March 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Brandon Micheal Hall Interview for PodcastBrandon Micheal Hall sits down with Keith L. Underwood on Black in the Green Room for an in-depth conversation about his journey from television stardom to the stage. From his breakout roles in Search Party, The Mayor, and God Friended Me to his rigorous training at Juilliard, Hall breaks down the challenges, lessons, and triumphs of building a lasting acting career.
In this episode, Hall shares how Juilliard shaped his craft, what he learned from working in Hollywood, and why stepping into Topdog/Underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse is a defining moment for him. He also dives into the power of storytelling, navigating the industry as a Black actor, and the transition from TV to theater.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation on resilience, artistry, and mastering the craft of acting.
Subscribe for more exclusive interviews with leading Black creatives and industry voices!
#BrandonMichealHall #KeithLUnderwood #ActingCareer #TVToTheater #JuilliardAlumni #HollywoodJourney #TopdogUnderdog #BlackActorsMatter #ActingMastery #BlackInTheGreenRoom
In this episode, Hall shares how Juilliard shaped his craft, what he learned from working in Hollywood, and why stepping into Topdog/Underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse is a defining moment for him. He also dives into the power of storytelling, navigating the industry as a Black actor, and the transition from TV to theater.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation on resilience, artistry, and mastering the craft of acting.
Subscribe for more exclusive interviews with leading Black creatives and industry voices!
#BrandonMichealHall #KeithLUnderwood #ActingCareer #TVToTheater #JuilliardAlumni #HollywoodJourney #TopdogUnderdog #BlackActorsMatter #ActingMastery #BlackInTheGreenRoom
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You are black in the green room with me, your host Keith Underwood.
(00:04):
And this is your spot for real talk about entertainment with entertainers, creatives, and showbiz professionals.
Today we're sitting down with a powerhouse talent who's been making moves on screen and stage.
You've seen him in Search Party, The Mayor, and God-Friended Me.
And now he's stepping into an iconic role of Lincoln and Todd Dogg underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse.
(00:31):
Let's give a warm welcome to Mr. Brandon Michael.
Oh, Brandon, what's up?
And welcome to the room.
And Keith, thanks for having me.
Thank you for having me.
What a great introduction.
Thank you so much.
Oh, you're very, very welcome, man.
So how are you this evening?
I'm wonderful.
I'm blessed.
(00:52):
I'm feeling good.
I got an update today.
I'm feeling refreshed.
So I'm very good.
Yeah, good, man.
Good.
You know, Brandon, how are you?
Thank you for asking, man.
I'm doing fantastic.
I don't have any complaints.
So yeah, I'm doing good.
Yeah, thanks for asking.
(01:12):
So, Brandon, you've played everything from a tech-sevy podcaster to an up-and-coming rapper-turned-mayor.
Let's one role that made you see yourself in a new way.
Oh, one role that has made me see myself in a new way.
Honestly, then all of them, I can't really pick one role because that's the beautiful,
(01:36):
the beautiful thing about being able to be versatile and try different roles is that
they each bring out something different in you and they each show you something about
yourself.
So I can't really pick one.
They all have done something magnificent to my growth as a human being.
(01:57):
Yeah.
Yeah, well, how have you grown as an artist from all of the various roles that you've played?
Man, honestly, I got to say, just the feeling of it just gets easier and easier and it gets
better and better.
Ironically to that, with all of that, it also gets a little bit more challenging because
(02:20):
you can't get complacent.
You've got to find more ways to stretch yourself as an artist and find other mediums that can
enhance what you're already doing.
So yeah, it's been a growth.
I mean, man, I've been in this thing since 2016-14 and every new project, every time I've
(02:40):
been able to be on a project, it's brought something new out of me.
So the growth has been great.
Yeah.
It's really interesting to me because I know that some actors, especially actors that have
been doing the game for a while, you know, it starts off with technique.
But at what point in your career did you get lost in character?
You were like, wait a minute.
Okay, I'm just, I'm here.
(03:01):
I am doing this.
Oh, man.
Every, I would say again, every project, like that's one of the things that I strive for
is to get lost in the story, to get lost in the character.
For me, I never want to, even though, you know, sometimes you feel like you're playing yourself
or you're in hands, versions or, you know, different styles of yourself.
(03:22):
I enjoy getting lost in the idea that I am this person, that I am this thing, this human
that is going through these challenges and emotional roller coasters.
And when you get lost in the whether it's the stage or its TV or film, it makes the work
so much more palpable, it makes it so tangible.
(03:46):
And I love that.
Absolutely.
I absolutely love that feeling.
Yeah.
So outside of the feeling, you know, that you get when you're on stage, what do you love
most about the theater?
Ooh.
What do I love most about the theater?
God, there's so many things.
(04:07):
What I love most about the theater is that it's like, it's like watching the Super Bowl yesterday,
you know, watching a film, watching a film, you can get that feeling, but the live performance,
the live energy, whether that's, you know, seeing a theater piece live from your, you know,
(04:27):
the comfort of your home or seeing it in person, having that human connection, that human
feeling where you're never going to get that second take and you're not going to get a third
take, like you're seeing this in the moment, it will never happen again.
That's one of my, one of my, the things that I love the most about the theater.
Also the fact that it just brings people together, the theater is the home.
(04:50):
It's sad because the theater and the art should be as we all know, funded more and taken
care of more than it is.
But it's, it's, it's a place where we always come back home to it is like, oh, well,
we got questions, let's go to the theater when we're not going to give them money, you know,
because we have, because the theater has the honest answers and sometimes the honest answers
(05:12):
is, you know, you may not know, but to be in that space, to be live in there and question
and have a conversation and, you know, that, that, that's what the theater brings and that's
what I love about doing for you.
