Pedro Pascal, the late Chadwick Boseman, Meghan Markle, Randall Park, and Carrie Ann Inaba are just some of the stars selected over the last two decades to be part of the Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase.
"We went through 45,000 submissions, and we got folks from all across the U.S.," said Felicia Joseph, SVP, Talent & Casting/ABC, HULU & ONYX.
Joseph says his year's group is a beautiful ensemble of a lot of different types of talent. They all participated in shooting an original 30-minute comedy for show biz professionals to watch - and then potentially hire them for future projects.
It's a game changer in a competitive industry.
"I would love a job because I live in the Bronx now, and it ain't easy, so I would love to make it out and say I made it out. I'm not from there. I'm from Indiana. I made it out of Indiana. Now I need to make it out of The Bronx," said R.J. Walker.
"The thing that this has taught me is just to stick with it because things like this can happen, something that a year from now, if you told me I was going to be standing right here on the news ... I would not believe it!" said Ra-Mya Latiah Aikens.
"I'm trans so it was a big deal to have a company say that, like, they believe I can make money like this. I didn't know if that was going to happen, honestly," said Jamie C. Ripley.
"We get to walk away from this with friends for life and just to be in each other's corners and see what happens for us all is going to be magical," said Kadan Well Bennett.
The event also brought out familiar faces who support what this is about and offer a little advice on life in Hollywood.
"It's a difficult game, and I think part of it is sticking to the pavement, you know what I mean? Keeping down and make sure you can go for the long haul," said Charlie Barnett.
"When you have the opportunity to be number one on the call sheet, take it as an opportunity to be kind," said Niecy Nash.
Over the course of the last two decades, 600 actors have been mentored in this program aimed at discovering and nurturing new talent.