We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Lessard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

As an actor, my biggest obstacle to profitability is simply staying employed. I read an article from 2019, back when I was still in college, that unemployment rates for actors are 90%, and that only 2% of actors can make a living. Everyone wants to be an actor because of what they see on TV. They see glamorous movie stars, red carpet-premieres, and trails of fans and think that’s what I want to be. That is not the majority of actors. Very few jobs are actually going to pay you the amount of money to live comfortably for years to come. Most jobs are going to pay you just enough to get by. That wouldn’t be an issue if I filmed everyday, but that’s not the reality of the industry. Projects don’t sprout out of the ground. It takes years to develop a project with potential and then convince financiers to invest. I worked on a Western in November 2023 called Unholy Trinity. The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Pierce Brosnan, and myself. The first time I ever read the script for Trinity was in August 2016. A single project took 7 years to develop. A big part of this is that movies are incredibly expensive to make, but difficult to predict sales for. Therefore, for the outsider looking in, it can be a spotty financial endeavor. You can of course reduce your financial risk by pre-selling a film to distributors. However, a distributor’s willingness to buy your film is dependent on who is in your film. They will only buy your film if they think someone who is worth it is involved, and there are only so many of those people. Therefore, as a filmmaker, you get caught in a “chicken and egg” scenario. You need an A-list actor to join your project to get funding, but you also need sufficient funding to entice an A-list actor. Afterall, when you do operate at that level, you have plenty of offers. So, the vast majority of filmmakers I work with, struggle with this scenario. They need someone to budge first. And as an actor who is fairly early in his career, I get stuck in that loop as well. In the case of Trinity, one of the big breaks that we had in developing the project was the SAG AFTRA strike. Because of the strike, A list actors suddenly had an open schedule, because they couldn’t work with the studios. We got a waiver from SAG to film during the strike and got Sam Jackson and Pierce Brosnan to join the project after that. Once they joined, everything came together. 7 years of struggle, and as soon as we received our first significant ‘yes,’ everything fell into place in the span of a couple weeks. So, that’s the general struggle of an early career actor. I develop my talents every day, to prepare for those days when I get a call telling me that a project has been green-lit. But projects getting green-lit are dependent not on the script itself, but rather who is willing to take a chance on it.

Brandon, 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?

My name is Brandon Lessard. I’m a Los Angeles based actor originally from Fairfax County, Virginia. I wasn’t a child actor, but I realized very early on that I wanted to be an actor. In middle school, I signed up for a play called “Saving Wonderland,” which was written by our drama teacher and was about Alice’s grandson journeying to Wonderland to save it. It was an awful play, truly terrible. But I had such an incredible time acting that I didn’t really care. I knew as soon as it was done that I wanted to do more. What was better, was realizing that although it was incredibly difficult, it was possible to make a living out of this profession.

Later on, in highschool, I learned that a friend of the family was getting involved as a producer in an indie movie called “Broken Ghost.” I didn’t really know anything about the film industry at the time, other than the fact that I was interested, so I called him up and asked him if I could get involved. He also, didn’t really know anything about the casting process at the time, so he told me to call up the director. So, I called him. The first time I spoke with Richard Gray was over the phone, I was a junior in high school at the time. He spoke briefly about what he was trying to do with the film, and asked me to send over a self tape. In retrospect, the tape I sent was pretty bad. Super wide, bad lighting, bad sound, I barely did anything right. I was a stage actor, and wasn’t used to auditioning for film. Despite that, Richie decided to take a chance on me and flew me out to Montana for my first supporting role in a movie. I learned a lot on that project about acting and filmmaking in general. It was towards the end of that project that Richie gave me a script called “Salted Earth.” That film would eventually be renamed “Unholy Trinity.” After “Broken Ghost,” Richie brought me back for another project, “Robert the Bruce,” just a couple years later. I filmed that while I was attending USC’s School of Dramatic Arts.

In the years after “Broken Ghost,” I’ve developed a great deal as an actor. I am incredibly proud of my growth and my work ethic. I tell potential employers all the time, that any skill that they require, I can learn. Whether its dialects, horseback riding, firearm work, or stunts, I commit myself to being able to perform them on camera. Every script that I read, I read a dozen times before beginning to perform it. Script analysis and character work are vital to every working actor, and I pride myself on being dedicated to that. When I moved out to Los Angeles, I quickly realized just how many incredibly talented actors were out there, and it made me worry a little bit. If there are a thousand people out there who look just like me, and perhaps a hundred of them are just as talented as me, what incentive do filmmakers have in hiring me? For me, that answer became work ethic and attitude. Filmmaking is hard work, and no one wants to work with someone who is not putting in as much effort as they do, especially if that person has a bad attitude. So, I make it my job to not only show up and act, but to lighten the burdens of those around me. Eight years ago a director took a chance on a high school actor with very little film experience. He then went on to work with that actor on 3 more projects. I like to think he did that because of my willingness to learn, to improve, and to fully engage myself in the acting process.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Dozens. In terms of auditions, the best resource I’ve found is Actor’s Access. A membership on there is fairly cheap and gives you access to hundreds of auditions for various forms of media. You will need an actor’s necessities though. It’s important to have headshots, and not just any headshots. You need a variety of headshots, that illustrate different looks or characters that you can portray. This doesn’t mean dressing up in a costume for each headshot. It more so means capturing your authentic self in different moods. Don’t show yourself as a caricature, but rather imagine that the camera is someone important to you and that you have to communicate to them how you feel with only your eyes.

A theatrical/film resume is also important but that goes without saying. If you need advice on what they look like, search up examples online. I didn’t understand the difference at the beginning.

Another thing you’ll need is a film reel. This can be more difficult at the beginning but as you get more work it’ll become easier. A film reel is essentially a collection of clips from projects you’ve worked on that show you off. If you’re having trouble collecting material, go on Actor’s Access and audition for some student films. They tend to pay little to nothing, but it’s an easy way to both gather material and practice your craft while auditioning for larger projects.

To be honest, a lot of these things might sound obvious, but when I started out, I had no idea what any of these things really were. I got lucky and had people around me who were willing to teach me. These things may not shoot you straight to the top, but they help you take the first steps, which are the most important ones.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Be reliable. An unfortunate reality of the film industry is that there are a million ways in which things can go wrong, and they normally do. People won’t fault you when something goes wrong that is out of your control. But because there are so many hazards to filmmaking, they will be harsh if a mistake occurs that could have been avoided. Always arrive early. Always arrive prepared. Have options for a scene, but be ready to do it once and move on. On smaller film sets, this is far more likely. Filming is expensive and the schedule can be one of two things: Tight and very tight.

Try to communicate potential concerns to your director and producer before accepting a job. Most actors are so concerned about getting a job that they will agree to perform a part that perhaps they are not actually comfortable with performing. But it’s important to remember that a potential employer is not asking the question for fun. If you communicate a potential issue beforehand, they will be far more willing to talk about it and make changes than if you communicate that you won’t do something on the day you’re supposed to do it. Let me clear though, if a director is springing something on you last minute, that is not acceptable and that is why we have the SAG AFTRA union. If a project asks you to do something as part of the job description, don’t accept unless you are willing to do what they ask, but if they did not communicate efficiently, that is on them.

Filmmaking is tough, and if you are going to be stuck working with someone for 6-8 weeks in tough conditions, it’s better when that person is reliable. Filmmaking is an art and art is cooperative. Do your best to elevate everyone’s performance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brandonlessard.squarespace.com/config/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonwlessard/
• Other: IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8652496/

Image Credits

Kehana Sydney Rose