Brendan Bradley: The digital world is simply a faster outlet for my creativity

An interview with the Los Angeles based actor, writer and producer Brendan Bradley.
 
I first noticed you in the drama Redwoods – about an unfulfilled man in a stagnant relationship who finds his life changed forever when he meets a struggling writer visiting the Redwoods Country in California.It was so pure and heady!  Did the movie push you in your life somehow?
Redwoods is a sweet little independent film I shot when I first moved to Los Angeles. Director David Lewis and I met at a film festival a few years before and he told me to contact him if I ever moved to California. When he first sent me the script, I didn't realize he wanted me to act in the film. So I sent him back a bunch of script notes instead - which is exactly what my character "Everett" would do!

Can you say that this movie helped you to make your way through?
Redwoods was a great experience and the fans of the film have been amazing and incredibly supportive. But I would actually say projects like Kali Ma (which introduced my work to many directors like David Lewis), Squatters (which was my calling card to the webseries world) and the recent School of Thrones are shows that have really opened doors for me professionally.

Is it a big phenomenon to shoot movies or TV series presented only on YouTube and online media in the States or you were the first (or one of the first) who started with it? I think that here in Europe it is still not like that so much…
Creators having been using the internet to develop and experiment with online video for the last decade, but the “webseries” phenomenon and epidemic really began around the 2007 Writers Strike in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to get involved with the digital "community" and industry early on with projects like The Legend of Neil, The Station, Elevator, The Temp Life and my own Squatters series which at the time was named "the best indie comedy on the web" by Tubefilter News. Since then, the "web" of the web has grown significantly, introducing us to even more incredible artists and a hungry, passionate audience for short-form narrative video, most recently with my parody of the HBO hit series, Game of Thrones.

So is this “digital world“ closer to you than theater acting?
I actually got my start in theater and still try to get on stage as often as I can.  Doing theater in New York City taught me everything I know about producing.  I just had to introduce a camera into the mix.  The digital world is simply a faster outlet for my creativity.  In theater, you spend several weeks rehearsing and then your locked into performances every evening.  Compare that to School of Thrones where we shot the entire series in 3 days and now it lives forever on YouTube. I do miss the live interaction with the audience though, but social medias offers a really cool way to directly talk to the fans. I love telling stories, whether on stage or screen, I'm just lucky to do what I love for a living.

About Brendan
Brendan is a classically trained, professional actor from New York University and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art who has appeared in numerous television shows and films. In addition to acting, Brendan has established himself in the online space as a comedian and digital creative with over 100 online webisodes and short videos earning millions of hits and dozens of awards. He currently lives in Los Angeles, dabbling in microbrews, gourmet burgers, boxing and playwriting. 

More information at: http://www.brendanAbradley.com or follow him on http://twitter.com/brendanAbradley

text by Karolina Babickova