talent show featuring Raul Gil. In 2007, she was featured on Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao programming, where presented the Sábado Animado Show, Bom dia e Cia, and Carrossel Animado.
Silva was recently cast as the star in a new Netflix original series Back to 15, to be released in February 2022. The show centers around an unhappy 30-year-old who discovers a way to travel back in time to when she was 15 years old.
SNAPSHOT
Year Graduated: 2018
Location: New York City
Aubrey Plaza is an award-winning actress whose professional repertoire speaks for itself. She attended a film camp at NYFA Los Angeles in 2000 before making her acting debut six years later. In 2006, Plaza appeared in two short films – titled Killswitch and In Love. She also appeared in an episode of NBC’s popular sitcom 30 Rock that year. Plaza then became a frequent guest on the online series The Jeannie Tate Show, appearing as herself six times in 2007 and 2008.
In 2009, Plaza landed the role of deadpan intern April Ludgate on another NBC sitcom, Parks and Recreation. She won a Peabody Award for her Parks and Recreation role in 2012. Co-stars Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman received the award as well, as did showrunner Michael Schur. She also appeared in Derrick Comedy’s Mystery Team, which debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, Plaza played Seth Rogen’s love interest Daisy in Funny People (2009) and Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010).
Following her roles in Mystery Team, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Plaza appeared in three episodes of Portlandia. In 2012, she played Marnie in the film A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, starring Charlie Sheen. That same year, Plaza played her first starring role as Darius in the comedy Safety Not Guaranteed.
In 2013, Plaza made a foray into voicework and animation, voicing the Greek Council President in Disney-Pixar’s Monsters University. She also appeared in the debut episode of Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz on Funny or Die. Plaza played the titular role in Ingrid Goes West (2017), winning the 2018 Spirit Award for Best First Feature.
In 2019, Plaza starred in the reboot of Child’s Play. She then starred in the Hulu original film The Happiest Season (2020), alongside Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and Allison Brie. Her on-screen character quickly became a favorite with the film’s audience. In 2020, she participated in a NYFA panel to discuss her film Black Bear.
More recently, Plaza played the titular role in Emily the Criminal (2022), winning the Best Actress award at that year’s Annapolis Film Festival in Maryland. She then appeared as Harper Spiller in seven episodes of The White Lotus. For their performances in the show, Plaza and her co-stars received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Plaza is slated to reprise her character of Julie Powers in an upcoming Scott Pilgrim anime series. She is also set to voice Brain in the animated film The Ark and the Aardvark, which is scheduled for theatrical release in 2024, as well as a role in the upcoming Marvel series Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.
Snapshot:
Year Attended/Graduated: 2000
Location: Los Angeles
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ACTOR | COMEDIAN | WRITER
Bill Hader is an Emmy-winning actor, writer, producer, and comedian whose professional repertoire speaks volumes. He graduated from NYFA’s filmmaking program at Princeton University in 1996.
Hader rose to prominence on Saturday Night Live, appearing in 161 episodes between 2005 and 2013. During his eight-year SNL tenure, Hader played a variety of onscreen characters. Notably, he portrayed the Weekend Update segment’s New York City correspondent Stefon.
Meanwhile, Hader also appeared in several live-action films during his time on SNL. He made his feature film debut in You, Me, and Dupree (2006). Hader subsequently appeared in Pineapple Express (2008), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), and Men in Black III (2012).
However, Hader’s on-screen credits during this time were not limited to television and live-action films. He also ventured into voice acting for animated films. These included Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 2009 and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs the same year. In the latter film, Hader voices the protagonist, scientist and inventor Flint Lockwood.
After leaving SNL as a full-time cast member in 2013, Hader subsequently continued his voice acting career for films including Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out (2015), The Angry Birds Movie (2016), and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019).
Since 2018, Hader has starred as the titular character in HBO’s dark comedy Barry, which he co-created and also writes and directs. Not surprisingly, he received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Barry in 2019 and 2020. He also won the 2020 Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in Comedy, also for Barry.
Hader has won a total of 35 awards as an actor, writer, and director. He won two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2018 and 2019), both for his titular role in Barry.
Hader also received the 2023 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for his starring role in Barry, his most recent award to date.
In conclusion, Bill Hader is an award-winning actor, comedian, producer, and writer with a repertoire to match.
Snapshot:
Year Graduated: 1996
Location: NYFA at Princeton University
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If you are an aspiring visual storyteller interested in film and/or television like Bill Hader, we at NYFA offer degree programs in a variety of disciplines ranging from acting for film to cinematography, filmmaking, producing, and 3D animation/visual effects (VFX). You will learn the fundamentals of your chosen discipline through hands-on experiences, such as producing and directing your own films. To learn more about our programs, click here!
