IMTA Alum Sean Faris on The Vampire Diaries!

Sean Faris recently joined the cast of Vampire Diaries as Ben, an ex-high school football player and bartender at the local Mystic Grill. Ben befriends Matt Donovan, (played by another IMTA alum Zach Roerig), when Matt goes looking for a job at the restaurant. Ben becomes intertwined with Matt and his group of friends while becoming enchanted by one of the girls on the show.

Sean won Junior Male Model of the Year when he competed at IMTA in 1999 and signed with Dino May Managment! Since IMTA, Sean has starred in films such as Forever Strong, Never Back Down, and the television series Smallville.

Watch Sean and Zach on The Vampire Diaries Thursday nights at 8pm on the CW!

IMTA Alumni Celebrate Sesame Street's 40th Season!

Two IMTA alumni join in the kick off to celebrate Sesame Street's 40th season! On November 10th, 2009 (40 years to the day since its premiere broadcast), Sesame Street kicks off its star-studded 40th! New episodes this season will feature well-known celebrity guests including IMTA alumni Eva Longoria! Another IMTA alum,Tiffany Thornton will be promoting the Sesame Street characters by performing during the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Tiffany will perform a duet with Kermit the frog singing Someday My Prince Will Come.

When Eva competed at IMTA in 1998, she had 38 agents and managers interested in representing her! She signed with a manager she had met at the convention and went on to star in the hugely popular TV show Desperate Housewives.

Tiffany showed she was a triple threat when she competed at IMTA. She recently debuted her new music video called Someday My Prince Will Come. This music video is part of the Diamond Edition DVD release of the Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!


Be sure to watch for Eva and Tiffany as they celebrate Sesame Street's 40th year.

Jon Kent Ethridge in Black Dynamite!

IMTA alum Jon Kent Ethridge's film Black Dynamite is in theaters now! This film is about the conflicts and struggles of black people in poor neighborhoods. In this moving film, Jon portrays "young black Dynamite" the lead character as a child. Jon will also guest-star this week on an episode of the popular show iCarly. The episode is called iFight Shelby Marx and Jon plays the character Grover.

Jon competed at IMTA in New York in 2004 where he signed with Martin Weiss of Martin Weiss Management. He recently starred in a Nickelodeon Movie of the Week called Last Day of Summer. Jon also guest-starred as Young Blade on an episode of Blade - The Series on Spike TV which stars another IMTA alum, former Model of the Year, Jill Wagner. He has been featured in commercials for Target and State Farm Insurance and on the television show Out of Jimmy's Head!

Be sure to get to theaters to see Jon Kent Ethridge in Black Dynamite and
tune into iCarly to see him as well.

Moises Arias on Wizards of Waverly Place!

IMTA alum Moises Arias will guest-star on Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place tonight! He will play Conscience, the character of Max's conscience, in the episode called Monster Hunt! On November 20, he will appear again as the same character in a episode called Doll House completing a three episode story arc and cross-show promotion! Moises also has a feature film in theaters now! He voices the character Zane in the animated action adventure Astro Boy. Moises also appeared on the Bonnie Hunt show yesterday with other Disney stars!!


Moises competed at IMTA in Los Angeles in 2005 with his brother Mateo. Shortly after IMTA, Moises got his break with appearances on Everybody Hates Chris and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody before landing the role of Rico on the hit show Hannah Montana! He made his feature film debut in 2006 starring in Nacho Libre opposite Jack Black. He competed at the 2008 Disney Channel Games with fellow IMTA alumni, Alyson Stoner and Kunal Sharma. He also starred in the film Hannah Montana: The Movie, The Perfect Game, a baseball movie, Beethoven's Big Break and Dadnapped!

Lauren Storm in I Love you Beth Cooper out on DVD!

Lauren Storm's movie I love You Beth Cooper is now out on DVD! In this movie, Lauren plays Treece Kilmer, one of the best friends of th e lead, Hayden Panettiere, who plays the title role of Beth Cooper. This film is directed by Chris Columbus and is based on the hilarious hit novel by former The Simpson's writer Larry Doyle. The plot revolves around a High School Graduation speech given by a dorky senior. When he tells the whole class he is in love with the prettiest, most popular girl in the school, everyone laughs. However, when Beth Cooper ends up at his house, the story gets interesting and funny.

