Bryan McClure
“Some might say I’m a hearty romantic…I’m such a sucker for love.”
The world can be a somber place nowadays, so audiences can use a good laugh when it comes to entertainment. The new romantic comedy feature film In Other Words from Viva Pictures, which released On Digital and On Demand earlier this month delivers on heartfelt laughs.
Actor Bryan McClure stars in the leading role as True Andrews in this bilingual feature. True is a tech geek who lands an investor (Chris Kattan) for his matchmaking app. However, things go sideways when his app pairs him with a beautiful woman (Natasha Esca) who speaks Spanish but not English. Determined to prove his algorithm is working correctly, Andrews travels with his friends to wine country in Baja California, Mexico and discovers that language is no barrier to love.
Before this, Bryan recurred on the Netflix series Mindhunter and appeared in FX’s Atlanta, HBO Max’s DC Doom Patrol, BET’s American Soul and CBS’s Hawaii Five-O. He beat out thousands in a global talent search for his role in acclaimed creator Marc Zicree’s Space Command, and emerged in Takahi Doscher’s Still, as well as April Showers alongside Tom Arnold and Lucky with Colin Hanks.
With In Other Words now gaining attention, Bryan McClure recently found some time for an interview:
What is the basic premise of In Other Words?
Bryan McClure: In the story, I’m a tech geek who gets debilitatingly nervous when I meet beautiful women, so I develop a matching app that matches me with a woman. The only problem is, she only speaks Spanish.
How did you prepare to take True Andrews from script to screen?
Bryan: I just spent as much time with the material as I could. I have wonderfully talented actor friends that helped me prepare. At the time, I was studying with Sara Mornell and she had me bring the material into class to work on it as well. Thankfully, I’m already a bit of a tech geek and similarly with beautiful women.
What was it like playing the leading role of a film?
Bryan: I’ve been blessed with a couple other opportunities to play the lead in feature films, and it’s always a blast to get to tell the story. In Other Words in particular was a blast to tell because it’s so fun, and funny, and the film has so much heart. It was a true honor to get to tell the story that Cristina and Patrick created. One of my acting mentors/coaches said that as the lead, you get to dictate what the set feels like because everyone is looking to you as to how they can conduct themselves. I did my best to let everyone know that I cared about them and appreciated the talents they brought to set. I really made going to work a joy every day for me.
Any surprises while on set?
Bryan: One event that sticks out while we were filming was that I knew that Comic-Con was going on and my sci-fi series Space Command was going to be having a panel down there that they wanted me to speak on. I didn’t know if timing would work out for me to be there because I was on set every day while we were filming. Well, it turned out that our panel fell on a Friday at noon, which happened to be the only night-shoot we had on the whole production. So I spoke to production and they allowed me to head down to San Diego with another one of the crew members, Marquitta Baines, who lived in San Diego. So after set on Thursday, I rode down to San Diego with Marquitta, and I stayed at the home of the executive producer of In Other Words, which happened to be within a five minute Uber ride to the convention center. The next morning I hopped in that Uber to the convention center, attended my panel at noon, did a photo shoot with Getty Images immediately after and then hopped back in the car with Marquitta and we drove back up to the location we were filming at in Malibu to arrive right at my call time to begin shooting. We filmed all through the night right up until the sun rise happened and those of us on set got to see the most breathtaking sunrise from on top of a mountain in Malibu as we overlooked the ocean. Definitely a gift from God right there!
Would you ever consider using a matchmaking app?
Bryan: I have used a number of those pups before, a lot of swiping and far less responses from people.
So, are you a romantic at heart or hardly romantic?
Bryan: Some might say I’m a hearty romantic. I’m such a sucker for love, I make myself sick. I found myself watching Crazy Rich Asians at home by myself a couple years ago and I was laughing out loud and crying at the touching moments. Total sucker!
How did you get into acting?
Bryan: I love this question because it’s never something I planned. It’s said that “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” And I couldn’t agree more. I grew up playing sports. And although I was good at art, like drawing and painting, I planned to be a professional basketball player. However, when you’re far from clearing six feet tall, it does make it a little more challenging. Long story short, I was looking for a summer job and I saw something online that said, “Make money acting.” I ended up signing up, which eventually led to a commercial booking on my first audition a year later. I enjoyed it so much that I started taking classes. I got involved as a background in movies. Then I started auditioning for plays and any movie I could find. Eventually, one day, I felt God’s calling on my life to pursue it professionally. And though it’s been a very challenging road at times, I haven’t turned back!
You’ve also appeared in some major TV shows; do you prefer working in TV or film?
Bryan: I don’t know that I have a preference. I just love getting on set. The creativity on there is always so magical. TV moves very fast, and there is something about the slower pace of film that I like because I feel like it allows me more time to dive into my character’s psyche in any given story. However, sometimes it does mean a lot of waiting around while the crew is setting up the perfect shot. That is one thing I do love about the speed of TV. You don’t have as much down time. There are benefits and drawbacks to each I suppose.
What’s been the most challenging aspect of being an actor?
Bryan: Well, when you’re solely an actor in the entertainment industry, you’re waiting around to be picked by others. And when that’s the case, you hear a lot of no’s. People don’t see all the no’s you get. Out of 100 auditions, I might book three. You really have to develop a mentality of showing up to an audition, doing the best work you can do in an audition and then always thinking, “What’s next?” rather than “I hope I hear back from them.” If it’s meant to be yours, it’ll come back around to you. I think it helps to have a full life. Working on having a full life will take the pressure off having to book a job. When you’re playing in your audition, casting can really tell. It also helps if you start creating yourself, or team up with a group of creators. Then you don’t have to wait to be chosen.
If you could choose any type of role next, what would it be?
Bryan: I did have a blast in the rom-com genre, so I wouldn’t be opposed to playing in that type of genre again. But, I also think it’d be cool to play some sort of action character. Like a Jason Bourne or a James Bond.
Lastly, we can’t let you go without asking what’s your favorite comedy film and why?
Bryan: Oh man, growing up Jim Carrey’s movies Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Dumb and Dumber captivated me. I could quote those movies and give you most of the actions Jim made. His comedies really truly informed me growing up. He helped make me the goofball that I am. Thanks, Jim!
Discover more about Bryan at: BryanMcClure.net
