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

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Pretty early on, I found myself getting lost in film and TV to the point where I actually believed I was living those lives. For example, after watching a movie about the army, I’d leave the theater thinking I was on the run, chasing after the bad guys. I even thought I wanted to be a model at one point, just because I’d watched “Zoolander.” I didn’t realize then that it wasn’t modeling I was drawn to—it was acting. I fell in love with the absurdity of the character and the world he lived in.

I’ve always had a strong imagination, and I discovered that I loved exploring it in a way that felt embodied. However, it wasn’t until high school that I realized I could actually become a character. On a whim, I decided to audition for the musical “Urinetown.” I didn’t prepare anything—I even had to borrow someone’s sheet music while waiting for my audition slot. The song they had was “Ten Minutes Ago” from Cinderella. Luckily, I kind of knew it because I grew up watching the movie version with Paolo Montalban—my grandma always had it playing in the background since he was Filipino.

Anyway, I totally bombed the audition, but my high school drama teacher, Ms. Hood, saw something in me and cast me anyway. From that point on, I kept coming back to the theater like it was church. I didn’t see it as a career at first—just a passion that kept calling my name. Luckily for me, I kept getting cast and eventually started booking work as a professional. And thank God, because I’m really not good at anything else.

Brandon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I think the best way to describe my trajectory is that I just kept going, and my community supported me. During the pandemic, I created a short film called “bakla,” a deeply vulnerable piece about a fantasy I had of coming out to my grandmother. It was raw, and it resonated with a lot of people. Through this process, I learned that people want to be seen through your work. Sometimes they know how they feel, but they don’t yet have the words to express those feelings. That’s why people turn to film, TV, and theater—to learn about their humanity and the inner workings of who they are.

When I was a kid in Catholic school, they used to say, “Singing is praying twice.” That’s still how I feel, but now with acting and writing. To reveal myself is to heal myself, and I think that’s what people appreciate most about my work. I really try to remove the mask when I act and write, and I actually feel the most like myself when I’m working. I still believe that “bakla” is the reason I’ve been able to continue working as an artist. It was the first piece I wrote, acted in, and directed, and I got to share it with people all over the world. It has opened the most doors for me and continues to follow me throughout my career.

Besides being an actor and writer, I’m also a casting director, director, producer, teacher—pretty much all things creative. I always jokingly say that if you have cash and are willing to pay for my creativity, I’m in! All jokes aside, as a Filipino-American, I’m incredibly proud to be able to live off my art, especially since there isn’t anyone else in my family who has taken this path. I’ve acted in many projects I’m proud of, but a few highlights include Comfort Women: A New Musical at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, Madcaps: The Web Series (which I co-wrote with my best friend Jenn), and “Tara!,” a play/feature I’m currently writing. I’ve also directed, cast, produced, and acted in many dubbing projects that are now streaming on Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, and more—and I still feel like this is just the beginning for me.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was the idea of perfection.

Since I’m not originally from LA, I always saw Hollywood as the land of the gods. You had to be a superstar—perfect and all things beautiful. I strived to fit into this myth. But it wasn’t until I took a movement class at the Art of Acting Studio that I became unraveled. It was my first year as a student, and my teacher, Dana, told me that I moved beautifully, but she wanted me to lose control.

I remember we were doing an exercise where we had to become a character, and I somehow decided to become a monster chasing its prey. I don’t know what happened, but I got so lost in the character that I felt I had transcended. It was messy, it was scary—it was far from perfect. And that’s when I learned that perfection is bullshit. It holds you back from connecting to your soul and to others; it’s a mask for the ego. Because of this lesson, I feel like I can transcend in my art and truly dig deep.

How did you build your audience on social media?

First Lesson:
Honestly, just be yourself. When I post something that genuinely matters to me, people take notice. Social media is only as shallow as you make it.

Second Lesson:
Share your work. The more you share what you’re working on, the more people will want to work with you. People want to hire artists who are actively creating.

Third Lesson:
Take breaks from social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brandonenglish.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonuniverse/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-s-english/