Quinta Brunson: Actor Elementary

Quinta Brunson sits down for a heartfelt conversation about building Abbott Elementary from the ground up, tracing her path from childhood impressions in the back of a minivan to discovering improv in college, studying at Second City and breaking into the industry through BuzzFeed and viral digital sketches. She reflects on how those early experiences shaped her voice as a performer and writer, and how she eventually translated that into creating a hit network sitcom. Quinta also opens up about developing Janine Teagues, balancing writing and acting at the same time and why she’s intentional about making flawed, funny women feel deeply human on screen. Loved this episode? Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe so you never miss an episode of I AM AN ACTOR. Keep up with us on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and X.  I AM AN ACTOR is produced in partnership with SAG-AFTRA and SickBird Productions.