Yeah, so if I'm correct, you grew up in South Carolina and but you changed.
South Carolina.
Yeah, South, South Crackalaca in the house.
(05:34):
I'm a dragalaki.
Yeah, and you, uh, you also trained at Juilliard.
How did those two, uh, world shape the artist you are today?
Yeah, so I have to say it's, um, there's a bit of, uh, there's a bit of a link in there
that we're missing, which is the church and also the South Carolina governor's school
(05:56):
for the arts humanities.
So I think for me growing up in the South and growing up in the church watching that type
of theater and being, uh, immersed into the Southern Bible belt, old school church, that
can draw anybody to want to be in that pool, but, you know, it can, the, that power, that spiritual
(06:19):
connection can draw anybody to say, I can do that.
I can have that, that connection.
I can speak from this higher place and, uh, watching my mother do that, that was one of the
most inspiring things.
The thing that she had told me and that I had to accept was my column wasn't going to be
in the spiritual realm of, you know, Christianity or the religion that it was going to be in the
(06:43):
sexual, the secular, secular realm of theater and the arts and asking real, real deep, you
know, crazy questions and dealing with these things.
But I think in the same, in the same vein, it's, um, it, those two connect, you know, well,
historically, of course, but they connect and that's how I got into it.
(07:04):
And then I was able to explore being in that, um, in that world of theater and arts when
I went to the governor's school and they gave me two years of undeniable and brilliant
training that prepared me to be ready to go to a place like Juilliard.
And so when I finally got to Juilliard, it wasn't the fact that I wasn't, um, it wasn't the
(07:29):
fact that I wasn't, or didn't feel ready.
I had a little bit more of, um, as it called, survivors remorse, um, that I was, that I
shouldn't have, you know, why, why me?
Why was I the one to get picked?
Why was I the one to do that?
Um, and it took a moment of actually realizing that I do, I do have a gift in this and
(07:51):
this is my calling.
And it's okay to, to, to walk into your light and be, you know, somewhat humble in it and
in your own vein.
But the truth of the matter is like, are you being a vessel for the art or are you doing
it for yourself?
And that's what I learned at Juilliard was that the hardest part of being an actor, being
an artist is that it's not yours.
(08:12):
Unfortunately, kind of like this, this usable vessel, you know, from the heavens to the
human that needs to hear the story or to hear this word.
So that selfishness, selflessness, I had to learn and I learned that a lot there.
It's not about me and it's about the art and I've been able to carry that with me throughout
my entire career.
(08:33):
And I think that going back to your first question is what is blessed me to be able to play
all of these different, um, roles until these different stories because I'm selfless
in my work.
I want to tell human stories.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's interesting because I have heard, you know, several stories from several different
artists that, you know, kind of got inspired, no pun intended from church.
(08:57):
Do you think there's some level of some level of performative art at church?
For sure.
I mean, look, look throughout all, especially when it comes to black art, it all started
in the church because that was the place where we were able to express ourselves, you
know, during such hard times and growing up, you know, I mean, not a lot of, you know, not
(09:23):
everybody grew up in the church, but a lot of artists, when I watch these documentaries,
I'm like, Oh, okay.
I see, I see a combination here.
I see a thread.
Right.
They all grew up in the church.
They, something happened between God and them and they had to go in this a mes path and
they became the artists and they realized that it was all a connection.
And that thing of just bringing it back to your community, you know, I've always see that
(09:49):
that a neus part of it, where it's like, I got to come back and I have to bring, you know,
this gift that's that I've learned, you know, back to the community.
So yeah, I definitely think church has a, has a big place in, in art.
Yeah.
Have you had a, I've made it moment yet.
(10:11):
And if so, when, when was it or has there been, have there, have there been levels?
Definitely.
That's a, that's a beautiful way of putting that because I, I believe off the top of my head,
my, yeah, it would, it would definitely be my highest moment is when I got to meet Chadwick
for the first time.
(10:32):
When I got to meet Chadwick, bozeman for the first time during the Black Panther premiere
here in Los Angeles, that was a moment when I said, Oh my goodness, I'm, I'm here.
Mm-hmm.
I've made it.
I'm on that, I'm on, I think I'm on this level now.
Like I can be at this level.
(10:54):
But the, I made it parts are, are not, it's not the, it's not the roles for me that I made
it parts.
It's what I'm able to do when the camera is off, you know?
Those are the I made it parts.
Those are the moments when you're successful.
When you ain't got to answer nobody, you know, when you can literally live the life that
(11:15):
you want to live and be free.
When you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, when you get to go back into your community
or into your family and see the happiness and the pride and the joy on their faces that
they get to witness you walking into your light, those are the I made it moments.
(11:35):
And when you don't see it, those are the moments when you're like, Oh, I need to, I
need to go make something so I can have that.
Yeah, so it's never the role.
The, the role is, you know, that's the beautiful thing of being able to go to school.
Is that in school that teaches you?
Like you're going to get roles.
You just got, that's the part of the job.
Right.
But what do you do when, when the lights are turned off?
(11:56):
You know, what do you, what do you get to come home to?
What do you get to give back to?
And that, that freedom, that's when I, I know I've made it, those are the makings.
Yeah.
I love that.
(12:35):
- Brandon, welcome Black.
- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for having me again.
- Yeah, she's very welcome.
So, let's see here, Susan, Laurie Parks,
Top Dog Underdog.
- Goat.
- Yes, the goat.
