Brendan Bradley (actor)

Brendan Andolsek Bradley (born May 5, 1983) is an American actor, director, producer, writer and VR performer. He is best known for portraying the advertising character Guy in radio and television commercials for Staples.[2][3] He has been noted for his work in over 100 television and interactive projects for PBS, CBS, Legendary Entertainment, the Fine Brothers, Comedy Central, the video game Resident Evil: Village and others.[4][5]

Brendan Bradley
Born
Brendan Andolsek Bradley[1]

(1983-05-05) May 5, 1983
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.[1]
Occupation(s)Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active2006-present

As a writer, he wrote the stage play Jettison, the virtual reality Musical, Non-Player Character, the comedy series Squatters, Video Game Reunion and Non-Transferable and A Tale Told By An Idiot, both films which he also directed.[6][7] He also served as the director and producer of Assassin's Creed: The Musical, SONA, and Baby X.

He founded The Innovation Lab at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and is recognized as a pioneer in live immersive theater in virtual reality.[8]

Early life

Bradley was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. He began appearing in plays at Raleigh Little Theater. During his senior year of high school, he produced his first play.[9]

He co-founded RASH! Theater Company which operated from 2002 to 2005 producing works, including Goonies: The Musical.[10][11]

Education

Bradley graduated from Durham Academy in Durham, North Carolina with a high school degree, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Honors in Theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While attending New York University, Bradley spent some time in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art studying Shakespeare in Performance.[8]

Career

Bradley began his career after attending New York University, The Lee Strasberg Institute, and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Upon moving to Los Angeles, Bradley began producing online commercials before developing his own original, scripted comedy series, Squatters. Squatters caught the attention of National Public Radio's The Story with Dick Gordon and TubeFilter News leading to the 14 episodes launched on DailyMotion as their first original comedy web series.[12]

He began his role as Guy, the quirky, fast-talking Staples clerk in a series of commercials in January 2015,[2] and was Staples national spokesperson.[13]

Bradley’s first play, Jettison, was commissioned by Impetuous Theater Group for Swim Shorts 3,[14] a one act play festival that took place in a rooftop swimming pool in midtown Manhattan.[15] Jettison was published in One Acts of Note in 2009 by Desert Road Publishing, and was produced as part of The Signature Shorts Series at Arsht Center in Miami.[16][17]

Film & TV

Filming began in 2009 for the feature film Friends With Benefits, which starred Bradley. He also starred in Redwoods and Love Conquers Paul. Bradley won "Best Actor" award at Methodfest.[18][19] Shortly after in 2010, Bradley made his television debut with the web series The Legend of Neil, which was syndicated on Comedy Central.[12] Following in 2011, he appeared in the MTV series Death Valley and the series finale of Wizards of Waverly Place.

Bradley appeared in Frankenstein, MD as Eli Lavenza, a modern adaptation of Elizabeth Lavenza, from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein. The web series, produced by PBS Digital Studios and Pemberley Digital, premiered on August 19, 2014, and concluded October 31, 2014. The show aired on domestic and International television in 2017 through a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group.[20][21]

Bradley played triplets on CBS’s Elementary in 2015.[22] The same year he appeared on CBS’s legal drama Doubt and Tyler Perry’s The Haves And The Have Nots.[23][24]

During the period of 2015 to 2017, Bradley portrayed the face-talking salesman named Guy in a series of TV and Radio commercials for Staples, Inc.[25][13]

In the year 2017, Bradley starred in the film, In Vino, opposite Ed Asner and Sean Young.[26] After that project his film directorial debut Non-Transferable was released. The film partnered with Turkish Airlines and several YouTube influencers.[27][28]

In 2018, Bradley appeared on Timeless, American Housewife and reprised his role on The Haves And Have Nots.

