We caught up with the brilliant and insightful J.R. Bradford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi J.R. , thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

So, the truth is that I started out doing comedy in high school. Acting wasn’t the goal for me. I thought I’d be a late night, talk show host like Arsenio Hall. That was the initial goal. However, my Drama teacher(Jan Golden) referred me to Sheran Godspeed Keyton, who was directing a play called “Why Love,When It Hurts”. That experience exposed me to a bunch of Jubilee Theatre legends and I wanted to do what they did(professionally). From there, I started auditioning but wasn’t booking gigs. My next move was to enroll into acting school at KD Studio and that’s when EVERYTHING changed. I often wonder how things would’ve been had I gotten my start earlier in life….Now, I understand that I was right where I needed to be.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Texas based Actor! Born in Denton, raised in Fort Worth, and now I reside in Dallas. A proud alumni of O.D. Wyatt High School and KD Conservatory of Film & Dramatic Arts. I started my professional acting career back in 2009 and have performed on several stages in the DFW market such as Soul Rep Theatre Company, Jubilee Theatre, Stage West, Teatro Dallas, and just finished the 1619 Project at Bishop Arts Theatre Center. I am also a voice actor for radio, commercials, and have taken on film roles as well. I used to sneak away to L.A. and New York to audition but all the phone calls for gigs kept coming from the 817 and 214 area codes so i decided to base myself in the 3rd coast for now.

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

When I came back from New York, I made the decision to move around the DFW market without a car. I was so accustomed to using public transportation in NYC that I wanted to see how far I could go without a car. Thought that period, I found ways to get to my gigs 2 hours early and struck up conversations with several directors and producers that turned into valuable relationships.Despite being without a car,I developed a reputation for being one of the most reliable actors in the market because I always managed to arrive early for my gigs. That spoke to my commitment and dedication to the craft. It taught be discipline.

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’ve had to learn is that Hollywood does not determine the success or failure of an actor. The time I spent out in Los Angeles was very eye-opening because everybody around me were trying so hard to appear busy. Some of them felt that they needed to appear successful via social media so that their friends and family(back home) felt that the move wasn’t in-vein. This took a huge toll on their mental health and I them putting their focus into the wrong place. After that experience, I made I vow to run my own race in this industry and take my time. This way may take me longer but I will be a journey that I enjoy and never loose sight of myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jrbradford21
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JrbradfordVirgo21
• Twitter: @Jr_bradford21

Image Credits
Jonathan McInnis Megan Wilson