It explores brotherhood, identity, survival.
What parts of the story film, especially relevant you know,
(12:56):
right now, right here in 2025?
- Oh, what part of the story is still relevant?
- Mmm, all of it.
- Every little part of it.
I think the simple answer is brotherhood,
this idea of two brothers, two human experiences,
trying to figure out how to love each other.
(13:21):
And what happens when they don't have the tools to do it,
where they have certain tools
to show other size of themselves.
So, I think that's one of the, I think that's the,
or at least for me, one of the things that I get to hold onto
is as Brandon Gil has said who plays booth,
it has the love, is the heart, you know, we,
(13:42):
if you've read the play, then you understand what happens
at the ending, but that's the end of the play.
The entire play is literally, and Susan Laurie does it so well
where she puts in the speech, where she says,
we just wanted to be a family.
That was all, and I think that's what Lincoln and Booth
are trying to do.
Two brothers who have lost everything,
have to depend on each other, whether they're black,
(14:02):
whether they're white, whether they're named Lincoln,
whether they're named Booth, they're two brothers
who need each other, and what happens when they have to deal
with their, or face their own problems.
- Mm-hmm.
- For you, how does, how is family a metaphor for community?
- Family is community.
I don't even know, mm, metaphor.
(14:25):
It is, family is, it is, it is.
(laughs)
For me, you know, it's, yeah, I don't even know how to expand
upon a family is community for sure.
- Right, in what ways?
How does community support itself like a family?
- How does community support itself like a family?
(14:47):
By being there for each other,
by finding ways to love each other
through the moments of not being,
and not being able to understand the other person,
to see the bigger picture,
because a community is there to build something
for the next community.
So how does each individual give themselves
(15:08):
so that idea for the greater good?
Yeah.
- Yeah, what drew you to this particular project,
top dog, underdog, what was it?
What pulls you towards it?
- I mean, other than the fact that it is one of the most
iconic two-handed plays ever written,
(15:29):
it is that play when you're in school
and you have the blessing to be able to have another
black male in your class to do that scene.
I first got to see this play with two great actors
from Juilliard, the group of 44,
(15:52):
they were 42, Mike Shaw and Jeremy Tarty,
they did that for their senior showcase,
so their senior show.
And I remember watching how beautiful this play was
and like, oh my God, what is this language
and they're able to talk like I've heard other black folks talk
like this isn't August Wilson, this is 90s,
(16:14):
this is 2000s, like this is relevant for me,
not to say August is not,
'cause August is a extremely relevant,
but it was just so modern and so contemporary
and the way that they move with language sounded
very Shakespearean to me.
And I forgot just how we talk is just so close
to Shakespeare during that time that he was writing.
(16:35):
And so when I got to see that
and then I got an opportunity to see the production
that LaShawns put on Broadway with Cory Hawkins and Ya Ya
which I think those two years ago, absolutely brilliant.
Directed by Goethe as well.
And I got to see it in a different stage in my life
(16:58):
and I was like, man, I wanna do that.
As an, in college, like yeah, let's just do the play,
but now I want to do it as an adult.
I know what they're going through.
I've been through some of this stuff before.
And then when I got the audition for it,
it was a moment where I just prayed.
I just had to pray and say like,
if this is for me, it is for me,
but it better be for me, 'cause I was.
(17:20):
- 'Cause I really wanted, right?
- 'Cause I really want this.
- To work with Greg and also to work with Brandon Gill
which is crazy within itself.
Like we've known each other since my first year of college.
Brennan have I been friends and we always said
that we're gonna work on something together
and you know, who would have ever thought
it would be Top Dog Underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse.
(17:40):
It's my blowing.
- Yeah. - My blowing.
- What have you learned about the play,
you know, performing and it now that you didn't know
as an audience member?
That is a great question.
What have I learned about the play now
that I didn't know it was an audience member?
- Without giving too much away.
(18:02):
- I know, that's the thing.
That's the, (imitates grunting)
I know now.
I know now that Susan Laurie has a great interview
about the creation of Top Dog Underdog on YouTube.
(18:24):
We're going all the way back to Jeffrey Wright and John Cheeto.
And at the beginning of it she talks about
how she did not write these characters
in the sense of like it's Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln.
- Right.
- And then like that type of story.
There's correlations when it's not about that story.
And you know, the interviews that she was getting about,
(18:46):
it must be something about the black experience in America.
And she was saying this is not, you know, it's really not.
Just because they're two black men in a room
doesn't mean that this is, you know,
this is how it's gonna go down.
It can go down millions of different ways.
But that her perspective of doing this
was to really hold a mirror up to show
(19:06):
what greed can really do to a family,
what heartache can do to two men
who have to deal with that, living together as adults.
You know, take strip everything else away from it
and see these as two men who are literally trying
to figure it out.
And that's the heart of the play, at least for me.
(19:29):
And I didn't see that at first.
And I was like, yeah, I'm having the experience, you know,
black woman was the black play in this,
which is absolutely, absolutely.
Kudos to her and get up and give her all the flowers.
But to hear it from the playwright's mouth
and like don't just look at that,
look deeper into why it's called top dog under dog.
(19:49):
'Cause that's the constant cycle that we live in.
- Right.
- Top dog under who's the best?
Who's better?
Who's gonna out with this person,
with this person, this person, you know?
So that's something I've learned about the play for sure.
- Yeah, I'm glad you took a moment to think about that question
because that was a phenomenal answer.
And I'm glad that it came to you to share it.
(20:11):
'Cause that was a really good answer.
- So Brandon, you know, the theater has a unique,
a very unique kind of magic.