PRODUCER | ACTOR | WRITER
New York Film Academy alum Issa Rae is an actress, comedian, director, and producer whose professional repertoire speaks volumes.
Rae attended NYFA Los Angeles, graduating from our 4-Week Filmmaking program in 2005. She rose to prominence on the YouTube original series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl between 2011 and 2013. The show won the 2012 Shorty Award for Best Web Show, Rae’s first career award. Rae later served as executive producer for the TV series The Choir from 2013 to 2015. Additionally, she was co-executive producer of First in 2014-15. She also appeared in the music videos for Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” (2013) and Jay-Z’s “Moonlight” (2017).
Rae is perhaps most notable for her leading role on HBO’s Insecure, which she also wrote and produced, from 2016 to 2021. She was nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Comedy or Musical for her performance in Insecure, in 2017, 2018, and 2022. She also received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, in 2018 and 2020. Additionally, Rae won three NAACP Image Awards for her work on Insecure. She won for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 2022 and Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2021 and 2022.
She also executive produced HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, the first sketch comedy directed by, written by, and starring all black women. Rae received a nomination for the 2021 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Meanwhile, the series as a whole received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series (2021 and 2022).
Notably, Rae also starred alongside Dan Levy and Bette Midler in the 2020 HBO quarantine satire Coastal Elites, filmed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, she hosted Saturday Night Live during the show’s 46th season.
More recently, Rae was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2022. The same year, she began executive producing the HBO comedy series Rap Sh*t. The series, produced by Rae’s production company HOORAE, focuses on two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group.
Rae also appears in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. She also hosts the revival of Project Greenlight, in which up-and-coming directors compete for the chance to direct their own feature film. Rae not only serves as a mentor to the aspiring directors, but also the show’s producer, through her production company HOORAE.
Snapshot:
Year Attended/Graduated: 2005
Location: Los Angeles
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If you are interested in acting, directing, producing, or writing like Issa Rae but do not have the time or financial resources for a traditional degree, consider one of our many short-term workshops. We at NYFA offer a variety of film, media, and entertainment workshops. Each one is designed to immerse students in their chosen discipline through hands-on learning experiences. No matter which program you select, you will learn fundamental principles and practices in a hands-on setting. To learn more about our short-term workshops, click here!
ACTOR
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is an actor from Guadalajara, Mexico whose professional repertoire speaks volumes. He attended NYFA Los Angeles for our 1-Year Conservatory for Acting in Film and 4-Week Filmmaking programs, graduating in 2004. Garcia-Rulfo then returned to Mexico and made his acting debut in the 2006 short film Valle de lágrimas (Spanish for “valley of tears”). A year later, he appeared in the film Maquillaje (“makeup” in Spanish), directed and written by Marcial Rios Salcido. In 2009, Garcia-Rulfo starred alongside Juan Pablo Campa and Alfredo Herrera in One for the Road. The film, originally titled La última y nos vamos in Spanish, revolves around Campa, Herrera, and Garcia-Rulfo’s characters’ late-night adventures of friendship, love, and respect in Mexico City.
Following a successful film and television career in Mexico, Garcia-Rulfo returned to the United States, appearing in nine episodes of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series in 2014-15. He then starred alongside Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke in The Magnificent Seven (2016). In 2017, Garcia-Rulfo played Biniamino Marquez in the film Murder on the Orient Express, based on Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name and starring Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, and Willem Dafoe.
He subsequently appeared in six episodes of the Amazon original series Goliath in 2018. The same year, Garcia-Rulfo acted alongside Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Isabel Merced in the film Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Additionally, he appeared in the film Widows, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki.
In 2019, Garcia-Rulfo starred alongside Ryan Reynolds and Mélanie Laurent in the film 6 Underground. He then co-starred with Tom Hanks in the film Greyhound (2020).
More recently, Garcia-Rulfo appeared in the film A Man Called Otto (2022), also starring Hanks. He currently stars in the Netflix original series The Lincoln Lawyer (2022-).
Snapshot:
Year Attended/Graduated: 2004
Location: Los Angeles
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If you are interested in film and television acting like Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, consider one of NYFA’s Acting for Film programs. We offer AFA, BFA, and MFA degrees in Acting for Film, plus 1- and 2-Year Certificate Programs and a variety of workshops. No matter which program you select, you will learn the fundamentals of film and television acting in a hands-on setting. To learn more about our Acting for Film programs, click here!
