00:00Hi, I'm Brandon Sklenar, and this is How I Got Here with Esquire.
00:04Let's get into it.
00:06What was the first job you ever quit?
00:08That's a good question.
00:09First job I ever quit was working for a moving company in Los Angeles.
00:13Terrible job.
00:14They would always break people's stuff and then not report it.
00:17They just ethically had a bit of a problem with that.
00:19I grew up doing a lot of manual labor, and when you could go and you just go and you go and you go,
00:23and they wanted me to move very slow because they had more, they could build a client for more time.
00:28I was moving like a giant credenza, and I had a meltdown, and I just dropped it.
00:36And I was like, I'm getting the fuck out of here.
00:37And they're like, you're not getting paid for today.
00:38I was like, you're damn right I'm not.
00:40What was your first acting gig?
00:43I was an extra on Glee.
00:44Season one, I'm in there.
00:46I'm in the Hit Me Baby One More Time video.
00:49I'm on the bleachers with Cory Monteith, rest in peace.
00:51Yeah, we're fist bumping.
00:53You see me all over Community too, season one.
00:55We bought a zoo, I think it was a Super 8.
00:58I'm in the background of a lot of stuff.
01:00What was the worst job you had before acting?
01:03I haven't really had a lot of bad jobs, besides the moving company.
01:06The moving company was terrible.
01:08Being an extra is kind of rough too.
01:09That's kind of like the lowest of the totem pole.
01:12Have you ever been fired?
01:13I have, from the Magic Castle.
01:15So when I got the job there, it was like six floor managers, and we kind of ran the place.
01:18I'd go out on stage and introduce the magicians and ran security, and then they eventually
01:23hired someone in charge of our department, and then someone in charge of that department,
01:26and then it became kind of corporate.
01:27And I was in my early 20s, and I was showing up hungover all the time and kind of fucking
01:30off.
01:30And then I remember the GM sent me down, and he was like, yeah, it's pretty clear you
01:34don't want to be here anymore.
01:34And I was like, yeah, yeah.
01:37And he's like, I think you're done.
01:38And I was like, yeah, I think I'm done.
01:39And I gave him the keys to the castle.
01:41What's the most embarrassing thing you've done for an audition?
01:44I auditioned for this indie movie back in the day, and it's a really tiny little movie.
01:49I was playing a psycho and was stalking this woman, and I thought it would be a really good
01:56idea in the scene to bring in women's underwear and sniff them during the scene, because that's
02:03what this character would do.
02:04And I was like, this is going to get me the role, for sure, because it's so twisted.
02:08And it had, like, the opposite effect, and they were so weirded out, because it wasn't
02:13in the script, and I just, like, took them out, and I was, like, smelling them.
02:15Because in the scene, he's, like, watching her through a window, and he's, like, talking
02:18to somebody.
02:19And I was like, this is brilliant.
02:20And not at all.
02:20It was disturbing and embarrassing, and did not get me the job at all.
02:26Have you ever landed a role you thought you'd never get?
02:28I mean, Housemaid, I was surprised that they wanted me to do that.
02:32But this is exciting, because I've never done anything like it, and it's challenging.
02:35Well, Millie, welcome.
02:39Are you hungry?
02:39I'm sure we can turn this dinner for three into a dinner for four.
02:42Initially, I was like, really?
02:43You want me to do this?
02:44I can think of, like, ten other guys that could crush this.
02:47But, yeah, it worked out.
02:48What would you say is the hardest part of your job?
02:52You're away from home a lot.
02:53It's like a double-edged sword, because you start working all the time, and it's such a
02:56beautiful thing, and it's a blessing.
02:58And the work keeps coming, and it pulls you further away.
03:01You can get lost in the sauce pretty easily just traveling all over the world, pretending to be
03:05other people.
03:06It's not a hard job.
03:08Yeah, much harder jobs out there, but that's the hardest part.
03:11How did your audition for 1923 play out?
03:14I had been tracking the show.
03:16It was originally called 1932, and I really wanted to work with Taylor.
03:18And John Papsadare is the casting director on that show, and he's cast me five times.
03:23I would not have a career without that man.
03:25I was like, John, I want to get in the show.
03:27And he's like, yeah, they need a big name.
03:29And I was like, there's got to be something I can do.
03:30And he's like, no, there isn't.
03:31And I was like, all right, fuck.
03:32They sent me the breakdown, and they changed it to 1923, and they cast Helen and Harrison.
03:37So they opened the role up to somebody that was less known, and I read it and put it on tape,
03:41sent it out.
03:42Like a week later, I was home, and I was calling my manager.
03:44I was like, have you heard anything from 1923?
03:47He was like, yeah, you've got to go to Jackson Hole tomorrow to read with Taylor.
03:51So I went to Jackson Hole and read with him.
03:53He told me not to get arrested, because I had finished the audition, and he sat back in his chair,
03:56and he just kind of looked at me.
03:57He looked around the room, and he was like, what are you going to do after this?
03:59And I was like, I don't know, I'm probably going to get a drink or something.
04:02And he was like, well, just don't get arrested.
04:03And I was like, all right, definitely just book that.
04:06Sure.
04:07And then I left the room, and I called my dad, and I was crying, and I was like, oh, dad, I just booked this.
04:11I'll never understand why you British are always so shocked to find an American anywhere but America.
04:17Because it's so far.
04:19Look how far you've traveled.
04:21Look how far you've traveled.
04:22I'm not shocked to meet you.
04:23And I knew, I was like, whoever gets this role is going to change their life,
04:26just because his writing is what it is, and the character is just like,
04:29it's a character you would have seen 50 years ago, 60 years ago,
04:32and they just don't make him like that anymore.
04:35Which of your castmates has given you the best advice?
04:39I had a really beautiful conversation with Helen Mirren when we were up in 1923,
04:42and she had some really beautiful things to say, but they were for me, so I'm not going to share it now.
04:46No, no, no, but you know what I mean?
04:47It was a really beautiful moment that we had, and definitely, definitely take that with me.
04:52What do you think sealed the deal in landing your role in The Housemaid?
04:55I don't know.
04:56I just had lunch with Paul Feig.
04:58We talked about the film and our ideas for it, my ideas for the character,
05:02and I was just excited that they considered me for it and they were interested in me doing it.
05:06During the lunch, she was just like, yeah, let's do this.
05:08And I was like, oh, great, cool.
05:10Man, this is getting a lot easier as this whole career goes on.
05:13It seems to be a lot harder.
05:14I definitely don't miss doing 20 self-tapes a week, I'll tell you that much.
05:19What was your backup plan if acting didn't work out?
05:20I didn't have one.
05:22It's like the hardest thing.
05:23There's no stability, there's no guarantee.
05:25It's just you, and you have to believe in yourself.
05:27And I feel like if you have a backup plan, you're just going to go do that.
05:31So you kind of have to go all in.
05:33How did you get here?
05:35JetBlue.
05:35Hey, thanks for watching.
05:39Be sure to check out The House Made in Theatres.
05:53Hey.
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