And there's no second takes as we know, you know,
when you're on, you're on.
So what's been the most thrilling, I don't know.
- Right.
- What's been the most thrilling or unexpected moment
(20:34):
in rehearsals so far?
What's been some a little bit of crazier madness?
- Ooh, what's been the most thrilling
and unexpected moment so far?
- Ooh.
- Honestly, nothing, I wouldn't say anything has been unexpected.
You got two Juilliard actors who are coming in,
like we, we, we, nah, we know, we know what we gotta do.
(20:56):
We, yeah, we don't play around.
And that's also something that's just expected of us,
you know, so, you know, not to tutor or horn or anything
and nothing gets any other schools, but, you know,
we own that, we own that.
Preparation is always key.
- Right.
- I think what has been the most,
I think it was been the most surprising,
(21:21):
is this being my first time doing a two-hander,
working on a two-person play is intense.
It is, it is, what's the word?
- We can take a lot of energy.
(21:42):
(laughs)
- Right.
- And the relying and the trust that I have to,
and I do it willingly, graciously,
give over to Brandon, you know, Brandon Gill,
is a testament also back to our training.
Like we can, Brandon and I, we have a thing, it is a thing.
(22:03):
And I'm pretty sure it's a thing across the board
with other trainings, you know,
people who have trained in schools.
But this is my first time, like, yes,
this is my first time in a play, working,
yeah, with another Juilliard actor.
And it's very much a comfortability.
It's like, no, we're really here with each other.
(22:24):
I guess you can call that surprising,
but it's just, you already know, you already know, you know?
So, I don't mean to blab alone about it,
but the truth of it is, it's, it feels like being back in school.
- Yeah.
- That's what it is.
That's, there's the answer right there.
What's most surprising is I prayed about this.
I wanted to be and have that intense feeling
(22:46):
of being back in school again.
It's not to say that, you know,
television and film doesn't do that for me,
but I haven't been in that, I haven't been under that,
type of artistic pressure in a while.
And I like that, I miss that.
And the universe granted it to me, you know?
And I get to do it with someone who also went
(23:06):
to the same process as I did.
And so that's what's been the most surprising
is the power of manifestation.
There you go.
The power of manifestation is seeing it in real time.
And then, you know, sitting back at nice and being like,
"Okay, now what are you gonna do with it?"
Now you really have to show what?
'Cause you asked for this, you know?
So yeah, that's, that's, that, that, yeah.
(23:26):
- Yeah, that's right, that's real. - You know, I'm very curious,
and I'm sure that the audience is anyone that is aspiring
that has heard the name, you know, "Julie Art."
What was the entry process like to get into "Julie Art?"
- Hmm, I don't, maybe it's changed
because of the pandemic, things have changed,
but when I was there, back in my day,
(23:49):
back in my day, you know?
- 2011, 2015, shout out to 44, give me some more.
Back in, back then, you had to do a,
an in-person audition, you came to the unified auditions,
the year that I went, they didn't do the unipod,
so let me, I'll give you my spill.
(24:10):
Had to fly to New York, and you had to go to "Julie Art"
to the school, and you had to do one of the, you know,
one-day auditions.
In that day, you go, you do your contemporary piece,
you are classical piece, and you do a song,
and then you wait, you wait until they put a list up
of callbacks for the evening of the day,
(24:33):
and so then you take a break, then you go back,
and you do it all again, but you do it in front of the entire staff.
And then if they want you to come back again,
and you take like a few little classes and stuff,
just like movement and boys and singing,
and if they want you to stay, then you have to write an essay,
and God rest his soul, Jim,
and how beautiful, beautiful man who was the dean or president
(24:56):
when I was there, amazing guy.
During that time, he would call you into his office,
and he would ask you, so it's like a therapy session.
- Right, right, right.
- Do you really want those?
You're like, "Ah, God, I did not do that, give it to me, I'm fine."
And so, you know, I remember my first,
my first audition I did, I got there at seven,
(25:17):
I was the first one to go of the day,
and I didn't leave until one the next morning.
And then two weeks later, you get an email that says,
"They want you to come back for the final 40."
The final 40 is they've narrowed it down
from New York Los Angeles, and I think Chicago,
and it's only 40 people that come back to Juilliard for a weekend,
and you take two days worth of intense classes at Juilliard.
(25:40):
So a flyback, you do your classes, you say you're good-byes,
and then that was on a Sunday Monday radio silence,
Tuesday, around 11, 30 in the morning,
I got the phone call that they wanted me to be a partner group 44.
- That's a pretty amazing process.
- Yes, yes.
- Wow, that's really amazing.
(26:01):
- Yeah. - Brandon Michael Hall,
how can one get tickets to see top dog underdog?
And what are the run dates?
- You know, there's so many ways to get tickets.
The first one is to go to PasadenaPlayhouse.com,
when I'm mistaken, and you can see we're all over the page,
and you can click on there and get tickets.
(26:22):
You can also reach out on my page on Instagram,
on Brandon Michael Hall, this E-A-O in the middle,
and I have a link there where you can go directly
and get the tickets, and what did you ask again?
What was the last question?
- The run dates.
- Oh, the run dates.
Well, let me make sure the calendar is right.
(26:43):
(laughing)
- Open.
We open on,
uh-huh, where are we at here?
So, God.
I don't know, oh, there it is.
Top dog underdog opens March 4th,
and we close on March 23rd,
(27:04):
and we have some previews starting on the 26th of February,
until March 4th on our same day.
- Very cool.
- Once you get us to the run of you,
just kinda like, look, I'm gonna show up every day,
the rehearsal, even the performances.