Lauren just wrapped drama The Inner Circle where she plays Rachel Dugan. She recently guest-starred on the new comedy Drop Dead Diva! Lauren competed at IMTA in New York in 1999 and said: “I ended up getting a lot of response from theatrical agencies and was asked to relocate to L.A. for pilot season. I tried it out for 6 months and got my first job, so I stayed a little longer and booked again.”

After Lauren competed at IMTA in New York, she guest-starred in many television shows such as: Grounded for Life, 7th Heaven with IMTA alum Jessica Biel, CSI:Miami, 24, Malcolm in the Middle and Boston Public. She is best known for her continuing role as Taylor Hagan in the NBC's Discovery Channel hit series Flight 29 Down, which also stars another IMTA alum Jeremey Kissner. Lauren played Cindy, the Nanny, in the Disney comedy The Game Plan. She has been busy with many new projects such as The Jerk Theory, Together Again for the First Time, and Resurrection Mary. Lauren was recently photographed and featured by Fox News and Maxim magazine which resulted in stunning photographs like the one below. Check out more and read her interview where she mentions coming to a talent convention and getting signed by an agent.

IMTA Exclusive Interview with Top Model Zhanna Ved!

IMTA is very pleased to present an exclusive interview with Zhanna, an amazing, grounded, stunningly beautiful and very successful model!

IMTA: Please describe your IMTA experience...

Zhanna: In one phrase, that actually is quoted to this day at every IMTA convention: "It's the place to go, to make your dreams come true in the industry..."

IMTA: What are your best tips for success for someone who wants to be a model?

Zhanna: Do not lose focus of what is important, modeling is a tough job, never the less very rewarding. The travel, the social life, the perks can go to your head and you can lose focus of why you started to model in the first place, I can not even say how many models I have met through out my career that have been dropped by their agencies because of bad conduct and not doing their job. Stay healthy, eat healthy and always stay close to your family one way or the other, that always keeps your feet on the ground makes you want to do better as a model.

IMTA: What did you learn at IMTA that helps you in your career?

Zhanna: EVERYTHING, How to walk, how to pose, how to talk to clients, how to portray myself as a professional model and as a professional woman.

IMTA: Tell us about your favorite shoot? What are some of the most exciting places you have traveled?

Zhanna: My favorite shoot was for Marie France, where I got to go Mexico for 5 days, all expenses paid, I got treated like a rockstar. We finished in a day so I got to vacation for 4 days and I got payed for the whole length of my stay there, it was amazing. And the pictures didn't come out too bad either ;)

IMTA: What is a typical day for you? i.e. go-sees, interviews, etc.

Zhanna: I wake up early in the morning to double check my schedule ( I check it before I go to bed ). I make myself a healthy breakfast I like to eat multi grain cereal and some fruit. I go for a quick run and then come back and get ready to hit my castings. I usually on average have around 4-6 castings a day. After I am done with my castings which I try to always be on time,l since the clients time its quite important and valuable...I hang out with my friends for tea and girl talk. Later I meet with my boyfriend who is in the industry also and we usually go get dinner or watch a movie, occasionally we go to a friends party or an industry event as we are invited to a lot of those event, but we try to keep it within early hours so we can go to work fresh and focused the next day. When we get home I like to cook dinner, my favorite is some Asian salad and grilled chicken, then usually I read whatever I can on the industry to keep me updated, then a little TV to unwind and then try to go to bed as early as possible.

IMTA: Would you recommend IMTA as a starting point for aspiring models and actors?

Zhanna: Definitely IMTA helped me out so much in my training and focus as a model, and introduced me to the agencies I have been working for years now. A great platform for anybody to start and get pushed in the right direction within this industry.

Quick Answer!
Favorite Food: Red Apples
Favorite Band: The Beatles and Coldplay
Favorite Movie: The Devil Wears Prada
Favorite Celebrity: Angelina Jolie
Favorite Magazine: Cosmopolitan
Favorite Possession: My boyfriend hahaha just kidding, my yellow hand bag I take everywhere with me to castings...its my everyday bag, and my iphone.
Fascinated With: Life and Fashion
Grossed out by: Creepy crawlers (bugs...anything that can sting you or crawl up to you), especially spiders.

