Meet Andrew Brodeur of Alexander White Agency

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Brodeur.

Andrew, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Hollywood, Florida but grew up in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Trust me this was not my decision I would have loved to grow up in Florida, but my Dad found a new job in NC and we had to move. At the time and for a long time I was very annoyed with my parent’s decision but as I got older, I realized how important it was that we moved. Without this move, I would have never started my journey into the arts. Middle school and high school were very rough for me because I was picked on a lot and I had a lot of insecurity that stemmed from my height. I have now since realized that a lot of my issues also came from a lack of understanding of myself and what truly made me happy. I started playing cello in 6th grade and this was my first experience with anything artistic. I really found a lot of comfort and joy from playing and practicing. I had played baseball since I was four and had always loved that but I had never experienced anything quite like playing cello. When I got into high school, I played in the orchestra pit for musicals with Terry Hicks the music director and choir teacher at Reynolds High School. I had known Terry for many years before and he had always tried to push me to sing. One day after school was over, I was standing in his classroom and he got me to audition for acapella.

I am forever grateful for that push because I very quickly was completely in love with singing which made me next audition for my first musical Chicago. Flash forward to the first time being on stage. The curtain rises and I am absolutely terrified at first, then the first five mins pass, and I feel an overwhelming sense of comfort and serenity wash over me. I knew right at that moment that I wanted to be an actor.

Although I knew I wanted to be an actor, it wasn’t that cut and dry I had to figure out how I would get there. My first thought was that attending Uncsa for Classical Voice would be a great first step. The plan was to go there and learn how to really sing then try to go to Broadway later. I quickly realized although I loved to sing, I didn’t want to be in school for opera. I then took a year off from school and began to take regular classes at Actors Group a TV/Film acting studio in NC lead by actor and teacher Burgess Jenkins. Through his teaching and specific coaching from Rory Gilbert throughout my year off, I was able to get back into Uncsa this time for theatre. While in school I continued to take film classes at Actors Group and eventually submitted to the Alexander White Agency here in Atlanta. Once I booked with him, I decided to take the leap and move to Atlanta. It has been a very successful and exciting few months. I have been able to book a few commercials and my first roles on TV and Film in the first six months with my agency. I am hoping to continue to work on my craft and use this amazing start to propel myself deeper into the industry!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There have definitely been a lot of huge potholes that I have hit on this road of life. Something I spoke on a bit before was the struggle with bullying I had growing up. This was something that affected me for a long time that I struggled for years to overcome. The constant beat down of my emotional life and comments on my appearance and height caused me to quite often overcompensate around people. For a long time I was rude, cocky, and over the top about a lot of things. I couldn’t quite figure out where I belonged until I started theatre and got into Uncsa for the first time. Although I started to find myself during this year by opening up to others and my own emotions rippled and spiraled slightly out of control. My year off from school was a very difficult year for me where I struggled with a lot of depression and anxiety. Since I wasn’t going to school or working regularly, I was quite often alone. This solitude sent me into a deep depression that I would have completely succumb to if it hadn’t been for acting. When I started attending classes at Actors Group, I found a community of people like me that loved to act. Going to these classes was not only fun but it was therapy to me. The therapeutic properties of acting have carried me through so many other struggles to this date. My want and may need to act has kept me going and motivated to achieve my dreams.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am currently an actor for TV and Film in Atlanta represented by Alexander White Agency. I am really proud of the fact that it has only been a few months and I have managed to book two roles for TV and Film. I think that my acting training from various sources has helped me have a competitive edge that will only aid me as I learn more about my craft. For instance, I was taught by Caroline Kava who learned from Meisner himself at the Neighborhood Playhouse and Burgess Jenkins has consistently worked within the acting business for over 20 years. Even though I have been so fortunate in getting amazing training, I think one of my biggest strengths is my reason for acting. I act as therapy for myself and for others. If I can get on set or on stage in front of an audience and affect one person for the better, then I have done my job right. I want to be able to bring about change and growth within the world and acting is the best way I can do that.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was a very energetic and passionate person as I am today. I grew up loving and playing baseball all the time with a possibly unhealthy interest in snakes only because I would try to catch them all the time. For a long time I wanted to be a herpetologist and I collected dozens of snake books. As I started getting older my mind change drastically and I wanted to be a Navy Seal for a long time. I did constant research trying to figure out how I would become one and then quickly realized it was a bit unrealistic because I thought I was too short. This comes back to how insecure and immature I was for a long time. I felt that my entire self-worth was determined by my outward appearance. I would try to fit in with the fratty kids by wearing southern tide and Patagonia. I was constantly searching for acceptance until I finally found it in high school. I wanted to be a neurosurgeon for a good portion of high school before finally settling on acting. I think a lot of my self-discovery and growth into who I am today came from realizing that peoples opinions don’t matter. I constantly was putting pressure on myself to be liked or to act the way people thought I should or do what they thought I should do. I finally reached clarity and realized that I didn’t need acceptance from other people I needed to just accept myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://alexanderwhiteagency.com/
• Email: abredsox10@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abredsox22/

Image Credit:
Emily Marie Palmer, James Freetly, Michael MacWilliams

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