- Exactly.
- That's something to always remember.
Even the performances is still a rehearsal on the theater.
- That's right, that's right.
(27:24):
- Brandon, yeah.
- Brandon Michael Hall, this has been an absolute pleasure.
Thank you so much for sharing your time and your journey.
I appreciate it.
- And thank you for having me.
You have amazing questions,
and I can't wait to hear this, and, you know, and listen in.
- All right, excellent, thank you.
- Have a wonderful one.
- You too, now.
(27:45):
- Be sure to follow me Keith Underwood at Mr. Keith L Underwood on IG.
You can also follow me on FB at Keith L Underwood.
And you know you got to follow Black in the Green Room
at Black in the Green Room across all platforms.
Until next time, this has been Black in the Green Room.
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You are black in the green room with me, your host Keith Underwood.
(00:04):
And this is your spot for real talk about entertainment with entertainers, creatives, and showbiz professionals.
Today we're sitting down with a powerhouse talent who's been making moves on screen and stage.
You've seen him in Search Party, The Mayor, and God-Friended Me.
And now he's stepping into an iconic role of Lincoln and Todd Dogg underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse.
(00:31):
Let's give a warm welcome to Mr. Brandon Michael.
Oh, Brandon, what's up?
And welcome to the room.
And Keith, thanks for having me.
Thank you for having me.
What a great introduction.
Thank you so much.
Oh, you're very, very welcome, man.
So how are you this evening?
I'm wonderful.
I'm blessed.
(00:52):
I'm feeling good.
I got an update today.
I'm feeling refreshed.
So I'm very good.
Yeah, good, man.
Good.
You know, Brandon, how are you?
Thank you for asking, man.
I'm doing fantastic.
I don't have any complaints.
So yeah, I'm doing good.
Yeah, thanks for asking.
(01:12):
So, Brandon, you've played everything from a tech-sevy podcaster to an up-and-coming rapper-turned-mayor.
Let's one role that made you see yourself in a new way.
Oh, one role that has made me see myself in a new way.
Honestly, then all of them, I can't really pick one role because that's the beautiful,
(01:36):
the beautiful thing about being able to be versatile and try different roles is that
they each bring out something different in you and they each show you something about
yourself.
So I can't really pick one.
They all have done something magnificent to my growth as a human being.
(01:57):
Yeah.
Yeah, well, how have you grown as an artist from all of the various roles that you've played?
Man, honestly, I got to say, just the feeling of it just gets easier and easier and it gets
better and better.
Ironically to that, with all of that, it also gets a little bit more challenging because
(02:20):
you can't get complacent.
You've got to find more ways to stretch yourself as an artist and find other mediums that can
enhance what you're already doing.
So yeah, it's been a growth.
I mean, man, I've been in this thing since 2016-14 and every new project, every time I've
(02:40):
been able to be on a project, it's brought something new out of me.
So the growth has been great.
Yeah.
It's really interesting to me because I know that some actors, especially actors that have
been doing the game for a while, you know, it starts off with technique.
But at what point in your career did you get lost in character?
You were like, wait a minute.
Okay, I'm just, I'm here.
(03:01):
I am doing this.
Oh, man.
Every, I would say again, every project, like that's one of the things that I strive for
is to get lost in the story, to get lost in the character.
For me, I never want to, even though, you know, sometimes you feel like you're playing yourself
or you're in hands, versions or, you know, different styles of yourself.
(03:22):
I enjoy getting lost in the idea that I am this person, that I am this thing, this human
that is going through these challenges and emotional roller coasters.
And when you get lost in the whether it's the stage or its TV or film, it makes the work
so much more palpable, it makes it so tangible.
(03:46):
And I love that.
Absolutely.
I absolutely love that feeling.
Yeah.
So outside of the feeling, you know, that you get when you're on stage, what do you love
most about the theater?
Ooh.
What do I love most about the theater?
God, there's so many things.
(04:07):
What I love most about the theater is that it's like, it's like watching the Super Bowl yesterday,
you know, watching a film, watching a film, you can get that feeling, but the live performance,
the live energy, whether that's, you know, seeing a theater piece live from your, you know,
(04:27):
the comfort of your home or seeing it in person, having that human connection, that human
feeling where you're never going to get that second take and you're not going to get a third
take, like you're seeing this in the moment, it will never happen again.
That's one of my, one of my, the things that I love the most about the theater.
Also the fact that it just brings people together, the theater is the home.
(04:50):
It's sad because the theater and the art should be as we all know, funded more and taken
care of more than it is.
But it's, it's, it's a place where we always come back home to it is like, oh, well,
we got questions, let's go to the theater when we're not going to give them money, you know,
because we have, because the theater has the honest answers and sometimes the honest answers
(05:12):
is, you know, you may not know, but to be in that space, to be live in there and question
and have a conversation and, you know, that, that, that's what the theater brings and that's
what I love about doing for you.
Yeah, so if I'm correct, you grew up in South Carolina and but you changed.
South Carolina.
Yeah, South, South Crackalaca in the house.
(05:34):
I'm a dragalaki.
Yeah, and you, uh, you also trained at Juilliard.
How did those two, uh, world shape the artist you are today?
Yeah, so I have to say it's, um, there's a bit of, uh, there's a bit of a link in there
that we're missing, which is the church and also the South Carolina governor's school
(05:56):
for the arts humanities.
So I think for me growing up in the South and growing up in the church watching that type
of theater and being, uh, immersed into the Southern Bible belt, old school church, that
can draw anybody to want to be in that pool, but, you know, it can, the, that power, that spiritual
(06:19):
connection can draw anybody to say, I can do that.
