We were lucky to catch up with Brynjolfur Gudmundsson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brynjolfur thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Now in my early 40s, I recently left my old profession to pursue a new career as a screenwriter in the Film and Television industry in Hollywood, which has always been my dream, but I have over 20 years of experience in the Furniture industry. Both in mass production and bespoke. Therefore when I think about what I think people will say about me or remember me for when I am gone is that I was never afraid to go after what I wanted, no matter how crazy it may have been.

Brynjolfur, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As I mentioned before, I used to be in the Furniture Making industry but I always wanted to be a part of the Film and Television industry, and being someone from Iceland, I did not not think of that as an option for me back in the early 2000s when I was at that point in my life where I had to decide what I wanted to do with my life and therefore became a Furniture Maker and later on got myself a Bachelor degree in Mechatronics Engineering, and worked my way up from being an Intern to becoming a CEO in the Furniture industry back in Iceland. However, when the opportunity came to me to change my career and follow my dreams that I have had all my life, I moved to Los Angeles with my wife and two daughters, who have supported me every step of the way in my journey, to study Screenwriting at the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles (NYFA), where I just graduated from with honors. What I was able to implement from my previous career and studies into my study as a Screenwriting student was first and foremost discipline. When I think about being in college, it is my belief that every student is supposed to be there because they want to be there to educate themselves in something they are passionate about. Finding what that passion is might take some time to figure out, and that is okay, but have discipline to show up on time, to do the assignments on time, and not complain about the workload or the hours. That was a discipline I already had coming in and did not have to develop during my time at NYFA. I treated my studies as it was my job. When I arrived in Los Angeles and had my first classes, I knew that I wanted to be able to write for every genre. I was not that kind of Furniture Maker that only made chairs, so why should I limit myself to one genre when it comes to writing? So I used my time at school to write almost everything from Sci Fi-Horror to Rom-Com, but as I was getting closer to the end of my studies, and I had to start to figure out my voice and/or my brand, I knew that I had most fun and had found my voice writing Drama and Mystery-Thrillers. I do enjoy writing all genres and I would always encourage everyone, no matter what field they might be in, to try everything within that field/industry. Do not be afraid to explore, and always be curious. That is something I take pride in, both in my previous career and the one that I am about to get myself into. During my time in the Furniture industry, Architects and Designers would often seek my help when they had a vision but did not know how to make it productable, and every time we were able to work out a solution so the “Visioneer” would have their design made and function at the same time. And I have seen my share of blueprints. More often than not finding or figuring out a solution is a matter of mindset. Instead of saying things like: “No,” “I don’t know,” or “It can’t be done,” I try to use something like: “Let’s give it a try,” “How can we do that?” or “Why?” To me, those are often a good starting point that then leads to a positive outcome, and I am sure that is a combination of a positive mindset and both of my Furniture Making training and Engineering training, that I am now using in my creative process as a Screenwriter. Being open and flexible, instead of narrow-minded or too focused doing something one way, is inspiring and usually has a positive effect on people which makes them highly likely wanting to work with you. That is my experience both from my past and as a student since I have been approached a number of times by other students asking me for my assistance in their projects. Therefore I would say that positivity and flexibility along with being disciplined are probably two biggest reasons for my success.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There are always reasons not to do things. Things might cost money, some might think their age is a factor and many other reasons. It does not matter if someone says “I can” or “I can’t,” they are right both times. I prefer to say “I can,” and go with it. Whatever happens on the way, I will figure it out. As soon as you realize that your car will never break down when it is convenient for you or that you never get sick when you have the time to get sick, you understand that life happens no matter what and that you have you roll with the punches. Face the obstacles. Earlier this year, when I was halfway through my final semester at NYFA, deep into my Thesis project along with other projects and my internship, my apartment caught fire due to an accident caused by someone I have never met in my life, and all of my family’s stuff got ruined, including my computer that had my thesis project. For me and my family, who are living in a foreign country with no income since we are not allowed to work in the States since we are in the country on student VISAs, that moment, when everything we had been taken away from us, was the perfect moment to give up. Pack our bags, go back to Iceland and call it good. But that was never an option for us, because this was just another task that needed to be solved at an inconvenient time. So once we had found ourselves a new place to live and were slowly getting back to normal, which we were able to do thanks to family, friends and our close community in Los Angeles, I went back on campus to finish my last semester. I wrote my thesis, that I had to write almost all over again from page one, in two weeks, but it was also very important to me to finish strong and therefore I asked all of my teachers for the opportunity to do extra credits in order to catch up on what I had missed and to fix my grade. That I did while I was working on my thesis, attending five classes and doing my internship. To be able to do this, I put my mindset to “pedal to the metal” knowing that this was only temporary and that things would get back to normal once the semester was done. I also knew that I was able to do it because I had my wife’s and daughters’ support. With the goals of finishing on time and finishing strong, and believing when we say “I can” is true, we all knew this could be done and therefore it got done.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I spent years doing what I thought was “The Right Thing To Do” which was getting an education and then making a sustainable career for myself. Therefore I got into my previous career. I did like it and I was good at it, but my passion has always been Films and Television shows so today, my creative journey is passion driven and I am lucky enough to find many things interesting that inspire me in my journey and for the three years that I have been in Los Angeles, I have not worked a single day. I have been busy every single day doing what I am passionate about and the positive feeling that comes with what fuels my drive. My goal is of course to get my work made for the audience to enjoy, as I plan to be in this business for a long time.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/binnigudm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568313971549
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brynjolfur-gudmundsson-72a379156
• Other: email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Headshot: Magni Agustsson