In 2022, Bradley’s third feature film screenplay, The Plus One was directed by Erik White, starring Ashanti,[29] Cedric The Entertainer,[30] Michelle Hurd, Cassie Scerbo, and Brendan Bradley.[31]

Digital & Interactive Media

Bradley is the creator, writer, director and star of Squatters, a web series which aired from 2010 to 2012 on DailyMotion as their first original comedy web series.[12]

In 2013, Bradley starred in the viral parody series, School of Thrones as Renly Baratheon.[32][33] Shortly after in 2014, Bradley directed and produced Assassin's Creed The Musical for Machinima.[34][35] The project was acquired by Rooster Teeth in 2019.[36]

After that, in 2016 Bradley created the animated short Baby X, adapted from the short story X: A Fabulous Child’s Story. The 11-minute film received praise from Joe Blevins of The A.V. Club who wrote that its animation style succeeded in mimicking the visual style of its source text, and from Kristina Marusic of NewNowNext, who described it as "both beautiful and poignant".[37][38] Clips of the film were also used on NPR’s Hidden Brain.[39] In 2019, Bradley created and released a follow-up short film, Baby S.[40]

In the year 2017, he directed, produced and starred in the digital sci-fi series SONA which was picked up by Legendary Entertainment in 2018.[41] A virtual experience was designed by Bradley for the launch at San Diego Comic Con with a virtual reality 6DoF escape room.[42]

In 2018, Bradley began writing, producing and directing A Tale Told By An Idiot, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth parodying virtual reality and cryptocurrency gaming. The mixed media project experimented with live action film, motion capture and 3D animation.[43]

Bradley appeared in 2020, as a motion capture performer and voice performer in Resident Evil: Village for Capcom.[44]

Virtual Reality

In 2017, Bradley founded The Innovation Lab at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to introduce emerging technologies into live performance training.[45] When schools and theater shut down during COVID-19, the Lab pivoted for students to attend, learn and perform in virtual reality.[46][47]

Bradley released The Future Stages in July 2020, a free customizable 3D virtual theater experience using the WebXR platform, Mozilla Hubs.[48] In October 2020, he presented his authored play, Jettison, at the Future Stages.[49] The VR play Jettison, became a finalist for The Producer Guild of America’s Innovation Award.[50]

During the 2020 shutdown, Bradley live-streamed a one-man show, seamlessly switching between 5 modes of AR/VR/XR/MR/2D storytelling for The Museum of Science, including live theater in web-based virtual reality (WebVR).[51]

The following year, Bradley was invited to write and perform an interactive musical theater prototype, Non-Player Character, at the Mugar Omni Dome Theater[52][53] allowing on-site audiences to enter either as a Participant of the VR Concert, wearing a VR headset, or as a seated Spectator of the experience projected onto the IMAX dome screen.[54][55] Bradley workshopped and expanded the Non-Player Character VR Musical, performing live at FIVARS, Mozilla Festival, winning Best in VR Interactive Immersive Experience at The Queensland (Qld) XR Festival[56] and nominated for The Indie Creator Auggie Award at Augmented World Expo as part of OnBoardXR.[57]

In 2021, Bradley founded and organized OnBoardXR, a seasonal accelerator to scout and support live, immersive creators experimenting with virtual reality in live performance.[58] OnBoardXR uses the Mozilla Hubs web VR platform running custom code on the Amazon Web Services cloud and produced virtual world premieres and speakers at FIVARS, SIGGRAPH and Mozilla Festival.[59] In September 2021 Bradley was included in the 100 Original Voices in XR list created by former Apple and Google developer Avi Bar-Zeev.[60] At that time, he joined the cast of Ferryman Collective’s VRChat play, Severance Theory: Welcome To Respite, performing live at The Venice Film Fest,[61] Raindance Immersive[62] and Kaohsiung Film Festival.[63]

On February 12, 2022 Bradley performed and produced a live Half-time Show in virtual reality at The Polys XR Awards, reported as “the first live halftime show in the metaverse.”[64] On March 12, 2022, he starred in the interactive VR experience Gumball Dreams at SXSW.[65]

