Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Stewart.
Hi Brandon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I wanted to be creative from a very, very young age. I remember watching movies as a child and telling my mom, “I want to do that,” even though I was too young to know what ‘that’ actually was. I’ve been performing in some way or another my entire life. Like most kids, I loved to perform little bits for my parents and family… but I guess, unlike most people, I never wanted to stop. Stories inspire me endlessly. I used to take my parents’ old Camcorder and run around the yard pretending I was directing movies (they removed the tapes), but I didn’t care. I’ve been so blessed to have supportive parents who encouraged me to pursue my dreams and passions, and they did everything they could to help me achieve them.
At 13 years old, my mom started driving me to Dallas for auditions. I grew up in a small East Texas town, so it was about 2 hours there and back each time. Most auditions were for agencies that were scams (aspiring actors, please be careful). That time was a big learning experience for both of us – people prey on you and your dreams.
Around that same time, I joined One Act Play in Jr. High and then again in High School. So, acting became my primary focus – but I didn’t want to stop at the stage. YouTube was starting to become more and more popular, so I remember one evening my dad had come home with a pretty cheap but decent handheld video camera and basically said, “Have at it!” And that’s what I did. I made a YouTube channel and started creating little sketch videos with my friends. I taught myself how to use the camera, edit the footage, add all the little sound effects and music, and then upload it to YouTube. Those are some of the best memories of my life because of the purity of it – it was creating solely for the sake of creating. I knew Hollywood was so far away, so I tried to bring Hollywood to my backyard with my friends.
Fast forward to 2012 – I graduated high school and made the obligatory move to L.A. as most actors do, and like most actors, I naively thought it would be a lot easier for me to make it. I found out very quickly that L.A. will chew you up and spit you out – but I loved it. I attended acting classes at the prestigious Playhouse West in North Hollywood, where several legendary actors have trained. I actually snuck into the classes because the day I went into audition, they told me the classes were full. I didn’t want to drive much in LA because of the traffic, and Playhouse West was the closest class to me that I could easily walk to. So, I couldn’t take no for an answer. So, I snuck in and attended classes, eventually got caught by a very gracious teacher, and was told I could stay – but that I better not mess up. I spent almost a year or so in LA before packing up and heading home after some hardships. I felt very defeated, having not much to show for my time there. My classes were great and I made some lifelong friends – some of them who have been in big projects since then. But I definitely felt like a failure. But sometimes life has a funny way of working out. Upon returning to Dallas, I had the pleasure of doing a headshot shoot with the incredibly talented photographer, Sergio Garcia. He was outstanding to work with, and during the shoot, he asked if I had an agent, which I didn’t. I spent years sending not-very-professional headshots and resumes out to agencies across Texas and California with no luck. He offered to send the photos we took out to some people he knew and see what happened. Within a week, I went from zero interest from any agencies to 4 agencies offering to sign me. It was quite literally life-changing, not to be dramatic.
I chose The Campbell Agency, which I’ve been with ever since, and I’ve added other agents from other markets to my team as well. I’m forever grateful to Sergio for that, it really helped me out of a dark place. Moving back to Dallas was truly a blessing in disguise.
Since then, I’ve appeared in several TV shows, movies and commercials. The biggest projects no doubt being the 2019 Amazon Original film ‘The Vast of Night,’ where I had a featured role, and ‘Sovereign’ which is currently filming, starring Dennis Quaid and Nick Offerman. I’m blessed to have a supporting role in ‘Sovereign’, and I can’t wait for it to release – it’s a wild ride.
In addition to that, I still make my own films. I released my debut short film ‘Present Perfect Continuous’ in 2022, which had a very successful run on the film festival circuit, appearing in several festivals worldwide. It was a deeply personal project to me that I wrote when I was in a low place, and I spent a lot of time debating if I should make it or not. But ultimately, art is best when shared, so I decided to make it – and I’m so glad I did. We ended the run with 12 Official Selections, 9 Nominations, and 2 wins, the awards being Best Drama at the Texas Short Film Festival and Best Actor at Texas Indie Film Awards. Making that film was so creatively fulfilling, and it marked a first-time filmmaking collaboration with my very close friend Devin Montgomery. Devin and I met in 2018, shooting a film for the Commemorative Air Force called CAF: Rise Above. We definitely clicked the second we met on set, but it would be a few years before we worked together again when I asked him to help make my short film. We made the entire 18-minute film over one weekend, and it was just the two of us. I’m eternally grateful for his support through that process. Since then, he’s gone on to make a feature film, “Monsters Within,” which is based on an award-winning short film he made prior. I actually served as Director of Photography and Composer on “Monsters Within,” and as of now, it’s in the film festival circuit, and the future is looking very positive for “Monsters Within.”
