Sony Pictures Television has named its Elevate Actors Fellowship Class of 2026 — ten actors chosen from more than 5,400 applicants, reported exclusively by Deadline.

The fellowship is a six-week program that begins 10 August on the Sony studio lot in Culver City, California. It provides professional training, industry education and artistic development, with fellows working alongside guest instructors, casting directors, showrunners, producers and studio executives. The program wraps with a live showcase on the Sony lot, where fellows perform for an invited audience of casting directors, agents, managers, producers and showrunners.

The ten fellows are Alita LaShae, Anish Chandak, Haley Lohrli, Ivan Mok, Jackie Tien, JJ Maley, Laurie Magers, Omete Anassi, Vincent Rutley and Yasmin Kassim.

Several arrive with substantial résumés. Alita LaShae recently appeared in SPT's S.W.A.T. Exiles, with earlier credits including Forever, High Potential and The Affair. Ivan Mok held recurring roles on The Americans and Young Sheldon, with guest appearances on Grey's Anatomy and FBI: International. JJ Maley is a series regular on Steven Soderbergh's Command Z, a current UCB Lloyd team member, and a Tony-winning producer for A Strange Loop — with four Tony nominations to their name.

Omete Anassi, a Juilliard-trained actor, appeared in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building and the feature African Giants, which won the Slamdance Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Yasmin Kassim, an Australian actor, writer and stand-up comedian, starred in Netflix's You and has appeared in The Sex Lives of College Girls and the long-running soap Neighbours. Laurie Magers appeared in SPT's Obliterated on Netflix, was a SPT Diverse Writers Program fellow, and served as a staff writer on that same series — bringing both acting and writing-room experience.

Anish Chandak guest-starred on NBC's New Amsterdam and has led award-winning independent films including Indian in a Box and Birdie Cricket, with recent work premiering at the Fantasia, Dances With Films and L.A. Shorts International festivals. Vincent Rutley is the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge 2026 Best Actor winner, with lead roles in Neighborhood Watch and Step Buddies and voice work for Sony Pictures Animation. Haley Lohrli and Jackie Tien complete the cohort.

According to Sony's official Elevate fellowship page, the programme is designed to cultivate a diverse pipeline of actors by equipping participants with the tools, training and exposure needed to build careers in the industry. Sony opened submissions for this expanded cohort in February 2026, with the program running from mid-August through mid-September, as reported by Yahoo Entertainment.

For the 5,390 applicants who did not make the cut, the numbers tell their own story — fewer than two in a thousand secured a place.