00:00:02 My name is Chris Brandon, and I'm an actor. I've done Midsummer Night's Dream here at the Globe, before that Henry V in the Manchester Royal Exchange, As You Like It in Stratford and the Sheffield Crucible, and then couple of other sort of smaller studio shows. It's been all theatre so it's been quite good - a good two years. I'd come here as a schoolboy when I was 16, 17, when it had just opened. And thought God this would be amazing, I'd love to go on stage here. And to be doing it 10 or 11 years later is absolutely fantastic.
00:00:35 I think when I was about 17 or 18 I thought - that would be nice, I'll go and be an actor. And then spoke to my parents and they - I think we had a sort of a serious discussion, where they said maybe go and get a degree first. So I went and read English, and then while I was at University I did a lot of plays there, and - and ended up thinking yeah, this wouldn't be bad actually, I could do this as a career.
00:00:58 But before that I mean I'd wanted to be a soldier for quite a long time. And had gone for interviews when I was about 15, 16 thinking yeah, this is going to be brilliant. And we had a weekend interview camp, and I was terrible, awful. Getting lost everywhere, and just laughing. So I realised it wasn't for me. It was great fun, but I had too much fun, didn't take it seriously enough. You know, that threw everything into kind of - into flux, if you will, and then I thought well what - what is there to do? And the only thing I really loved doing was acting, other than that, so - it took me some time to realise that that could be a career, 'cause it doesn't really seem like a real career - maybe even now - but um - but I think it was - that was definitely the sort of a turning point, was allowing it all to be explored again. It is quite a bit shift, although I've met - since then I've met a few soldiers who said no, we're all actors! (LAUGHS)
00:01:48 I was at a very sporty all boys school and, you know, you had to be - well you didn't have to be, but if you were very good at sport - football, rugby, cricket, whatever - you were sorted for your school life. But if you weren't very good at sport, which was me and another mate, we went and did plays on our own, so. There were a couple of very influential teachers who realised that we didn't have the outlook, and realised that not everybody was good at sport so, you know, they used to say - well come in and do this, and we'll read through this and see how it goes. So yeah, there was some very good kind of teachers who just took us under their wing. And you're always thankful for them really, aren't you?
00:02:23 I was in University in Dublin so we did - we had four years to do an English degree. And so I had loads of time to do plays, I mean I did maybe 17,18 plays while I was at University, in four years so - and that was brilliant fun. I wanted to go to Drama School, and I got a place at LAMDA, which is the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London. And they helped me through to - well they let me in, and then I did two years with them, so that was great fun.
00:02:49 Being an actor is not entirely dissimilar to when I was six years old and we used to play at, you know, whatever imaginary games we used to play at in the back garden, you know. Cowboys and Indians, and things like that. You're just doing that on a slightly more mature scale. So I'm really, really lucky to be where I am, yeah.
00:03:07 What's exciting and what motivates you is what - is what other jobs there are to do, you know. There's so many things to do, that you'd love to do. I mean I've grown up watching films, so my dream job is for me to walk out of this room and Stephen Spielberg to phone me up, you know, that kind of thing, I think. I think Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was the film that made me think, as a kid, I was maybe was about 7 when that came out, I thought - I'd love to do that. So being involved in a big project I think would really be a dream come true.
00:03:36 When my Dad first came to see me perform it was brilliant. Both Mum and Dad, just fantastic. And I remember being very, very nervous - I mean this was only a couple of years ago. Because my parents have been incredibly supportive, and helped me through things and, you know, and really sort of encouraged me to do what I've wanted to do. So when you can show them kind of the product of what they've kind of supported, then it's a really satisfying thing.
00:04:00 ENDS
Chris Brandon
Christopher Brandon
My name is Chris Brandon, and I'm an actor. I've done Midsummer Night's Dream here at the Globe, before that Henry V in the Manchester Royal Exchange, As You Like It in Stratford and the Sheffield Crucible, and then couple of other sort of smaller studio shows. It's been all theatre so it's been quite good - a good two years. I'd come here as a schoolboy when I was 16, 17, when it had just opened. And thought God this would be amazing, I'd love to go on stage here. And to be doing it 10 or 11 years later is absolutely fantastic.
I think when I was about 17 or 18 I thought - that would be nice, I'll go and be an actor. And then spoke to my parents and they - I think we had a sort of a serious discussion, where they said maybe go and get a degree first. So I went and read English, and then while I was at University I did a lot of plays there, and - and ended up thinking yeah, this wouldn't be bad actually, I could do this as a career.
But before that I mean I'd wanted to be a soldier for quite a long time. And had gone for interviews when I was about 15, 16 thinking yeah, this is going to be brilliant. And we had a weekend interview camp, and I was terrible, awful. Getting lost everywhere, and just laughing. So I realised it wasn't for me. It was great fun, but I had too much fun, didn't take it seriously enough. You know, that threw everything into kind of - into flux, if you will, and then I thought well what - what is there to do? And the only thing I really loved doing was acting, other than that, so - it took me some time to realise that that could be a career, 'cause it doesn't really seem like a real career - maybe even now - but um - but I think it was - that was definitely the sort of a turning point, was allowing it all to be explored again. It is quite a bit shift, although I've met - since then I've met a few soldiers who said no, we're all actors! (LAUGHS)
I was at a very sporty all boys school and, you know, you had to be - well you didn't have to be, but if you were very good at sport - football, rugby, cricket, whatever - you were sorted for your school life. But if you weren't very good at sport, which was me and another mate, we went and did plays on our own, so. There were a couple of very influential teachers who realised that we didn't have the outlook, and realised that not everybody was good at sport so, you know, they used to say - well come in and do this, and we'll read through this and see how it goes. So yeah, there was some very good kind of teachers who just took us under their wing. And you're always thankful for them really, aren't you?
I was in University in Dublin so we did - we had four years to do an English degree. And so I had loads of time to do plays, I mean I did maybe 17,18 plays while I was at University, in four years so - and that was brilliant fun. I wanted to go to Drama School, and I got a place at LAMDA, which is the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London. And they helped me through to - well they let me in, and then I did two years with them, so that was great fun.
Being an actor is not entirely dissimilar to when I was six years old and we used to play at, you know, whatever imaginary games we used to play at in the back garden, you know. Cowboys and Indians, and things like that. You're just doing that on a slightly more mature scale. So I'm really, really lucky to be where I am, yeah.
What's exciting and what motivates you is what - is what other jobs there are to do, you know. There's so many things to do, that you'd love to do. I mean I've grown up watching films, so my dream job is for me to walk out of this room and Stephen Spielberg to phone me up, you know, that kind of thing, I think. I think Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was the film that made me think, as a kid, I was maybe was about 7 when that came out, I thought - I'd love to do that. So being involved in a big project I think would really be a dream come true.
When my Dad first came to see me perform it was brilliant. Both Mum and Dad, just fantastic. And I remember being very, very nervous - I mean this was only a couple of years ago. Because my parents have been incredibly supportive, and helped me through things and, you know, and really sort of encouraged me to do what I've wanted to do. So when you can show them kind of the product of what they've kind of supported, then it's a really satisfying thing.
ENDS
Chris Brandon is a Shakesperian Actor who performs at various theatres including The Globe in London. It took him a while to realise acting could be a career. Paradoxically he was helped by going to a sporty boys school - he was not good at sport so a teacher let him and some friends do some acting while the others were out playing rugby.
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