Meet Brian Lemmons, Actor/Writer/Director

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Lemmons.

Hi Brian, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the small town of Owasso, OK. I loved movies, telling stories and performing (and dancing) for whoever would give me their attention. I had/have a huge imagination… My early success came at age 19 when I became a backup dancer for the popular Christian artist Carman. After multiple tours and music videos with Carman, I landed a co-starring acting role as the Villain in the “Bibleman Adventure” TV and video series starring Willie Aames (Eight is Enough and Charle’s In Charge). During my seven years with the Bibleman series, I not only portrayed the character in episodes and live shows but also co-produced four episodes and wrote two stage plays for the wildly popular touring live-action show. I was presented five Gold IRMA Awards for my work in the series. “Willie (Aames) taught me a great deal in front and behind the camera, which is where I saw the natural progression of my career headed. When I was married in 2000, my wife and I started a family in Kansas City. At that time, the constant touring/road life began to take its toll on me, so I decided to step away from entertainment for a while. It wasn’t long until I decided to return to college and acquire a BA in Film and Media at the University of Kansas City. While landing TV commercials here and there, I continued my pursuit to finish school so I could go more behind the camera.

By 2006, we had three children. I graduated with honors and was immediately hired by a top marketing firm in KC as a Video/Media Manager, where I wrote, produced and directed over 2500 marketing videos in an eight-year span (I am a jack of all trades in production, including video editing). However, in 2018 I began to feel too comfortable in a sense that I didn’t feel challenged and like I hadn’t quite fulfilled some of my dreams I had since childhood. I felt I had bigger work to do or more potential to reach. I had unfinished screenplays I wanted to complete and shop around. Coming from a background of faith, my wife and I believed we were being pulled away from Kansas City and being called out west. This was crazy to so many people I talked to. I had the 6 figure income, the big house in a great community but all of that didn’t matter to me… PURPOSE does and this is what we teach our children. I told people that thought I was insane that “I’d rather try and fail than never have tried and regret it for the rest of my life”. So, we sold our home at the end of 2018 and moved to the greater Los Angeles area (Santa Clarita) in the beginning of 2019. Yes, uprooting the family and moving to California was the scariest decision I have ever made. “It’s about the journey, not the destination”.

I remember telling my three kids (some of whom were sad and scared) that “this move wasn’t about me only. It would define all of us in our quest to fulfill dreams and purpose in our lives”. The challenges didn’t hide though. My son was attending Saugus High School when the school shooting occurred. Thankfully he was late that day but it took a toll on us and the community. Then came the moments I regretted moving my family. As a husband and father, it weighed heavily on my heart every day. Then, 2020… Like most, Covid 19 threw a wrench in any dreams being fulfilled. I lost family members (not all to Covid but some); this included my LA talent agent and Carman, who I toured with in the 90s. Carman was like an uncle to me until he passed. Work became slow. Income decreased. But I didn’t waste my time when the world shut down. I finished my three feature-length screenplays that summer. I am currently pitching those when I can (information on those can be found at brianlemmons.com) and one has been submitted to Final Draft’s “Big Break” contest this year.

Additionally, I co-wrote a young adult urban fantasy novel that is also being considered for publishing. During all of this and still having an “acting bug”, I continued to keep one foot in that space and landed a supporting role in “The Man From Nowhere” (2021), Travel Channel’s Pilot show, “Vampires In America (2022) and I just wrapped filming Asylum’s sequel to “War of The Worlds: Annihilation”, “War of the Worlds: Extinction”, starring William Baldwin where I play Baldwin’s alien commanding officer, Consul Nido. Coming up, I am set to co-star in the new film by Dave Christiano, “A Time to Dance”. Filming begins in October 2023.

I lost another very close family member this year but I am keeping my faith and I am not going to let adversity be something that shakes or destroys me. Our little family has endured a lot since moving to California but many families have. I am blessed and grateful to have a family who loves and supports me. Money and fame do not drive me… Purpose does.

NOTES:
1. My wife is a Registered Nurse (RN) and has worked most of her career in the ER. She is the real hero of our family. She now works in women’s health.

2. My daughter pursued acting for a while and booked a couple of things (Peacock Kids Jurassic World: Construction Destruction and Plato III’s music video “Sorry If I Dissed You”). However, her love for music is stronger than acting, although she isn’t completely counting it out. Her and I created music together during Covid. She just recently enrolled in College of Canyons, where she will major in Music.

3. My middle son was a star player for the Saugus High School football team where he played defensive back. He begins his college football career at Moorpark junior college this fall in hopes to transfer to a D1 school after this season.

4. The baby of the family begins his senior year of high school. His focus has been ROTC for four years. His goal is to attend a military college and join the Air Force to become a pilot.

IMDb: https://www.imdb.me/brianlemmons
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/brianlemmons/
Website: brianlemmons.com

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The challenges didn’t hide though. My son was attending Saugus High School when the school shooting occurred. Thankfully he was late that day but it took a toll on us and the community. Then came the moments I regretted moving my family. As a husband and father, it weighed heavily on my heart every day. Then, 2020… Like most, Covid 19 threw a wrench in any dreams being fulfilled. I lost family members (not all to Covid but some), this included my LA talent agent and Carman who I toured with in the 90s. Carman was like an uncle to me until he passed. Work became slow. Income decreased. But I didn’t waste my time when the world shut down. I finished my three feature-length screenplays that summer. I am currently pitching those when I can (information on those can be found at brianlemmons.com) and one has been submitted to Final Draft’s “Big Break” contest this year.

Additionally, I co-wrote a young adult urban fantasy novel that is also being considered for publishing. During all of this and still having an “acting bug”, I continued to keep one foot in that space and landed a supporting role in “The Man From Nowhere” (2021), Travel Channel’s Pilot show, “Vampires In America (2022) and I just wrapped filming Asylum’s sequel to “War of The Worlds: Annihilation”, “War of the Worlds: Extinction”, starring William Baldwin where I play Baldwin’s alien commanding officer, Consul Nido. Coming up, I am set to co-star in the new film by Dave Christiano, “A Time to Dance”. Filming begins in October 2023.

I lost another very close family member this year but I am keeping my faith and I am not going to let adversity be something that shakes or destroys me. Our little family has endured a lot since moving to California but many families have. I am blessed and grateful to have a family who loves and supports me. Money and fame do not drive me… Purpose does.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I keep myself available for any freelance video production work. Mainly as a video editor because it has flexibility. But I do still on occasion, shoot and direct marketing videos for corporations.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I focus more on the Faith aspect of my life and trust that God will guide and direct my steps. But I can tell you that every huge break that I have gotten in my life, I have stumbled into. It wasn’t by my might or power. So I think that’s pretty special.

Contact Info:

• Website: brianlemmons.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/brianlemmons or @brianlemmons
• Other: www.imdb.me/brianlemmons