Riley Smith on Ghost Whisperer tonight!

IMTA alum Riley Smith will guest-star tonight on the Halloween Episode of Ghost Whisperer! The episode 'Head Over Heels' airs October 30th and Riley plays Sean, aka the headless horseman! Check out the spooky sneak peek above!

Riley is on location in Dallas starring in the sci-fi thriller Minuteman. For all the latest on Riley Smith, straight from the source, please follow Riley's twitter feed! Be sure to check out the Official IMTA twitter feed also!

Riley competed at IMTA in 1997 where he won Model of the Year for his age division. IMTA INSIDER: Riley was roommates with Ashton Kutcher in New York city when they were both competing at IMTA that year! Riley has been busy working in television and movies ever since.

Riley has appeared in many notable television shows and films such as: Drive, 7th Heaven, Freaks and Geeks, Gideon's Crossing, Boston Public, CSI: Miami, 24, Radio, Eight Legged Freaks, Weapons, and the thriller Gallowwalkers. Riley is also very musically talented and has released great CD's with his band The Life of Riley! You can listen their songs on The Life of Riley official band MySpace.

Adrianne Palicki Update!

Adrianne (IMTA '01) will star as Charlie in a new horror film called Legion which is scheduled for release in January 2010. The story revolves around the apocalypse and Adrianne's character is pregnant with the savior of the world. She will return to Friday Night Lights for a multi-episode story arc to wrap up her beloved character Tyra's story. Last night, DirecTV premiered Season 4 of the acclaimed series. IMTA INSIDER INFO: Another IMTA alum-Jeremy Sumpter (IMTA '00) who plays quarterback J.D. McCoy is in the cast of FNL! The episode got rave reviews!

Adrianne is starring as Holly Rocket, a troubled woman in the new film Women in Trouble. Other actresses in the film include: Carla Gugino, Emmanuel Chriqui, Connie Britton, Marley Shelton and Cameron Richardson. The film is about ten women and their experiences in life. The movie is scheduled for release November 13, 2009. Adrianne is also working on a new thriller called Breaking the Girl. This film is going to into production in the Spring in Canada and is directed by Jaime Babbit. The story revolves around college students who make a pact to murder each others enemies. She has also signed on to have a lead role in the 2010 remake of the 80's hit, Red Dawn where she will play Toni Mason. For the latest Adrianne Palicki news, please visit the definitive Adrianne Palicki fan site!

CW Orders More Zach Roerig and Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries starring IMTA alum Zach Roerig as Matt has been ordered for an entire season. According to Variety: "The CW has given a full season order to frosh hit "The Vampire Diaries" In live-plus-same day scores, "Vampire Diaries" is averaging a 1.8 rating/5 share with adults 18-49 and 3.9 million viewers overall. Among females 12-34, the show usually wins or is a contender for the timeslot lead, averaging a 2.8/10. "Vampire Diaries" now ranks as CW's most-watched series and is the net's No. 2 show with women 18-34...Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec are behind "Vampire Diaries," which revolves around two vampire brothers -- and rivals -- who battle for the soul of an orphaned high school girl. Nina Dobrev, Steven R. McQueen, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Katerina Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Kayla Ewell and Michael Trevino star. Show is based on the book series by L.J. Smith."

Zach competed at the IMTA Convention in Los Angeles in 2003 where his charm, great looks and acting talent impressed the agents and managers attending. Zach signed with the late Thomas Harding Jones and FORD MODELS and was cast on One Life to Live, Reba and MTV's True Life. He is widely known for his portrayal of Casey Hughes on the daytime drama As The World Turns from 2005-2007. Last season, Zach Roerig joined the cast of the hugely popular Friday Night Lights as Cash, a local rodeo star who had eyes for fellow IMTA alum Adrianne Palicki's character, Tyra Collette!

Travis Winfrey Update!

IMTA alum Travis Winfrey is currently working on Last Hours with Adrienne Grenier. After competing at IMTA, Travis has appeared in several exciting projects. He had a supporting role in Beverly Hills Chihuahua! He guest-starred on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Play the Game, Dexter with IMTA alum Miles Heizner, Hannah Montana with IMTA alum Moises Arias, The Loop, MadTv and Passions.

Stay tuned for more from this talented actor!