Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Brown.
Andrew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I made my theatrical debut at the age of four in the now legendary Brown Family Living Room. I directed a cast consisting of my twin brother and our ensemble of stuffed animals. We put on a wide variety of shows, from The Three Little Pigs to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. From that moment on, I was hooked.
For over a decade now, I have been involved in various independent films as well as community, regional, and repertory theater. I’ve had the privilege of taking on classic roles like Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Damis in Tartuffe. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with new authors and have the honor to be cast in original works.
In 2012, I was exposed to behind-the-camera work when I directed my first film. While the film itself served best as a learning experience, I found great joy in the production process. Since then, I have written, directed, and produced multiple television commercials and short films. Having an insight on the production experience has certainly made me a better on-set communicator and actor.
Outside of film and theater, my heart is dedicated to working with nonprofits. Helping responsible nonprofit organizations achieve their marketing and fundraising goals in order to better serve their populations is an incredibly rewarding experience. One often wears many hats in the nonprofit sector, and I am no exception; I have taught overdose prevention classes, assisted in grant writing, produced promotional videos, made sandwiches, emceed events, and even served as an auctioneer! I have had the honor of working with organizations like Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, PATH, Community Hospice, Ride for Mom, First Star, Monday Night Mission, and more.
I am also currently a guest teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District,
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Even though I had a passion for acting and film, I still was very hesitant to start a career in the entertainment industry. I went to UCLA and got a degree in Anthropology and Public Health. After graduating in 2015, I moved back home to the Central Valley and began working in the non-profit sector. It would take four more years before I would decide to quit my job, move back down to LA and give this whole “acting thing” a try. I moved back in late 2019, and of course, a few months after this major life shift, we had a global pandemic.
That being said, those first few months were wonderful. I took classes at UCB and Ivanna Chubbuck Studio. I was able to explore Los Angeles outside of the UCLA bubble. And most importantly, I had the opportunity to star in a few short films and was cast in a play that premiered at the Hudson Theater.
When the pandemic did hit, I was determined to stay on track. I used the pandemic as an opportunity to take acting classes I would not normally take, write, and be a part of some internally rewarding yet externally cringy Zoom theater.
When the world started to settle, I hit the ground running. I masked up and reenrolled for in-person classes. I started to produce my own material. I upped my self-tape game. I said yes to every acting opportunity that I came across. I, like many other actors, was very eager to perform again.
Now that the world has settled, in regards to the pandemic that is, I still am very eager to perform. I am happy and humbled to say that I have had the chance to take even more classes, be involved in many different films and plays, and most importantly work with so many brilliant artists.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
While I truly enjoy writing, directing, and producing, I love acting. Acting has brought me an immeasurable amount of joy throughout my life. Acting has been a constant in my life that has given me purpose and reason to get up during times of depression, helped me meet and sustain wonderful friendships, and has helped me become a more empathic person.
I enroll in a lot of classes to learn as much as I can about the craft of acting. I’ve taken advanced improv at UCB, scene study at Robert D’Avanzo Studios and Ivanna Chubbuck Studios, voice-over classes from Terry Berland, and have taken sitcom classes with Stan Zimmerman. These classes help keep my acting muscles working when I am not in a production myself. I don’t think there will ever be a time in my life when I am not trying to learn more about this craft.
Honestly, I am proud of myself for the dedication I give to this career and my work ethic.
I am also proud of many of the roles I have been able to play. I’ve been told I have a great ability to ground and find heart in outrageously funny characters, as well as an ability to find moments of humor and levity in more dramatic characters. That is why playing roles like Tom Joad in “Grapes of Wrath”, Joe in “Balm and Gilead”, and Martin in “Hotel Paradiso” also stand out as favorites of mine. That being said, I also love potato rolls, kaiser rolls, and sweet rolls. My favorite roles to perform are the ones I get cast in [laughs].
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I have found that some of the most rewarding experiences of my life have been the result of me taking risks. That being said, I do try to learn as much as I can about whatever it is I am deciding to gamble on. For example, quitting my very stable job, leaving my friends and family, and moving to LA to start acting professionally was indeed a risk. However, before I made that decision, I did my due diligence. I started off by calling everyone I knew who has ever done anything in the arts professionally; theater directors from my community college, a playwright from my hometown, my high school classmate who had a few extra spots 15 years ago, everyone. I bothered them all for advice. I wanted to learn everything that they could tell me about the struggles of working in the arts.
I also joined Facebook groups for Actors, read countless articles, and watched interviews on YouTube. I bought books about the business side of acting. I learned how to use type-casting to my advantage and even made a trip from the Central Valley to Santa Monica Pier with a list of one hundred adjectives and paid random piergoers a dollar each to circle the adjectives they thought best represented me. I did all of this because I wanted to prepare myself for this career, which is frankly risky. I reasoned that if I can learn as much as I can about the business side of acting and the risks of this career before diving in, I will be able to focus more on the craft of acting and auditioning once I finally make the move.
I believe that a healthy amount of risk is vital for personal growth. We learn more about who we are and what we can do during these times of uncomfortability.
Contact Info:
- Website: andrewbrownactor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_andrew_brown/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewBrownActor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jacobotv4995
Image Credits
DALLAS EDGE, MARIA TORNBERG