I can have that, that connection.
I can speak from this higher place and, uh, watching my mother do that, that was one of the
most inspiring things.
The thing that she had told me and that I had to accept was my column wasn't going to be
in the spiritual realm of, you know, Christianity or the religion that it was going to be in the
(06:43):
sexual, the secular, secular realm of theater and the arts and asking real, real deep, you
know, crazy questions and dealing with these things.
But I think in the same, in the same vein, it's, um, it, those two connect, you know, well,
historically, of course, but they connect and that's how I got into it.
(07:04):
And then I was able to explore being in that, um, in that world of theater and arts when
I went to the governor's school and they gave me two years of undeniable and brilliant
training that prepared me to be ready to go to a place like Juilliard.
And so when I finally got to Juilliard, it wasn't the fact that I wasn't, um, it wasn't the
(07:29):
fact that I wasn't, or didn't feel ready.
I had a little bit more of, um, as it called, survivors remorse, um, that I was, that I
shouldn't have, you know, why, why me?
Why was I the one to get picked?
Why was I the one to do that?
Um, and it took a moment of actually realizing that I do, I do have a gift in this and
(07:51):
this is my calling.
And it's okay to, to, to walk into your light and be, you know, somewhat humble in it and
in your own vein.
But the truth of the matter is like, are you being a vessel for the art or are you doing
it for yourself?
And that's what I learned at Juilliard was that the hardest part of being an actor, being
an artist is that it's not yours.
(08:12):
Unfortunately, kind of like this, this usable vessel, you know, from the heavens to the
human that needs to hear the story or to hear this word.
So that selfishness, selflessness, I had to learn and I learned that a lot there.
It's not about me and it's about the art and I've been able to carry that with me throughout
my entire career.
(08:33):
And I think that going back to your first question is what is blessed me to be able to play
all of these different, um, roles until these different stories because I'm selfless
in my work.
I want to tell human stories.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's interesting because I have heard, you know, several stories from several different
artists that, you know, kind of got inspired, no pun intended from church.
(08:57):
Do you think there's some level of some level of performative art at church?
For sure.
I mean, look, look throughout all, especially when it comes to black art, it all started
in the church because that was the place where we were able to express ourselves, you
know, during such hard times and growing up, you know, I mean, not a lot of, you know, not
(09:23):
everybody grew up in the church, but a lot of artists, when I watch these documentaries,
I'm like, Oh, okay.
I see, I see a combination here.
I see a thread.
Right.
They all grew up in the church.
They, something happened between God and them and they had to go in this a mes path and
they became the artists and they realized that it was all a connection.
And that thing of just bringing it back to your community, you know, I've always see that
(09:49):
that a neus part of it, where it's like, I got to come back and I have to bring, you know,
this gift that's that I've learned, you know, back to the community.
So yeah, I definitely think church has a, has a big place in, in art.
Yeah.
Have you had a, I've made it moment yet.
(10:11):
And if so, when, when was it or has there been, have there, have there been levels?
Definitely.
That's a, that's a beautiful way of putting that because I, I believe off the top of my head,
my, yeah, it would, it would definitely be my highest moment is when I got to meet Chadwick
for the first time.
(10:32):
When I got to meet Chadwick, bozeman for the first time during the Black Panther premiere
here in Los Angeles, that was a moment when I said, Oh my goodness, I'm, I'm here.
Mm-hmm.
I've made it.
I'm on that, I'm on, I think I'm on this level now.
Like I can be at this level.
(10:54):
But the, I made it parts are, are not, it's not the, it's not the roles for me that I made
it parts.
It's what I'm able to do when the camera is off, you know?
Those are the I made it parts.
Those are the moments when you're successful.
When you ain't got to answer nobody, you know, when you can literally live the life that
(11:15):
you want to live and be free.
When you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, when you get to go back into your community
or into your family and see the happiness and the pride and the joy on their faces that
they get to witness you walking into your light, those are the I made it moments.
(11:35):
And when you don't see it, those are the moments when you're like, Oh, I need to, I
need to go make something so I can have that.
Yeah, so it's never the role.
The, the role is, you know, that's the beautiful thing of being able to go to school.
Is that in school that teaches you?
Like you're going to get roles.
You just got, that's the part of the job.
Right.
But what do you do when, when the lights are turned off?
(11:56):
You know, what do you, what do you get to come home to?
What do you get to give back to?
And that, that freedom, that's when I, I know I've made it, those are the makings.
Yeah.
I love that.
(12:35):
- Brandon, welcome Black.
- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for having me again.
- Yeah, she's very welcome.
So, let's see here, Susan, Laurie Parks,
Top Dog Underdog.
- Goat.
- Yes, the goat.
It explores brotherhood, identity, survival.
What parts of the story film, especially relevant you know,
(12:56):
right now, right here in 2025?
- Oh, what part of the story is still relevant?
- Mmm, all of it.
- Every little part of it.
I think the simple answer is brotherhood,
this idea of two brothers, two human experiences,
trying to figure out how to love each other.
(13:21):
And what happens when they don't have the tools to do it,
where they have certain tools
to show other size of themselves.
So, I think that's one of the, I think that's the,
or at least for me, one of the things that I get to hold onto
is as Brandon Gil has said who plays booth,
it has the love, is the heart, you know, we,
(13:42):
if you've read the play, then you understand what happens
at the ending, but that's the end of the play.
The entire play is literally, and Susan Laurie does it so well
where she puts in the speech, where she says,
we just wanted to be a family.
