Success stories are great.

But the challenging, sometimes disheartening, steps and stumbles along the way are the ones that inspire, and Ilana Levine aims to get those stories to the people who most need to hear them.

Her podcast "Little Known Facts" gets real with some of the biggest names in the Broadway and entertainment worlds, delving into what built these folks into who they are.

Oh, plus sometimes Brian D'Arcy James makes her do a spit-take.

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"Every week there are stories going up and I just love that younger artists, or just appreciators of the arts, can hear not just the sugar-coated packaged People magazine version of what a famous person's life looks like, but most importantly, how do you keep going when no one is buying what you're selling," Levine said.

"And that's most of us, no matter what career we're pursuing, whether it's in the arts or we're starting a startup. Most people say no for a very long time, and how do you keep getting up every day and pursuing your passion when no one is saying yes?"

Among those who have shared their "no" stories with Levine's podcast are Andrew Rannells and his relentless auditioning for "Rent"; Allison Janney switching gears after having her skating career snatched away in a tragic accident; Julianne Moore telling of a childhood spent in a military family and the constant reinvention that forced; and Octavia Spencer house-sitting and dog walking and bartending her way to an acting career.

Ben Platt came on the show and shared how his family and Jewish faith help him stay grounded. Kristin Chenoweth shared her rip-roaring story of meeting Prince.

"It's a reminder that we are all the same. (Celebrities) have real feelings and real lives and real people they love and real disappointments and real joys and all of the things that real human beings go through," Levine said. "That's my hope. We can all feel very disconnected right now and this is a way to feel more connected."

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Levine, a Teaneck native, is best known on Broadway as Lucy van Pelt in the revival of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," and also has appeared in "Jake's Women," "Wrong Mountain" and "The Last Night Of Ballyhoo," in addition to many film and television roles.

Many of her guests have grown out of the friendships cultivated through her acting career.

When starting her podcast at the behest of a friend and challenge to say yes to whatever comes along, "I started thinking about 'what do I love,' and then I thought about what they tell young writers when they're starting out, which is write what you know. I took on that same philosophy. I can podcast what I know. And what I know, and the community I'm a part of, is the acting community. And who would even come in and meet me to talk in a microphone are my friends, and my friends are actors."

It also came down to filling a gap and a vision of creating something to offer that Levine would have loved to have as an aspiring actor.

"How amazing would it be had I had access to people I admire, but really got to know their stories, really truly? How can I create what was missing for me when I started?"

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Her first guest was John Slattery.

"When we were done, he said, 'I want you to take this as a compliment, but you really remind me what it's like to be on the Howard Stern Show.'

"I didn't know how to take that. I happen to be a great fan of Howard Stern, but he's kind of a controversial character. He's like 'I feel like, as an actor, I came into this room and you created a space for a really intimate, authentic conversation, and not everyone can do that.'

"And that was a really affirming beginning to something that I've continued to work very hard on and figure out, with ups and down like everything else, in terms of how I want to curate my interviews. From John it went to Cynthia Nixon, to BD Wong to Anthony Rapp to Laura Linney and on and on and on."

She credits her long career and the network of co-stars who became friends and extended family for building this base of inspiring work.

"My friends have been so generous. ... I've managed to absorb and curate the most magnificent community of unbelievably talented people, many of whom over the past 25 or 30 years, when I think back to knowing these people in my youth, have become some of the greatest artists of our generation, doing really beautiful work.

"I met Edie Falco in 1988. I met Laura Linney around the same time. I met Cynthia Nixon in my first job. I met Talia Balsam in my first Broadway show. I met Matthew Broderick when I went out for my first pilot season to LA, and all of these people have remained part of my life and my extended family, and they are all so generous and sweet to come on the show.

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"And I think they all are really happy to be part of something that is authentic and not packaged by a movie's PR company to promote a specific thing, but to promote life and artistic integrity and passion and how do you sustain a life in the theater or in the entertainment industry with integrity."

Sharing their stories and inspiring the next generation is a way of giving back to honor the mentors and teachers who shaped each artist, and Levine hopes to reach those young performers who may need a boost.

"Every drama student in the world has an opportunity to listen to these conversations. I don't know how to get them to every single single drama student in the world, but I know had I had access to these stories, I know how less alone I would feel to know that Cynthia Nixon has humiliating, hard ... audition stories now that I'm having as a college student. That we are all in some ways, the minute you put yourself out there, you are exposing yourself and vulnerable, whether you are John Slattery, or a John Slattery who's in a theater program at Mason Gross right now."

Levine also chooses guests who have a spirit of bettering the world.

"Is this person not just doing beautiful work, but do they also demonstrate a sort of activism in their life to give back and do good beyond just their work? To a person, everyone who comes on my show is truly ...as kind as they are talented, and I think there's a magic to that."

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Levine also will be appearing at BroadwayCon in January, where she's eyeing a "Charlie Brown"-themed charity component.

To listen to more than 60 episodes of "Little Known Facts," subscribe to the podcast or make a donation to give it a boost, visit littleknownfactspodcast.com. You also can sign up and download episodes for free on iTunes.

Ilana Keller: 732-643-4260; ikeller@gannettnj.com