John Cooper Stars Ilana Kohanchi & Dustin Ybarra on Actors’ Struggle

Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: The Second Coming of John Cooper

John Cooper Stars Ilana Kohanchi & Dustin Ybarra on Actors' Struggle

The Second Coming of John Cooper stars Ilana Kohanchi and Dustin Ybarra spoke to Bleeding Cool about how deep they had to dig to achieve success as working actors.

Published Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:17:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

• John Cooper stars Ilana Kohanchi and Dustin Ybarra open up about the real Hollywood grind for working actors.
• Kohanchi and Ybarra discuss odd jobs, residual checks, commercials, and stand-up as survival tools between roles.
• The Second Coming of John Cooper cast explains why post-COVID, post-strike actors often can’t afford to be picky.
• John Cooper interview explores fame, comeback culture, and whether social media helps actors sell themselves today.

When it comes to the grind in Hollywood, actors Ilana Kohanchi and Dustin Ybarra are aware of the inherent struggle, especially in the post-COVID streaming era. Both have had their mix of mainstream and indie success, with Kohanchi's recent work on M.I.A., WandaVision, and Chicago P.D., and Ybarra's work on Gotham, Home Economics, and Ghosts. Their latest is the stoner comedy The Second Coming of John Cooper from Bonus Level Productions, MVD Entertainment, and first-time director and writer Kevin Kraft. The film follows John Cooper (Lane Compton), the biggest Hollywood star of his generation, who partied away his career and vanished from the public eye. Years later, a documentary crew finds him living on the couch of his biggest fan in a tiny one-bedroom apartment and captures his moronic attempts to rebuild his career from scratch. Kohanchi and Ybarra spoke to Bleeding Cool about how deep they had to dig to achieve success as regular working actors, whether they can afford to be picky about their roles, and whether they must market themselves to adapt to the social media age.

The Second Coming of John Cooper Stars Ilana Kohanchi and Dustin Ybarra on Surviving the Current Hollywood Grind as Working Actors

BC: Like Lane and Trevor's [Goober] characters of John and Clint, have you had to do other odd jobs as working actors to sustain?

Kohanchi: Not really. I mean, I had some jobs early on. When I first moved to L.A. many years ago, I did like some like odd jobs, like nanny, tutoring, taught people languages, dancing, and stuff. "Dancing," as in like teaching people professional ballroom dancing, not like stripping, but anything [laughs]. Just in case I had to clarify that.

Ybarra: I was a stripper, however. Yeah, that's how I got by [Kohanchi laughs]. It is tough for an actor, especially like right now in Hollywood. There's not a lot of things happening, and I'm lucky, though, like I've been able to, I've been doing standup forever, and that has gotten me by. There have been times where it's like things are off. You look at your bank account, you're like, "Oh, my God! This is not good. Do I have to start DoorDashing or something, you know?

Kohanchi: That would be a good time for a residual check to come through [laughs].

Ybarra: Oh, yeah, you're like, "Come on residual! Please!" I go on Instagram, "Hey guys, go watch us! I need that cash or whatever."

Kohanchi: Yeah, and I did some commercials and stuff, which have also helped a lot, and commercials pay a lot better than other stuff.

Have you ever had to do a question thing you weren't sure about initially on a project but ended up doing it anyway?

Kohanchi: This one! Just kidding [laughs]

Ybarra: I pretty much take everything, dude.

Kohanchi: Me too.

Ybarra: I'm like, "What?! OK, I'll do it."

Kohanchi: I mean, I think it's like what Dustin said about the times now in the post-COVID, post-strike [era]. Things have slowed down. I don't necessarily know many actors who are walking around like, "I'll take this" and "I won't take that." I'm going to do that, like, we're going to take jobs.

Ybarra: Yeah, dude, remember Odessa A'zion? She got a straight-up offer to play a part, then she took it, and then later found out it was like a Mexican part. As a Mexican. I'm like, "Oh, that sucks," but as an actor, I'm like, "Take the part!"

Kohanchi: Take the part!

Ybarra: My agent could call me tomorrow and be like, "You've been offered a role." I'm taking it. "What is it, Rosa Parks? Okay, I'll play Rosa. I don't care."

Kohanchi: Let's do it! Let's get a dress!

Amidst all the comedy, do you feel the film captures the way celebrity is right now, with the ways you have to sell yourself? Perhaps a different outside-the-box approach to getting the work part. Does that speak to you in that way?

Kohanchi: Well, here's the thing: John Cooper is a washed-up celebrity, so that's a very specific type of situation where he went from A-list to nothing and then had to claw his way back. That's not the typical experience. I don't know about Dustin, but I don't have a bunch of A-list celebrity friends who fell off the map, so I wouldn't know about that part. I would say that people nowadays are trying to do more with social media and getting out there in other ways. I know that's become very popular. I don't know how much it helps, but I think that it's become more popular than it was in the past, for sure.

The Second Coming of John Cooper, which also stars Rob Corddry, Brian Posehn, Doug Benson, and Mads Lewis, is available on Prime Video, YouTube, and Fandango.

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