That was all, and I think that's what Lincoln and Booth
are trying to do.
Two brothers who have lost everything,
have to depend on each other, whether they're black,
(14:02):
whether they're white, whether they're named Lincoln,
whether they're named Booth, they're two brothers
who need each other, and what happens when they have to deal
with their, or face their own problems.
- Mm-hmm.
- For you, how does, how is family a metaphor for community?
- Family is community.
I don't even know, mm, metaphor.
(14:25):
It is, family is, it is, it is.
(laughs)
For me, you know, it's, yeah, I don't even know how to expand
upon a family is community for sure.
- Right, in what ways?
How does community support itself like a family?
- How does community support itself like a family?
(14:47):
By being there for each other,
by finding ways to love each other
through the moments of not being,
and not being able to understand the other person,
to see the bigger picture,
because a community is there to build something
for the next community.
So how does each individual give themselves
(15:08):
so that idea for the greater good?
Yeah.
- Yeah, what drew you to this particular project,
top dog, underdog, what was it?
What pulls you towards it?
- I mean, other than the fact that it is one of the most
iconic two-handed plays ever written,
(15:29):
it is that play when you're in school
and you have the blessing to be able to have another
black male in your class to do that scene.
I first got to see this play with two great actors
from Juilliard, the group of 44,
(15:52):
they were 42, Mike Shaw and Jeremy Tarty,
they did that for their senior showcase,
so their senior show.
And I remember watching how beautiful this play was
and like, oh my God, what is this language
and they're able to talk like I've heard other black folks talk
like this isn't August Wilson, this is 90s,
(16:14):
this is 2000s, like this is relevant for me,
not to say August is not,
'cause August is a extremely relevant,
but it was just so modern and so contemporary
and the way that they move with language sounded
very Shakespearean to me.
And I forgot just how we talk is just so close
to Shakespeare during that time that he was writing.
(16:35):
And so when I got to see that
and then I got an opportunity to see the production
that LaShawns put on Broadway with Cory Hawkins and Ya Ya
which I think those two years ago, absolutely brilliant.
Directed by Goethe as well.
And I got to see it in a different stage in my life
(16:58):
and I was like, man, I wanna do that.
As an, in college, like yeah, let's just do the play,
but now I want to do it as an adult.
I know what they're going through.
I've been through some of this stuff before.
And then when I got the audition for it,
it was a moment where I just prayed.
I just had to pray and say like,
if this is for me, it is for me,
but it better be for me, 'cause I was.
(17:20):
- 'Cause I really wanted, right?
- 'Cause I really want this.
- To work with Greg and also to work with Brandon Gill
which is crazy within itself.
Like we've known each other since my first year of college.
Brennan have I been friends and we always said
that we're gonna work on something together
and you know, who would have ever thought
it would be Top Dog Underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse.
(17:40):
It's my blowing.
- Yeah. - My blowing.
- What have you learned about the play,
you know, performing and it now that you didn't know
as an audience member?
That is a great question.
What have I learned about the play now
that I didn't know it was an audience member?
- Without giving too much away.
(18:02):
- I know, that's the thing.
That's the, (imitates grunting)
I know now.
I know now that Susan Laurie has a great interview
about the creation of Top Dog Underdog on YouTube.
(18:24):
We're going all the way back to Jeffrey Wright and John Cheeto.
And at the beginning of it she talks about
how she did not write these characters
in the sense of like it's Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln.
- Right.
- And then like that type of story.
There's correlations when it's not about that story.
And you know, the interviews that she was getting about,
(18:46):
it must be something about the black experience in America.
And she was saying this is not, you know, it's really not.
Just because they're two black men in a room
doesn't mean that this is, you know,
this is how it's gonna go down.
It can go down millions of different ways.
But that her perspective of doing this
was to really hold a mirror up to show
(19:06):
what greed can really do to a family,
what heartache can do to two men
who have to deal with that, living together as adults.
You know, take strip everything else away from it
and see these as two men who are literally trying
to figure it out.
And that's the heart of the play, at least for me.
(19:29):
And I didn't see that at first.
And I was like, yeah, I'm having the experience, you know,
black woman was the black play in this,
which is absolutely, absolutely.
Kudos to her and get up and give her all the flowers.
But to hear it from the playwright's mouth
and like don't just look at that,
look deeper into why it's called top dog under dog.
(19:49):
'Cause that's the constant cycle that we live in.
- Right.
- Top dog under who's the best?
Who's better?
Who's gonna out with this person,
with this person, this person, you know?
So that's something I've learned about the play for sure.
- Yeah, I'm glad you took a moment to think about that question
because that was a phenomenal answer.
And I'm glad that it came to you to share it.
(20:11):
'Cause that was a really good answer.
- So Brandon, you know, the theater has a unique,
a very unique kind of magic.
And there's no second takes as we know, you know,
when you're on, you're on.
So what's been the most thrilling, I don't know.
- Right.
- What's been the most thrilling or unexpected moment
(20:34):
in rehearsals so far?
What's been some a little bit of crazier madness?
- Ooh, what's been the most thrilling
and unexpected moment so far?
- Ooh.
- Honestly, nothing, I wouldn't say anything has been unexpected.
You got two Juilliard actors who are coming in,
like we, we, we, nah, we know, we know what we gotta do.
(20:56):
We, yeah, we don't play around.
And that's also something that's just expected of us,
you know, so, you know, not to tutor or horn or anything
and nothing gets any other schools, but, you know,
we own that, we own that.
Preparation is always key.
- Right.
