Brandon immerses himself in his character

The relationship which Brandon describes as a brotherhood started with a cup of hot chocolate shared by two young boys at veld school 34 years ago.

Those boys were Brandon and James Read (from XKT Pro League, the management company for the two professional fighters) who became lifelong friends.

The Addie sat down with Brandon on Monday evening to find out more about his role and the training he has been doing with his friends at the mixed martial arts (MMA) academy.

Used to being in front of the camera, this charismatic actor needs no prompting as he talks about the HOT men he calls his family and why he’s enjoying training with them.

He is, however, a little secretive about the role on which he’s about to embark.

“I can’t tell you about it, but I’ll tell you it’s not a movie,” he says, adding that he will let his Springs fans in on a secret because this is his town.

“I won’t tell you what it is, but I’ll say it involves Neil Blomkamp,” he says.

Film buffs will recognise the name as that of the Joburg-born (now resident in Vancouver, Canada) film director, producer, screenwriter and animator responsible for co-writing and directing District 9 and Elysium, both of which starred Brandon.

He describes himself as a physical actor who needs to change his look with each new role to become his character, but says while people see the change they don’t necessarily see the work that goes into making the change.

“So, basically a friend of mine, Ross (Learmoth) from Prime Circle suggested that I start documenting what it takes to get involved in and prepare for a new role.”

This was the birth of #ROYL (role of your life) which his fans have been using on Facebook and Twitter to follow his training regime, sharing the journey to improved fitness with him.

He says sharing his experience is not only about getting a role.

“That’s very much part of it, but the role of your life is an everyday thing.

“It is about realising that every day you wake up and you’ve got one more day to try to be better, do better and improve on what you need to improve.

“At the same time it’s about documenting the fact that, contrary to popular belief, there is nothing glamorous about being a film star or making movies.

“You know, there’s one night that it’s glamorous and that’s the opening night, for the rest of the time its hard work,” he says, adding that in the past 14 days, while filming Planet of the Sharks in Cape Town, he spent five days in the water.

He says he has a huge fan following and that he has nothing to offer these fans other than the person he is as a human and his experiences.

“If this motivates them to go to the gym and gain more insight into what I’m going through, I think this is a great way to bridge the gap between the fan and the actor.”

Speaking about his HOT trainers he says he is eager to “expose and highlight” the people who have helped him keep in shape and maintain his sanity.

“I grew up in Springs, I’ve been friends with James for years, and he and his team have been kind enough to help me with my training and give me the opportunity to train with people like Tumisang and JP.

“They are icons and training with them exposes them to more people and more fans, growing my fan base and theirs – I’m becoming a social media prostitute.

“They are investing in my career and my future, which is why I want to expose them and give back to their future.”

Brandon says his training has been very good, adding that while JP and Tumisang are hard guys, they have been incredible coaches and very patient with him.

“The reason I decided to go with this is because I believe the character I am playing would have had these skills anyway and I believe this will add to the character.

”I am learning from the best of the best and my character can only get stronger because of those skills.

“I start shooting the pilot in a month, after four weeks of intense training, but I’ve trained with them before and I’ll be training with them long after,” he says.

He adds that he is a massive fan of both Madiba and JP, going to all their fights.

“I haven’t missed any of their fights and I won’t, because they are true friends and it’s an honour for me to spend time with these sportsmen who make me so proud.”

While he is in awe of his coaches, they are just as complimentary about him.

“I’m very impressed at Brandon’s natural strength,” says Tumisang.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with him because, as an MMA supporter, he understands the concepts and we didn’t have to start from scratch, making him easy to teach.

“I’ve always watched his work and it’s such an honour to train with him and that he comes to watch me now.”

Tumisang says that the team at Pro League really appreciate his support as a fan who has never missed one of their fights.

JP is also effusive in his praise for the actor, saying: “Although he is a red carpet superstar, he is still a down to earth guy and we are blessed to have him here.

”He’s a natural athlete and if he didn’t want to be a movie star he could have done any sport and been good at it.”

Proving he is still loyal to his home town, Brandon assures his fans that if he didn’t need to be in Joburg for his career he would come back to Springs in a heartbeat.

“Springs is where it all started, it’s what keeps me grounded,” he says as James reminds him that he got his start in acting in the Springs Theatre, in Bugsy Malone.