Music

Bradley released his debut single “Reprogram Me” from the Workshop Cast Recording of Non-Player Character on July 8, 2022, debuting at number 25 on the U.S. iTunes Soundtrack chart.[66] An original Workshop cast album recorded at Fever Tree Studios with Producer and Arranger Maurice Soque Jr. was released September 2, 2022.[56]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2020 Wayward Guide Odie Doty
2020 A Tale Told by an Idiot Mac 10 episodes
2019 Last Call: Live 5 episodes
2019 Hype Bear
2019 The Haves and the Have Nots[67] Agent Welles / Officer Welles 3 episodes
2018 Sidepiece Will
2018 Sona Akiva 6 episodes
2018 American Housewife Office Worker #2 Episode: Mom Guilt
2018 Timeless Daly Episode: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes
2017 Doubt Hayden[68] Episode: Running Out of Time
2016 The Haves and the Have Nots Officer Welles Episode: "It's Ok to Love"
2016 Nuclear Family Dom 1 episode
2016 Sing It! Eli Savage 2 episodes
2016 FBE Sketches Kidnapper Episode: Gunpoint Ransom
2015 Elementary Timothy Wagner/Otto Neuhaus/Evan Farrow Episode: "Tag, You're Me"
2015 Muzzled the Musical Prince Dashing 3 episodes
2015 52 Ways to Break Up Tinder Todd 2 episodes
2015 JustBoobs Sketch Actor / Announcer 3 episodes
2014 Frankenstein, MD Eli Lavenza 13 episodes
2014 Progress: Ask a Cam Harlot Ale Barrett 2 episodes
2014 Q.V.G Gripp Rockson 17 episodes
2014 Mixed Trevor (GOP) Biden
2013 Mr. Box Office Lars Frankenheimer Episode: "Fifty Shades of Gray Hair"
2013 School of Thrones Renly Baratheon 3 episodes
2013 Walk of Shame Derek Episode: You've Got Males
2013 The Dark Knight Retires Derek 1 episode
2013 Hipsterhood Jake 4 episodes
2012 NCIS Guest Episode: "Devil's Trifecta "
2012 Wizards of Waverly Place Hank Russo Episode: "Rock Around the Clock"
2011 Death Valley Officer Brown Episode: "Assault on Precinct UTF"
2010 Squatters Hank Pitman Series Regular, Writer, Director
2009 The Legend of Neil Male Fairy 3 Episodes

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2021 Something About Her Gary
2020 Inner Child Zeke
2017 In Vino Jean[69]
2017 Tales from Old Town II Travis Pierce
2016 Non-Transferable Josh Merit[6] Also director
2015 An American in Hollywood Eric
2015 Wake (cancelled) Enoch
2014 Hate from a Distance Ned
2014 Temp Girls Temp Employee
2010 The Last Harbor Ken Sikorski
2009 Friends (With Benefits) Brad[70]
2009 Love Conquers Paul Paul
2008 September 12th Daniel
2008 Redwoods Everet

Recognition

Brendan was interviewed on National Public Radio's The Story with Dick Gordon on September 9, 2009, about his experiences writing and producing online commercials and entertainment.[71] The Method Fest Independent Film Festival recognized his performance in September 12 by giving him the Best Actor Award in 2009.[72]

