Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anthony Bruno. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

For me this is a very simple answer. Wendell Johnson.

Before I continue, it should be clear that in the last decade I have had many strong influences, honorable mentions, colleagues and mentor-esque partners and/or leaders in my career. Jane Musky (Production Designer – Ghost, When Harry Met Sally) took a liking to me early in my career and opened doors which led to my relationship with Wendell. Patrick Sullivan (Production Designer – Reptile, Twisters) is an amazing colleague and friend who has taken over the reigns as someone I turn to with questions and guidance. Mark Crump and Michael Woodruff (Producers) who have been a beacon of light in helping my career grow and affording me the opportunities to Production Design in the last few years. My career would not be the same, nor even be in existence without mentioning those four people and what they have done for me and helped me through to get where I am today. And I owe them all the thanks in the world.

Wendell Johnson was my first true professional mentor. He opened multiple doors for me and believed in me at times where maybe I didn’t even believe in myself. Several years ago in our introductory encounter he not only offered me a job as an Art Department Coordinator, but was also a key factor in helping me get into the Union. As his ADC, I learned very quickly how the film industry worked and the demands of not only of the industry but the position I held. At that time he told me a story about a Producer that asked him, while he was just a Production Assistant, to draft a logo for a TV show. Wendell probably had little business being put in this position, but he obliged, no questions asked. That logo was the famous title logo for the hit TV show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Because of that, his career began to take off. It was as his ADC that this same process took place for he and I. I did anything he asked of me, no questions asked, and I always worked hard for him. He saw that. He saw something in me. And our relationship, both as colleagues and as friends was forever rooted in the fact that he knew he could count on me.

Years later he called me out of the blue. Granted, he could call me for any job and any position, and I would work for/with him in a heartbeat. This time he called me and told me he wanted me to Art Direct for him on a Netflix TV series. I sort of laughed it off and told him, “Wendell, you know I’m not an Art Director, nor ready to be an Art Director, at this stage in my career.” He was adamant. He told me I was ready, and that he was going to make me an Art Director and guide me through it. So I accepted the position for the TV Show – “The Crew” starring Kevin James. It was a sitcom about a NASCAR crew chief and even during the pandemic, was probably the most exciting part of my career. Wendell, was a prankster, in his own sense. A sick sense of humor, you might say. That’s why we got along so well. On The Crew he made sure I learned, alright. He stayed in LA, all but a week, and I ran the department through some crazy times in this world while he remained a remote Production Designer. Trial by fire! Even from afar, he guided me every step of the way. And because of that, I was successful. A new chapter in my career was under way.

Sadly, in October of 2023, we lost Wendell Johnson. I remember getting the news while walking down the street in Brooklyn. I was in instant heartbreak and collapse mode. I considered strongly leaving the business because I felt like everything I had in my career was because this man provided me the opportunity to advance. It felt like I lost a guiding light, and I did. Ironically, the reason I’m still doing what I do is because of a mutual contact of ours looking for a Production Designer and wanted Wendell to be that guy. It gave me hope, even with only one Production Designer credit to my name, at the time. It allowed me to realize that this was going to be ok. I could get through this and I will continue to build my career. An homage to my dear friend and mentor, staying in this field and giving to others what he gave to me is a far better solution than allowing the opportunities he afforded me go to waste and walking away from it all. As a Production Designer, I follow the same beliefs he used in his career and as a leader of our department. He once said “What reason are we here if it is not to give others the opportunity to grow, advance their own careers, and lead the way into the future?” He did so for me, and I strive to assure I am doing so for others that I bring in to my department. Thats how I honor the man that has given to so many others, including myself. And I will forever do the same, out of respect to my dear friend.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Now a 40 year old man, with only just over a decade of experience under my belt, it is fair for me reflect back and say that I am very fortunate to have gotten to where I am today in such a quick time frame. It took a lot of hard work and effort on my part to advance so quickly. There were plenty of times, trials, tribulations that I went through in that (we’ll say) decade. But I have overcome them and continue to strive to put my best work ahead of me and learn from everything I have done successfully, as well as, unsuccessfully to get to where I am today.