- I think what has been the most,
I think it was been the most surprising,
(21:21):
is this being my first time doing a two-hander,
working on a two-person play is intense.
It is, it is, what's the word?
- We can take a lot of energy.
(21:42):
(laughs)
- Right.
- And the relying and the trust that I have to,
and I do it willingly, graciously,
give over to Brandon, you know, Brandon Gill,
is a testament also back to our training.
Like we can, Brandon and I, we have a thing, it is a thing.
(22:03):
And I'm pretty sure it's a thing across the board
with other trainings, you know,
people who have trained in schools.
But this is my first time, like, yes,
this is my first time in a play, working,
yeah, with another Juilliard actor.
And it's very much a comfortability.
It's like, no, we're really here with each other.
(22:24):
I guess you can call that surprising,
but it's just, you already know, you already know, you know?
So, I don't mean to blab alone about it,
but the truth of it is, it's, it feels like being back in school.
- Yeah.
- That's what it is.
That's, there's the answer right there.
What's most surprising is I prayed about this.
I wanted to be and have that intense feeling
(22:46):
of being back in school again.
It's not to say that, you know,
television and film doesn't do that for me,
but I haven't been in that, I haven't been under that,
type of artistic pressure in a while.
And I like that, I miss that.
And the universe granted it to me, you know?
And I get to do it with someone who also went
(23:06):
to the same process as I did.
And so that's what's been the most surprising
is the power of manifestation.
There you go.
The power of manifestation is seeing it in real time.
And then, you know, sitting back at nice and being like,
"Okay, now what are you gonna do with it?"
Now you really have to show what?
'Cause you asked for this, you know?
So yeah, that's, that's, that, that, yeah.
(23:26):
- Yeah, that's right, that's real. - You know, I'm very curious,
and I'm sure that the audience is anyone that is aspiring
that has heard the name, you know, "Julie Art."
What was the entry process like to get into "Julie Art?"
- Hmm, I don't, maybe it's changed
because of the pandemic, things have changed,
but when I was there, back in my day,
(23:49):
back in my day, you know?
- 2011, 2015, shout out to 44, give me some more.
Back in, back then, you had to do a,
an in-person audition, you came to the unified auditions,
the year that I went, they didn't do the unipod,
so let me, I'll give you my spill.
(24:10):
Had to fly to New York, and you had to go to "Julie Art"
to the school, and you had to do one of the, you know,
one-day auditions.
In that day, you go, you do your contemporary piece,
you are classical piece, and you do a song,
and then you wait, you wait until they put a list up
of callbacks for the evening of the day,
(24:33):
and so then you take a break, then you go back,
and you do it all again, but you do it in front of the entire staff.
And then if they want you to come back again,
and you take like a few little classes and stuff,
just like movement and boys and singing,
and if they want you to stay, then you have to write an essay,
and God rest his soul, Jim,
and how beautiful, beautiful man who was the dean or president
(24:56):
when I was there, amazing guy.
During that time, he would call you into his office,
and he would ask you, so it's like a therapy session.
- Right, right, right.
- Do you really want those?
You're like, "Ah, God, I did not do that, give it to me, I'm fine."
And so, you know, I remember my first,
my first audition I did, I got there at seven,
(25:17):
I was the first one to go of the day,
and I didn't leave until one the next morning.
And then two weeks later, you get an email that says,
"They want you to come back for the final 40."
The final 40 is they've narrowed it down
from New York Los Angeles, and I think Chicago,
and it's only 40 people that come back to Juilliard for a weekend,
and you take two days worth of intense classes at Juilliard.
(25:40):
So a flyback, you do your classes, you say you're good-byes,
and then that was on a Sunday Monday radio silence,
Tuesday, around 11, 30 in the morning,
I got the phone call that they wanted me to be a partner group 44.
- That's a pretty amazing process.
- Yes, yes.
- Wow, that's really amazing.
(26:01):
- Yeah. - Brandon Michael Hall,
how can one get tickets to see top dog underdog?
And what are the run dates?
- You know, there's so many ways to get tickets.
The first one is to go to PasadenaPlayhouse.com,
when I'm mistaken, and you can see we're all over the page,
and you can click on there and get tickets.
(26:22):
You can also reach out on my page on Instagram,
on Brandon Michael Hall, this E-A-O in the middle,
and I have a link there where you can go directly
and get the tickets, and what did you ask again?
What was the last question?
- The run dates.
- Oh, the run dates.
Well, let me make sure the calendar is right.
(26:43):
(laughing)
- Open.
We open on,
uh-huh, where are we at here?
So, God.
I don't know, oh, there it is.
Top dog underdog opens March 4th,
and we close on March 23rd,
(27:04):
and we have some previews starting on the 26th of February,
until March 4th on our same day.
- Very cool.
- Once you get us to the run of you,
just kinda like, look, I'm gonna show up every day,
the rehearsal, even the performances.
- Exactly.
- That's something to always remember.
Even the performances is still a rehearsal on the theater.
- That's right, that's right.
(27:24):
- Brandon, yeah.
- Brandon Michael Hall, this has been an absolute pleasure.
Thank you so much for sharing your time and your journey.
I appreciate it.
- And thank you for having me.
You have amazing questions,
and I can't wait to hear this, and, you know, and listen in.
- All right, excellent, thank you.
- Have a wonderful one.
- You too, now.
(27:45):
- Be sure to follow me Keith Underwood at Mr. Keith L Underwood on IG.
You can also follow me on FB at Keith L Underwood.
And you know you got to follow Black in the Green Room
at Black in the Green Room across all platforms.
Until next time, this has been Black in the Green Room.
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