Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon J Shaw.
Hi Brandon J, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Nothing really excited me until my high school math teacher, Mr. Butta, told me to audition for the school play. That’s when I caught the acting bug. I ended up booking both the school play and the school musical that year, and transforming between Nils Krogstad in A Doll’s House and Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors remains one of the most exciting experiences of my career to date.
Upon graduation, Mr. Butta recommended me to the Lee Strasberg Institute, where my eyes opened to the possibility of making a real career out of this. The training was rigorous but fun. Learning to tap into emotions and personal memory to bring scenes to life felt incredible.
Shortly after Strasberg, I landed the film Pimp, starring Keke Palmer, along with roles on Blue Bloods (CBS), Power (STARZ), American Soul (BET), The Village (NBC) and in later years my first leading role on The Table (BlackOak TV). (Thank you Caralene)
I continued my training with acting coach Marishka Phillips and at William Esper Studio, looking to build a fuller toolkit for accessing different parts of myself as an actor. Whether the role is dramatic or comedic, I approach every character with playfulness. I believe that sense of joy is what makes a performance feel authentic and memorable. That same passion for storytelling eventually pulled me toward writing my own work.
Over the last few years, I’ve been writing, producing, and occasionally casting independent projects. Three of those projects are about to hit film festivals. Ingeniuses: Just Getting Started is the one closest to me born out of the pandemic, when all I wanted was to create the funniest, most thrilling story I could. The goal is to make folks laugh especially these days when everything seems doom and gloom. Laughter is healing. This project is where my writing, acting, producing, and casting skills all came together, and in a lot of ways, it kept me pushing through in this not-so-promised land we call the industry. I got to make it with a great group of friends; my cast (Jamil Moore, Clifton Dunn, Larese King, Deja Blaise, Reg Thomas, Aly Mang, Kim Exum, Seryne, Fancy Mars, Shaun Rey, Diamond Harding, Kareem Hayes, Maryam Basir, Tosh Francis, and Jameer Pond) and my producing team (Jones Acquah, Jamal Hodge, Karen Tinley, and my Mom). I also teamed up with Jamal Hodge again on his and Lenny Thomas’ series, Typecast, where I star and helped cast the project, and on SinFull, created by Asha Etchison, which let me tap into my darker side of character work.
Each of these projects let me dig into a different part of my character bag and stretch my voice in a new direction. At the end of the day, I just want to work. This business has plenty of highs and lows, and that’s exactly why I’m committed to sharpening my tools, picking up new skills along the way and creating opportunities wherever I go.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Like most creative journeys, there have been plenty of bumps, detours, and moments where I questioned whether I was heading in the right direction.
One of the biggest challenges was my health and confidence. At one point I weighed over 350 pounds, and while I can’t say for certain how much it affected my career, I do believe it limited some of the opportunities available to me. After committing to a healthier lifestyle and losing the weight, I started booking more consistently and felt more confident walking into auditions and opportunities.
There have also been several close calls throughout my career. I’ve come close to landing projects that could have dramatically changed the trajectory of my career. At the time, those losses were difficult to process, but they taught me an important lesson: what’s meant for you won’t pass you by.
More than anything, the journey has taught me patience. Success rarely happens overnight, and sometimes the opportunities you’re waiting for don’t arrive because you’re meant to create them yourself. That’s a big part of why I started developing my own projects and telling my own stories. Instead of waiting for a seat at the table, I’ve learned how to build one.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Outside of acting, I work in event production, helping bring experiences to life through set builds, brand activations, and live events. Creativity has always been at the center of everything I do, whether it’s on set, on stage, or behind the scenes.
As an actor, writer, and producer, I specialize in character-driven stories that blend comedy with heart. In my spare time, I’m constantly developing new material, from short stories and poems to screenplays and television concepts. Writing has become both a creative outlet and a form of therapy, allowing me to explore ideas, relationships, and experiences through storytelling.
I’m particularly proud of building and expanding my comedy-crime series Ingeniuses. Over the years, it has evolved from a web series into a larger creative universe, and each new iteration challenges me to push the comedy, characters, and storytelling further than before.
What sets me apart is that I don’t just want to create opportunities for myself. I want to build an ecosystem that creates opportunities for others as well. I admire creators like Eddie Murphy, The Wayans family, Tyler Perry, Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler, KevOnStage, and Bigg Jah because they’ve built platforms that support recurring collaborators and help launch careers. My long-term goal is to create that same kind of environment through my own work. Success, to me, isn’t just about what I accomplish individually. It’s about how many people I can bring along with me on the journey.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My biggest piece of advice is to put yourself in the rooms where the people you admire are already gathering. For me, that has meant attending film festivals, screenings, networking events, industry panels, and meet-and-greets whenever possible.
When I’m in those spaces, I try to be genuinely curious and talk to as many people as I can. I don’t go in looking for what someone can do for me. I go in looking to build real relationships. Some conversations lead nowhere, but every now and then you meet someone you genuinely connect with. Those are the people I make an effort to follow up with afterward.
The best professional relationships I’ve built didn’t happen overnight. They started with a conversation, continued through consistent communication, and eventually turned into collaborations. I’ve met colleagues, creative partners, and friends this way, and together we’ve worked on some incredible projects.
As for mentors, I’ve found that mentorship often develops naturally from relationships rather than formal requests. If you consistently show up, do good work, stay curious, and remain open to learning, people are often willing to share their knowledge and experiences. The key is to be authentic, stay in touch, and focus on building genuine connections instead of collecting contacts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/bjshaw
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bjshaw_theanomaly11?igsh=eDYzNmM1NzA4ZXRi
