Join us for a panel with some of the 2026 Emmy-nominated actors discussing the actors work preparing a scene, finding the beats, character motivations and working with your fellow actors. This panel includes Jeff Kober (The Pitt), Tina Ivlev (The Pitt) and Stephen Root (Widow's Bay).
Jeff Kober is an Emmy Award-winning actor who recently made history with a Primetime Emmy nomination and a Daytime Emmy nomination in the same year. Kober has been recognized by the Academy this year as Guest Actor in a Drama for his notable turn as motorcycle mechanic Duke Ekins on the award-winning HBO Max series The Pitt. He also has been recognized as a Guest Actor in a Drama for his role as Cyrus Renault on General Hospital – the same role which won him a Daytime Emmy in 2022. In his over 40 year career, his list of credits that include recurring stints on Shameless, New Girl, Big Sky, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Truth Be Told and General Hospital. Film credits include Clint Eastwood’s Sully as well as the independent films, Self Reliance, Break, Cash for Gold, Leave No Trace and Beauty Mark. Kober also wrote, appeared in and did the photography used in the movie Lie Exposed, starring Leslie Hope and Bruce Greenwood. Kober has been a teacher of Vedic Meditation since 2007, and his book,Embracing Bliss: 108 Daily Meditations is available at fine online bookstores everywhere. In his spare time, Jeff makes large format tintype and ambrotype wet plate collodion photographs.
Tina Ivlev has quickly established herself as one of television's most compelling rising talents, fresh off her first Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She earned the 2026 nomination for her acclaimed performance as Ilana Miller in Season 2 of HBO Max's Emmy winning drama series The Pitt. Most recently, she wrapped a recurring role in the final season of Apple TV+'s For All Mankind. Ivlev's television credits also include recurring roles on Showtime's Shameless, CBS' All Rise, and USA Network's Queen of the South, as well as memorable guest appearances on Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+), Station 19 (ABC), The Rookie (ABC), and S.W.A.T. (CBS). Beyond live action, she is widely recognized by fans as the voice and performance capture actor behind Nightsister Merrin in the acclaimed Star Wars Jedi video game franchise.
Stephen Root, one of the greatest character actors of our generation, is not slowing down anytime soon. After nearly four decades of work on TV, in film and theatre, Root just received his second Emmy nomination for the role of former fisherman and local resident ‘Wyck’ in Apple TV’s hit, folk-horror comedy series “Widow’s Bay, opposite Matthew Rhys. He received his first Emmy nomination in 2019 for playing ‘Monroe Fuches,’ the sleazy handler to Bill Hader’s hitman turned aspiring actor in the hit HBO comedy “Barry.” As you may know, Root’s credits are varied and run deep. Some of the highlights include: the stapler-obsessed ‘Milton’ in OFFICE SPACE, the voice of Bill Dauterive on “King of the Hill,” station owner Jimmy James in NBC’s “Newsradio,” five Coen Bros films (MACBETH,O, BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?, THE LADY KILLERS, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS), DODGEBALL and more recently, BOMBSHELL and TO LESLIE. Of course, the list above doesn’t even come close to doing justice to Root’s career.
