Brendan Sexton III is the independent film actor with the fancy name. Sexton made a big impression with his performance as the bully in Welcome to the Dollhouse and electrified critics with his first lead in Hurricane Streets. Ten years later, Sexton is still banging away in wonderful low budget films. His most recent project is Love, Ludlow in which he plays the agoraphobic title character who lives with his sister and hasnt left the apartment they share in ten years. Ludlow is forced to find himself a life when his sister [played by Alicia Goranson] begins dating.
Buy Love, Ludlow
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hello Brendan, this is Daniel Epstein from SuicideGirls.
Brendan Sexton III: From SuicideGirls?
DRE: Yeah.
BS3: Alright! I didnt know you were from SuicideGirls.
DRE: You like SuicideGirls?
BS3: Yeah man. I saw them live once when my friends Dirty on Purpose opened for them at the Knitting Factory here in New York.
DRE: Well have to get you a free membership.
BS3: Uh-oh, I might secretly be a member.
DRE: How did Love, Ludlow come to you?
BS3: It came through the director Adrienne Weiss. Adrienne teaches a course called Acting for Directors which is to teach directors how to work with actors. I was a part of that one semester through a good friend of mine. We met and had a good time then a couple years later she called me up and said, Brendan, I have this great movie and I think youd be perfect for it. Its based on a play and if you like it you have to make a decision right now because were shooting in three weeks. So I read the script and thought it was great but I said that I thought it was more like a play than a movie. So she and the writers spent two weeks workshopping it to make it more cinematic. A lot of that came out of like a week of rehearsal that Alicia [Goranson], David [Eigenberg] and I did leading up to shooting.
DRE: Did you know much about agoraphobia before you got involved?
BS3: Not at all. In the script it is not even necessarily specified that hes agoraphobic. It doesnt say, Ludlow, an interesting agoraphobic 19 year old character pops out of the bed. But you get a sense that hes never really left the apartment since his mother died and only absolutely leaves the apartment when he must and when he feels in good hands. I didnt know anything about agoraphobics or manic depressives or anything of that nature beforehand but the producer and the director were very helpful with research.
DRE: How did the research help?
BS3: I watched some documentaries on what can happen in severe cases of bipolar disorder when its untreated. What I found was a lot of childish behavior with guys in their teens throwing temper tantrums. Thats something I really took with me. So I made a decision that Ludlow was emotionally immature and I ran with that.
DRE: It seems a lot of actors can be emotionally immature.
BS3: Absolutely. Ive fit in that category. A lot of people fit in that category, but definitely a lot of actors.
DRE: [laughs] Have you ever seen an actor have a tantrum on set?
BS3: Oh yeah, I have at least one tantrum on set at each shoot. The question is just how many people get to see it.
DRE: How was it working with Alicia Goranson again [after Boys Dont Cry]?
BS3: It was such a pleasant surprise. Ive known her for eight years now and it was so fascinating to rediscover how much of an incredible actor she is. It is like when you play basketball with Michael Jordan, he makes you a better basketball player. Working with someone of Alicias caliber makes you a better actor. She and I had a really great rapport and it really helped us become emotionally available and vulnerable.
DRE: She was obviously on a very popular sitcom growing up, would that be something you would have been interested in?
BS3: No because I wouldnt have been able to handle it. When I was 15 some girls were chasing me down the block because I was in a movie they happened to rent. I was like, Why are you chasing me down the block? You see me in homeroom every morning. I wouldnt have been able to deal with that type of exposure at such a young age and the fact that Alicia was, at one point, able to walk away from it and go to school is pretty admirable.
DRE: Would you be interested in a TV show now?
BS3: I feel like those opportunities dont present themselves since I live in New York. Not that they dont exist here in New York, but there are a lot of movies that are way bigger budget than what Im usually working on that dont even bother casting in New York. But to me every script is a puzzle and some are worth trying to solve more than others. I just look for ones that are worthier of solving. Doing Black Hawk Down was for the experience of working with Ridley Scott. To be able to go out of the country and also be able to train with professionally trained US soldiers was an amazing experience. I loved the idea of really trying to transform myself. I had that experience with [Kimberly Peirce director of] Boys Dont Cry as well. She provided tons of research, tons of movies for me to watch, court transcripts to read and all that. Whether that opportunity is afforded by a $40 million budget or a $40,000 budget is not up to me to decide. Its up to whoevers producing the movie [laughs].
DRE: When did you discover that equation for yourself?
BS3: I think part of that was out of necessity and part of that was by choice. I turned down a lot of mainstream stuff when I was younger so I was probably too independent to a fault. If I had said yes to some of those projects it could have afforded me more opportunities and help more independent films get financed. So looking back maybe I could have done certain things differently but Im definitely where Im supposed to be and Im not real resentful. Im pretty satisfied with where I am and I know I have such a long way to go so Im willing to grow and better myself and my career.
DRE: I read you manage a band.
BS3: Actually Im starting a record label called Big Bits of Beauty. I have two bands right now. I started it as a way to help my friends and now its becoming a way to get music out that I appreciate. Not a lot of big labels do A & R work in terms of developing artists anymore.
DRE: Do you want the record label to eventually become your full time thing?
