For our final episode of the year, we are delighted to be joined by actress, singer and producer Analisa Velez, star of Paramount+ series The Game to talk all about season two of the revival series. As this was Velez’s first series regular role, she harkens back to her audition for the role, remembering that she made it a goal to have fun with it. “It was one of the first auditions where I just dove in. I gave it everything I had and didn’t care to be right, I wanted to make her this person I’m really excited to be and they’re gonna have a good time watching it! As artists, you have to come back to that [inner] child.” 

She also reflected on how equally excited and nervous she was when first arriving to set and meeting the stars of the series whom she had watched in the original run in 2006. “I remember my makeup artist had to constantly help me reapply because I kept crying, I kept thinking to myself, ‘I made it.’ I remember seeing Wendy [Raquel Robinson] and Hosea [Chanchez] thinking ‘oh my god, that’s Tasha, that’s Malik’ and having these inner freak-out moments. I was just so excited!”

New episodes of The Game are available to stream Thursdays on Paramount+