References
  1. "Brendan Andolsek Bradley from Durham, North Carolina". VoterRecords.com. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  2. Maddox, Kate (February 6, 2015). "Staples Launches New Campaign Aimed at Small Businesses". AdvertisingAge. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  3. Meehan, Megan (December 23, 2016). "Interview with actor Brendan Bradley, also known as 'The Staples Guy'". Blasting News. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  4. Carrie, Stephanie (29 August 2013). "The Tangled Web We Watch: That Awkward Exit After a One-Night-Stand". LA Weekly. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  5. Wiseman, Andreas (2021-09-21). "Ashanti To Star In & Produce Movie Rom-Com 'The Plus One'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  6. Gutelle, Sam (11 December 2015). "Turkish Airlines Gets In On The YouTuber Film Trend With 'Non-Transferable'". Tubefilter.
  7. Lazar, Shira (23 February 2016). "How Do You Make a Movie in Europe With Almost No Budget?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  8. "Could NYU Have the Solution to Produce Distance-Theatre During Quarantine and Beyond?". Playbill. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  9. "Brendan Bradley '01 Shares Out-of-Box Perspective with DA Theatre Students". da.org. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  10. "Iconic Film "The Goonies" Becomes Musical Parody Save the Goondocks! at FringeNYC". playbill.com. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  11. "Save the Goondocks: a musical parody". nymag.com. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  12. Hustvedt, Marc (May 31, 2010). "'Squatters' Hit Dailymotion Tomorrow". TubeFilter News. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  13. "Résumé of Brendan Bradley". resumes.breakdownexpress.com. Actors Access. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
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  29. Slenk, Austin (2021-09-21). "Ashanti to Star in and Produce Romantic Comedy Film 'The Plus One'". Collider. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  30. "'Dolphin Tale' producer to make four Lifetime movies in Tampa Bay". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
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  32. March 12, Hillary Busis Updated; EDT, 2013 at 02:35 PM. "'Game of Thrones': the high school version". EW.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  33. "Brendan Bradley talks School of Thrones webseries • Hypable". Hypable. 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  34. "'Assassin's Creed: The Musical' Promotes Unity; Will Be Stuck in Your Head All Day". Game Rant. 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  35. Tube, Stage. "VIDEO: Gaming on Broadway? Watch ASSASSINS CREED: THE MUSICAL!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
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  38. "Watch The Gorgeously Animated Story Of A Baby Raised Without Gender". www.logotv.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  39. "Can A Child Be Raised Free Of Gender Stereotypes? This Family Tried". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
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  50. Hill, Libby (2021-03-17). "Producers Guild Awards Announce Innovation Award Nominees". IndieWire. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
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  52. "Museum of Science, Boston Unveils Fall Lineup of Innovative and Inspiring Programming for Adults | Museum of Science, Boston". www.mos.org. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  53. ""We allow anyone to bring their creative practice into XR for the first time" - Brendan Bradley (OnBoardXR)". www.xrmust.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  54. Festival, Qld XR (2022-06-20). "Qld XR Festival 2022 Awards Results". Medium. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  55. Franklin, Dave (2022-07-26). "Hero's Welcome – Brendan Bradley (reviewed by Dave Franklin)". Dancing About Architecture. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
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  57. "AWE USA 2022 - OnBoardXR: Live Performance in WebXR". www.awexr.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  58. Wild, Stephi. "On Board, A Collection Of Virtual Reality Performances Brings Indie Xr Artists Together In One Evening". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  59. Proscenium, No (2021-10-27). "Review Rundown: The Immersive Is Coming From Inside the House". Medium. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  60. Bar-Zeev, Avi (2021-09-17). "100 Original Voices in XR". Medium. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  61. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "THE SEVERANCE THEORY: WELCOME TO RESPITE Has International Premiere At The 78th Venice Film Festival". BroadwayWorld.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  62. "Festival Addition: Welcome to Respite & OnBoardXR (BTS Sessions)". The Immersive Experience Institute. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  63. "VR Experience THE SEVERANCE THEORY: WELCOME TO RESPITE has Asian Premiere at Kaohsiung Film Festival". VIMooZ. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  64. "The Polys - WebXR Awards Show Returns To Break More Ground". WebXR Awards and Summit Series. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  65. News, EIN (2022-02-10). "'Gumball Dreams' World Premiere at SXSW". EIN News. Retrieved 2022-02-28. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  66. Moseley, Martin (2022-07-20). "Brendan Bradley's virtual reality musical Non-Player Character debuts on Top Soundtrack Chart with first single 'Reprogram Me' arriving at No. 25 on iTunes". Urbanista Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  67. "Brendan Bradley". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  68. Morrell, McKenzie (January 6, 2017). ""Staples Guy" Brendan Bradley talks 'Doubt' on CBS, New Media and working with Tyler Perry". FanFest. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  69. In Vino, retrieved 2020-04-01
  70. Lauren Rosewarne (2012). Periods in Pop Culture: Menstruation in Film and Television. Lexington Books. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7391-7000-7.
  71. "Making Good on YouTube". The Story with Dick Gordon. NPR. September 9, 2009. Archived from the original (mp3) on September 11, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  72. "2010 Method Fest, Independent Film Festival, Calabasas, California". methodfest.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
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