BS3: Well as much as my adorable bands drive me crazy it is something I love doing. It has been a challenge for me and I like to be challenged. As a working actor, one can find a lot of downtime when youre not working. So I spend a lot of time away from my craft and what I love to do so I needed something to occupy my time. This has helped me a whole lot and Im able to help other people at the same time and be of service to others.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy Love, Ludlow
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hello Brendan, this is Daniel Epstein from SuicideGirls.
Brendan Sexton III: From SuicideGirls?
DRE: Yeah.
BS3: Alright! I didnt know you were from SuicideGirls.
DRE: You like SuicideGirls?
BS3: Yeah man. I saw them live once when my friends Dirty on Purpose opened for them at the Knitting Factory here in New York.
DRE: Well have to get you a free membership.
BS3: Uh-oh, I might secretly be a member.
DRE: How did Love, Ludlow come to you?
BS3: It came through the director Adrienne Weiss. Adrienne teaches a course called Acting for Directors which is to teach directors how to work with actors. I was a part of that one semester through a good friend of mine. We met and had a good time then a couple years later she called me up and said, Brendan, I have this great movie and I think youd be perfect for it. Its based on a play and if you like it you have to make a decision right now because were shooting in three weeks. So I read the script and thought it was great but I said that I thought it was more like a play than a movie. So she and the writers spent two weeks workshopping it to make it more cinematic. A lot of that came out of like a week of rehearsal that Alicia [Goranson], David [Eigenberg] and I did leading up to shooting.
DRE: Did you know much about agoraphobia before you got involved?
BS3: Not at all. In the script it is not even necessarily specified that hes agoraphobic. It doesnt say, Ludlow, an interesting agoraphobic 19 year old character pops out of the bed. But you get a sense that hes never really left the apartment since his mother died and only absolutely leaves the apartment when he must and when he feels in good hands. I didnt know anything about agoraphobics or manic depressives or anything of that nature beforehand but the producer and the director were very helpful with research.
DRE: How did the research help?
BS3: I watched some documentaries on what can happen in severe cases of bipolar disorder when its untreated. What I found was a lot of childish behavior with guys in their teens throwing temper tantrums. Thats something I really took with me. So I made a decision that Ludlow was emotionally immature and I ran with that.
DRE: It seems a lot of actors can be emotionally immature.
BS3: Absolutely. Ive fit in that category. A lot of people fit in that category, but definitely a lot of actors.
DRE: [laughs] Have you ever seen an actor have a tantrum on set?
BS3: Oh yeah, I have at least one tantrum on set at each shoot. The question is just how many people get to see it.
DRE: How was it working with Alicia Goranson again [after Boys Dont Cry]?
BS3: It was such a pleasant surprise. Ive known her for eight years now and it was so fascinating to rediscover how much of an incredible actor she is. It is like when you play basketball with Michael Jordan, he makes you a better basketball player. Working with someone of Alicias caliber makes you a better actor. She and I had a really great rapport and it really helped us become emotionally available and vulnerable.
DRE: She was obviously on a very popular sitcom growing up, would that be something you would have been interested in?
BS3: No because I wouldnt have been able to handle it. When I was 15 some girls were chasing me down the block because I was in a movie they happened to rent. I was like, Why are you chasing me down the block? You see me in homeroom every morning. I wouldnt have been able to deal with that type of exposure at such a young age and the fact that Alicia was, at one point, able to walk away from it and go to school is pretty admirable.
DRE: Would you be interested in a TV show now?
BS3: I feel like those opportunities dont present themselves since I live in New York. Not that they dont exist here in New York, but there are a lot of movies that are way bigger budget than what Im usually working on that dont even bother casting in New York. But to me every script is a puzzle and some are worth trying to solve more than others. I just look for ones that are worthier of solving. Doing Black Hawk Down was for the experience of working with Ridley Scott. To be able to go out of the country and also be able to train with professionally trained US soldiers was an amazing experience. I loved the idea of really trying to transform myself. I had that experience with [Kimberly Peirce director of] Boys Dont Cry as well. She provided tons of research, tons of movies for me to watch, court transcripts to read and all that. Whether that opportunity is afforded by a $40 million budget or a $40,000 budget is not up to me to decide. Its up to whoevers producing the movie [laughs].
DRE: When did you discover that equation for yourself?
BS3: I think part of that was out of necessity and part of that was by choice. I turned down a lot of mainstream stuff when I was younger so I was probably too independent to a fault. If I had said yes to some of those projects it could have afforded me more opportunities and help more independent films get financed. So looking back maybe I could have done certain things differently but Im definitely where Im supposed to be and Im not real resentful. Im pretty satisfied with where I am and I know I have such a long way to go so Im willing to grow and better myself and my career.
DRE: I read you manage a band.
BS3: Actually Im starting a record label called Big Bits of Beauty. I have two bands right now. I started it as a way to help my friends and now its becoming a way to get music out that I appreciate. Not a lot of big labels do A & R work in terms of developing artists anymore.
DRE: Do you want the record label to eventually become your full time thing?
BS3: Well as much as my adorable bands drive me crazy it is something I love doing. It has been a challenge for me and I like to be challenged. As a working actor, one can find a lot of downtime when youre not working. So I spend a lot of time away from my craft and what I love to do so I needed something to occupy my time. This has helped me a whole lot and Im able to help other people at the same time and be of service to others.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
This was indeed a good interview.
Off to check out those bands now.