Up until I was 26 years of age, I would tell the story of where I was on 9/11. I had just turned 18 and graduated from high school. I needed to take a year off before I went to college just because I wasn’t really sure if what I wanted to do would pan out. Some people in my life implied that I needed to find a simpler career path because being in the film business isn’t the most likely career option. I believe in fate and things happening for a reason. While I was taking a year off from school, it wasn’t long before I learned that I needed heart surgery. So on September 10th, 2001, I went in for the first of two failed procedures. The inserted a device in my heart which slipped out of the hole in between my left and right atrium and traveled up into my aorta. Hours later, a second failed attempt. Then finally at 4am on 9/11/2001 a third and final procedure was completed successfully. At 7:30AM that morning, I woke up, and as my family sat by my side watching some tv, news broke that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Just a few short hours after my surgery, while lying in a hospital bed, we watched a second plane crash into the towers and the hospital was in a frenzy. Talk about an experience.

I say that I would tell that story up until the age of 26 because it was then that I was diagnosed with cancer. Ewing’s Sarcoma in between my left lung and rib cage on the posterior side of my body. At that stage in my life, cancer, to me, was a death sentence. Not only had I gone through heart surgery a decade prior, now I have a rare cancer in me? After 11 months of chemotherapy and a successful rib and lung resection, I was in remission. After heart surgery, I only did a year of college and then decided to move on to a different chapter in my life. But after cancer; that was when I realized life was too precious to not take every chance you can take and I not only decided it was time to do what I wanted in life, but I returned to the same college I started at, Temple University as a 28 year old sophomore. After 4 additional years of college, meanwhile fostering two nieces, and working when I could, I graduated with a Bachelors and Double Major in Film and Media Arts, as well as, Africology.

During that last year of college, I took the craziest route to get into the film industry. Yes, I had a lot of responsibilities on my plate, but it didn’t stop me. While I had done some small film work such as editing a documentary that landed on Netflix, a sequel to a cult classic niche film from the 80s, and doing all of the sound effects on a short award winning film with no dialogue and only music and sound effects called The Fay, I thought it would be a bright idea to be an unpaid 30 year old intern on what turned out to be a successful film directed by a highly touted Director. That project was Split by M Night Shyamalan. It certainly wasn’t easy juggling everything meanwhile “working” as much as I did on the movie without having much of an income. However, it was a risk I needed to take. Many successful filmmakers say that you don’t need to go to college to get into the film business. Well the truth is, while it’s a wise decision to learn as much as you can in college and get a degree to fall back on, even if it is a film degree, this business is about networking. Work hard for not only the right people, but for everyone, and the right opportunity will come along. It only takes one connection to continue your career aspirations. I credit Split and being an intern as the opportunity I needed and I made the right connection.

A few months later, I’m still living in Philadelphia, and one Friday I get a call. This gentleman says he got my name from a 2nd AD that is a friend and colleague of his, and she suggested me to come in as a Production Assistant for him. Well, the job was in Brooklyn and he asked me if I could start Monday. I didn’t tell him that I was living in Philadelphia or had never had a paid job as a production assistant or any position on a bigger movie or tv show, but I immediately accepted. I literally packed up and left Philadelphia that weekend, started the job on that Monday, lived in room shares for a few months, bouncing from apartment to apartment, but I never looked back.

Sometimes in life, you have to just take a chance on yourself. I took that chance. I’ll never regret it. A decade later I am bouncing back in forth as an Art Director and a Production Designer, earning over 50 times the amount I made on my first Production Assistant job and an infinite amount more money as an unpaid intern. So it’s safe to say the risk paid off. I believed I could accomplish great things in my life and my career. I put in the work, met the right people, and have established myself among the industry professionals that 18 year old me was told was highly unlikely to ever achieve.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The craziest and possibly most frustrating thing that I have learned about this business and the career path I chose is that it can be very unpredictable. There are ebbs and flows to this industry that film school can never prepare you for. I’ve stated a few times in answering these questions that it is important to work hard for people and continue to network because you never know what tomorrow might bring. The leaders of our industry will tell you, “we’ve been through this before, we will be through it again.”

It is safe to say that the entire world changed in 2020. For someone like me and many other budding industry professionals, March 13th 2020, when the country basically shut down over night was a very difficult time. Of course it was difficult for everyone and I don’t exclude those in any profession or any walk of life. For me however, it was just a month into my Art Directing career. Wendell Johnson had given me the opportunity to Art Direct the TV series The Crew on Netflix. My career was really starting to take off and I was making double what I was making at the highest point in my career just prior. That feeling of success, feeling like you’ve “finally made it,” literally gets swept right out from underneath you. I was making pretty good money as an Art Department Coordinator in the years leading up to 2020, but anyone that knows life in NYC, knows that any extra money made in this city is pertinent to survival here. You can get by in many aspects on a lower wage, and live in this city basically on a paycheck to paycheck income. If you’re smart and prepare yourself financially, you can also build yourself a nest egg and have something to fall back on. When I was afforded the opportunity as an Art Director, it was that first real instance that I thought, “wow, I’m going to be ok and I can start positioning myself to live comfortably.”