It meant a lot to me that he trusted me to not only shoot his first feature film but to create the score as well – it was a lot of pressure, but it was a huge honor for me. I also have an acting appearance in the film as well.
I’ve worn many hats in this industry, and each one provides me with so much creative joy. The challenge of each one is so different and so fun – I can never get enough. My main passion is still acting, but I can’t wait to get back behind the camera again and direct. I have several projects I’ve written that I’m super excited to bring to life with the help of Devin and our growing team of collaborators. After shooting wraps on “Sovereign”, I hope to create more of my own films, one project in particular has been in my head for close to a decade, and I finalized the script recently so… we’ll see! Of course, I’m always hoping to book that next acting gig, but I’ve learned you really can’t wait around in this industry. No one will have your back like yourself, so bet on yourself and take every chance you can.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. One year before making the move to L.A. I was diagnosed with Keratoconus, which is essentially a degenerative eye disease where your cornea gradually gets thinner and takes on the shape of a cone. One of my eyes was beyond any preventative surgery; the only fix at the time was a cornea transplant – but the other eye could be saved. So, I was rushed into a surgery known as cornea cross-linking (CXL), and at the time, it wasn’t even FDA-approved yet. I did not opt to do the transplant for my more severe eye, but the technology and treatment have come a long way. At the time of my diagnosis, no corrective lenses could be worn – but now I can wear a special type of contact and even glasses.
An eye disease can pose obvious problems for an actor/filmmaker… the eyes are an extremely important part of a performance. The disease makes my eyes extremely sensitive to light (and they’re already blue!) So bright stage lighting or lighting on film sets sometimes had my eyes watering almost to the point of being unbearable, mixed with the distortion that comes with your cornea being a cone – I often see double/triple of everything out of my more severe eye, lights have a big bloom effect. It can be debilitating, for sure.
I am not one to complain, though, especially when I’m privileged enough to be working and doing what I love. It’s just something I deal with; things could be much worse.
Also, towards the end of 2019, I was auditioning a lot for a pilot, which had some pretty big-name actors attached. It was a passion project for the director/writer. I had several auditions and meetings and lots of emails about the project – I could really feel that this project might be a turning point for me. It was scheduled to shoot in March-April of 2020… and well, we all know what happened there. Covid happened, the world shut down, the project was canceled, and I’ve never heard about it again. It crushed me… and I felt so selfish and stupid to be so torn up about a potential TV show while the world was suffering – but that’s how I felt. Like many people, I felt like something was taken from me. That’s another reason I always say you can’t sit around and wait – you have to take your future into your own hands. You never know what’s going to happen.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an actor/writer/director. I specialize in dramatic roles, prioritizing a grounded, realistic performance.
I’m mostly known for playing Billy Wayne Smith, the first husband of Anna Nicole Smith, in the Reelz channel show ‘Scandal Made me Famous’ as well as playing Sam in the Amazon Original film ‘The Vast of Night.
It’s hard to nail down a project I’m most proud of because they all have shaped me in some way or another. But I think my proudest moments would be either making the WWII film CAF: Rise Above, which is about the female WASP Pilots of WWII. That’s an absolutely incredible story and I was so fortunate to be involved in telling that story. That film was shown at air shows around the nation, and several of the real-life WASP pilots watched the film. Those women are heroes, and I will jump at any chance I get to portray/pay respects to our men and women in the military. They are the real heroes.
Another very, very proud moment for me was making the film ‘Prodigal’ for Eyewitness Bible Series. It’s a very interesting series which tells stories from the bible in a grounded way, where the actor performs a monologue as a character from the bible and tells their story from their point of view. My scene was something like 13 pages, all monologue, no one else to rely on. It absolutely tested my acting and memorization skills, and I was elated when I did it all in one take. That’s an incredible feeling! What makes that experience even more meaningful is that after the film was released online, my grandfather’s church actually showed the film to his congregation. I was invited to the service that day and asked to introduce the film, which I very graciously agreed to do. It was a very fulfilling moment to see that film play in a church and see the reactions – most importantly, seeing how proud my grandfather and my family was of me. There’s nothing better than that.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happiest in life is spending quality time with my loved ones… my family and friends. I have two nieces, and being their ‘Uncle B’ is truly the light of my life. I’ve never known such joy as I have for being their uncle.
Creative pursuits also make me happy, clearly. Any sort of artistic endeavor. I love to read, write, shoot on vintage film cameras. I’m very much an analog guy stuck in a digital world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6832762/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebstew_/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stewzbrewz/featured
Image Credits
Nogen Beck
Pivot Films
