In episode 11 of The Young Entertainment Podcast, Daniella and Mordechai are joined by Maxwell Acee Donovan, who starred as Wesley Presley in Disney’s Gabby Duran & The Unsittables, Nate in That ‘90s Show and as Ethan in the new Prime Video thriller The Better Sister. If you’ve ever wanted a podcast to learn from the stars and get the best masterclass tips and tricks for launching your own career, you’ve come to the right place!
Maxwell has worked on so many incredible projects with so many stars, and he shared with us all the crazy stories from those experiences. He revealed the one person he was super starstruck by was David DeLuise, who played Jerry Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place, when David came to the set of That ‘90s Show.
Maxwell has also had some fun audition stories. While he was heading to a live taping of one of the final episodes of That ‘90s Show, Maxwell received a call from his manager who told him the news he booked the role of Ethan in The Better Sister, and he was on a new set just two weeks later!
Maxwell: “I got the news for [The Better Sister] on my way to a live taping of [That 90s Show].”
From our interview, it’s obvious that Maxwell has an incredible sense of humor and many of his roles throughout his career have been comedic. The Better Sister was one of his first dramatic roles, and he revealed body language was a super technical aspect to learning how to act in a serious situation.
In The Better Sister, Chloe, played by Jessica Biel, navigates life with her husband Adam (Corey Stoll) and son Ethan while her sister Nicky, played by Elizabeth Banks, battles addiction. But when Adam is murdered, family secrets are revealed which shake their world.
Maxwell: “Everytime I read when they would add someone to the cast of The Better Sister, my jaw dropped a little further.”
Maxwell said both Jessica and Elizabeth were absolute pros and it was so fun doing scenes with them while playing Jessica’s son. Maxwell said one of the first calls he got after he booked the role was from Jessica to chat and get to know him!
Maxwell: “[Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks] are both just masters of the craft.”
While The Better Sister was a serious project, Maxwell said the whole cast found comedic moments and laughed a lot together. Matthew Modine, who plays Adam’s boss Bill, even brought crosswords to set on one of the first days, and they all bonded in that moment.
Maxwell: “We were able to find the comedy in a [dramatic] series.”
We ended our interview with our favorite rapid fire round of firsts, as Maxwell revealed his first on-screen kiss was with Kylie Cantrall, he once worked with Miles Teller, and the original Guardians of the Galaxy inspired him to become an actor.
Once again, this podcast is for you, the fans! We want to know who you want to hear and learn from and have many exciting guests and stories coming up in future episodes! We’ll be releasing episodes each week so don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned!
Consider this
- Acting notes are adjustments given by showrunners or directors during the performance of a scene, often on the physicality or delivery of a specific line. This is often a great time to listen and learn and will only help you grow as an actor.