Then the pandemic hits. The bottom drops out. Not only are you not making Art Director money, but you’re not making Art Department Coordinator money, and worse you’re not even making Production Assistant money. It was a scary time. You honestly don’t know how you are going to survive, not just month to month or week to week, but in some instances day by day. You never want to feel like “where’s my next meal going to come from?” I wasn’t Art Directing for more than a month or so and I didn’t prepare for a pandemic while working as an Art Department Coordinator. Honestly, who prepared for a pandemic at all? The worst part of the pandemic was not just financial but also mental well being. It was a sad world we started to live in, especially in New York City. The streets were empty, hospitals were crowded and lives were lost at a rapid pace. Thankfully, although the world and how we lived it changed, when we did return to work I was able to jump right back into the job I had left off on. The rebuild had begun.

I mentioned mental well being because the pandemic really changed a lot of people. Myself included and at times over the last four years, sometimes for the worst. We all have challenges and sometimes we fall along the wrong path and we have to accept responsibility for ourselves, our actions and the ramifications of those actions. I struggled with this, I won’t deny it. Financially however I was laying the groundwork for a better life. Mentally, I hit some obstacles. I actually credit the city of Atlanta, Georgia for not only helping me get over the fears that grew due to the pandemic that I lived through, but also working in Atlanta for a few years opened me up to a different lifestyle that I had never chose before. And just as you think you are in top of the world and life couldn’t be better, reality hits. First, a strike in the industry happens and you are out of work again. Then, especially for me, you have nothing but time on your hands. You have to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself the question – “is this the life you want for yourself?” I’m proud of myself for the ups and downs of the last 4 years. The good times were great and the bad times made me who I am today. And because of all of this, everything that happened whether inflicted by the world outside of my control or self-inflicted, I’m a better person today than I was four years ago. I’ve grown a lot. At 40, I can look back and say, “everything that has happened in the last 40 years is now behind you. Today and tomorrow you get to choose how you want the next 40 years to go.” I’m living healthier. Working harder. Achieving amazing goals. For me, I’m just getting started. I’m excited for what tomorrow will bring.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I definitely have some career goals that I look forward to achieving. I believe strongly that in the coming years I will achieve those goals, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those goals is achieved by years end. As I mentioned, I graduated with a double major in FMA and Africology. It has been a dream of mine to combine those two fields into one and I want to tell amazing stories about African American culture, the continent of Africa, and the many successes of both that media has not always portrayed fairly. In many films and tv shows there is this stigma of the white hero in an African or African American story. I.e. Blood Diamond or The Help. I believe it is time to tell amazing stories of black hero’s and whether I’m directing or producing those stories or happily Production Designing those projects, there is no better time than now to provide great content of cultures that have no been portrayed fairly in our history.

I believe by years end, I will have designed a film that tells a very beautiful story about an African American woman who has achieved greatness. Her story needs to be told on screen and if all lines up properly, I believe that story will be told very soon. Furthermore, it is a dream and goal of mine to tell the story, on camera, of the powerful psychologist and philosopher, Frantz Fanon. Imagine the eyes that would open learning about the life of Fanon, especially during the French-Algiers war. Another goal of mine would be to be a part of and/or tell the story of the accomplishments of former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah. He and Fanon were focuses of mine in my college journey through Africology. And many people, no matter race or creed, could learn a lot by watching a film or tv show about these incredible African leaders. Another outstanding story teller whose books I believe should be adapted into film or television are the works of Eric Jerome Dickey. We became acquaintances and started to build a friendship over our history of cancer. Sadly we lost him to the disease and it would be an honor and privilege to fulfill the goal of adapting my favorite book of his. I hope that eventually becomes a reality.

When that day comes, whether Fanon, Nkrumah, or one of the many other fascinating historical figures whose stories should be properly told, I know I will have achieved what I believe and consider to be great success being a part of a project with such depth as these would be. The opportunity will come, and I firmly believe, I will be a part of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm5213746/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_anthony%2520bruno
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebranding_bruno?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-bruno-21221210a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: @TeeJayRyan

Image Credits

In photos: Anthony Bruno, Wendell Johnson, Emily Ennis, Patrick Sullivan, Michael Woodruff, Mark Crump

Set photos from: Reptile, Tales of the Walking Dead