EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Television has its Elevate Actors Fellowship Class of 2026. The 10 fellows selected from more than 5,400 applicants are Alita LaShae, Anish Chandak, Haley Lohrli, Ivan Mok, Jackie Tien, JJ Maley, Laurie Magers, Omete Anassi, Vincent Rutley and Yasmin Kassim. Read more about them below.

Starting August 10 on the Sony studio lot in Culver City, the six-week program is designed to develop exceptional emerging talent while fostering growth, creativity and collaboration. Fellows take part in rigorous professional training, industry education and artistic development, working with guest instructors, casting directors, showrunners, producers and studio executives while gaining firsthand insight into the creative and business sides of television.

The fellowship invests in the next generation of talent while providing participants with the tools, mentorship and industry access to accelerate their careers. The program wraps with a showcase on the Sony lot, where participants perform for an invited audience of casting directors, agents, managers, producers and showrunners.

LaShae recently appeared in SPT’s S.W.A.T. Exiles and has also been seen in Forever, High Potential, The Affair and Miss 2059.

Chandak guest-starred on NBC’s New Amsterdam and has led award-winning independent films including Indian in a Box and Birdie Cricket, with recent work premiering at festivals including Fantasia, Dances With Films and L.A. Shorts International.

Lohrli has led numerous independent film and television projects, including Lifetime’s Murder at the Merriweather, and wrote, directed and starred in the short film Here’s to You.

Mok’s television credits include recurring roles on The Americans and Young Sheldon, along with guest appearances on Grey’s Anatomy, FBI: International and Leverage: Redemption, in addition to extensive voiceover work.

Tien appeared in Amazon’s Panic and has starred in several independent films including The Shot You Don’t Take, American Romantic and Liftoff.

Maley is a series regular on Steven Soderbergh’s Command Z, current UCB Lloyd team member, a Tony-winning producer for A Strange Loop and a four-time Tony nominee.

Magers is an actor, writer and comedian who has appeared in SPT’s Obliterated on Netflix and Mating Season, was a SPT Diverse Writers Program fellow and served as a staff writer on Obliterated.

Anassi is a Juilliard-trained actor who has appeared in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building and the feature African Giants, winner of the Slamdance Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, while earning acclaim on stage for Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea and Br’er Cotton, which earned him an NAACP Theatre Award nomination.

Rutley is an Easterseals Disability Film Challenge 2026 Best Actor award winner whose most recent work includes lead roles in the independent films Neighborhood Watch and Step Buddies and voice work for Sony Pictures Animation.

Kassim is an Australian actor, writer and stand-up comedian who starred in Netflix’s You, Always and appeared in Anaconda, FingI, Spa Weekend and The Get Out, following earlier roles in The Sex Lives of College Girls and Neighbours.

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