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Brandon Mychal Smith: He’s So Brandon!
interview with kam williams
B
orn in Los Angeles on May 29, 1989,
Brandon Mychal Smith is a charis-
matic young actor best known for
playing ladies man Nico Harris on the
Disney Channel sitcom “Sonny with a
Chance,” which was renamed “So Random”
earlier this year. Brandon discovered his
love for acting at a young age when he
stood in front of his 6th grade class and
recited a crowd-pleasing rendition of a
poem by Shel Silverstein. And after gradu-
ating from high school, he enrolled at
Hampton University where he earned his
degree in entrepreneurship while minoring
in finance.
A versatile performer, Brandon recently
competed on the ABC celebrity reality show
“Skating with the Stars,” and in 2010
starred in the Disney Channel Original
Movie “Starstruck.” His other TV credits
include recurring roles on such shows as
“Unfabulous” and “Phil of the Future.”
Brandon has also guest-starred on “Bones,”
“Without a Trace” and “That’s So Raven”.
Brandon’s motion picture credits include
appearances opposite Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson in Gridiron Gang, opposite Nick
Cannon in Weapons, and opposite Matthew
Perry in The Ron Clark Story. Away from
work, he keeps himself busy between his
many hobbies (especially roller-skating)
and his charity work with organizations like
the “Magic of Healthy Living Campaign”
alongside First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Here, Brandon talks about his work on
“So Random.”
kam williams: Hi Brandon, thanks for
the
time.
Brandon Mychal Smith: Thank you for
giving me the time.
kw: What interested you in So Random?
BMS: What interested me about So
Random was the great team of people that I
knew were behind this project. My first love
has always been drama and Brian Robbins,
So Random’s Executive Producer, had pro-
duced a film called Hardball that I had
wanted to be in. I always wanted to work
with Brian Robbins, so when the opportuni-
ty rang I was more focused and ready to do
whatever it took to land the role of Nico.
[LOL]
kw: Tell me a little about the show?
BMS: So Random is your SNL mixed
with a splash of 30 Rock all geared towards
the cool kids and fly teens of the new mil-
lennium!
kw: How would you describe your char-
acter, Nico?
BMS: Nico Harris has the charisma and
charm of a WIll Smith from Fresh Prince of
Bel Air days with a dash of Denzel Smooth
and a Kanye West swagger when it comes to
getting fly! [Laughs]
kw: How similar are you to Nico?
BMS: Nico Harris is Brandon Mychal
Smith at about 16 or 17 with much more
energy and a way cooler job than I really
had at that age. [Laughs] Nico and I share a
love for the fashion world. And much like
Nico, I've always loved vintage and unique
clothing and cool jewelry. Nico and I also
are very much ladies men. [Chuckles] The
ability to charm the ladies has never been a
sore spot for Mr. Nico Harris [LOL] But
most importantly, Nico, as well as I, love to
keep everyone laughing and having a good
time!
kw: What would you say is the message
being delivered by So Random?
BMS: The show’s message is that with
The Power of We, you can do it to with
drive, persistence, commitment, breathing
and smiling. [Laughs] The Power of We is
the collaborative effort, everyone coming
together to help contribute and or make a
positive difference.
kw: What was it like doing the reality-
TV series Skating with the Stars? How
much of a skater were you as a child?
BMS: Doing Skating with the Stars was a
very empowering experience for me. It
showed me what I can truly achieve with
drive, persistence and commitment. It felt
good to become physically active and to
push my body to its physical limits day in
and day out. If I ever have to do a superhero
movie, trust me, I’ll be ready. [Chuckles] I
am an avid roller skater, NOT ice skater.
Honor
continued from page 6
Precedents do exist for the Medal of
Honor to be assigned long after the fact.
On May 2, President Barack Obama
awarded America’s highest honor to Pvt.
Henry Svehla and Pvt. Anthony
Kaho’ohanohano. These two young sol-
diers fought and died heroes 60 years
ago during the Korean War. Svehla, with
the 7th Infantry, led a charge into enemy
fire, throwing grenades at enemy
bunkers, continuing even when wound-
ed. When a grenade landed in the midst
of his men, instead of running, Svelha
jumped on the grenade, saving others’
lives by sacrificing his own.
Kaho’ohanohano, a native Hawaiian,
stayed behind alone to confront a superi-
or force, all the time laying down fire
cover to allow his comrades to retreat to
safety.
Awarding
the
medal
to
Kaho’ohanohano ‘s family, President
Obama thanked the campaigners.
“After his death, Tony was awarded
the Army’s second highest award for
valor -- the Distinguished Service
Cross,” Obama said. “But his family felt
he deserved more. And so did Senator -
- and World War II vet -- Danny Akaka.”
The Medal of Honor citation says the
award is for, “conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty.”
The Johnson family, Sens. Schumer
and Wyden and Portland Commissioner
Fish believe that was exactly what Sgt.
Henry Lincoln Johnson displayed that
long ago night in Northern France.
[Laughs some more] Big difference! Ice
skating is a much more physically-demand-
ing sport, although my lifetime love and
passion for roller-skating definitely helped
my confidence and ability to create on the
ice skates, during Skating with the Stars. I
became pretty good at ice-skating by the
end of the competition, which surprised me
in a great way.
kw: You’ve been in showbiz since you
were 8? How have you avoided the prob-
lems that have plagued so many other stars?
BMS: Honestly, there truly is no way to
avoid the inevitable. No one’s perfect and,
as they say, “Things happen.” People make
mistakes. When you’re in the public eye,
sometimes mis-happenings are amplified
and misconstrued. I keep my family first
and try to keep my personal business out of
the media. My main focus is to continue
doing fun work and meeting cool new peo-
ple to collaborate with.
kw: At the beginning of your career, you
were in a Nike commercial with Tiger
Woods. What effect did that have on you?
BMS: Yes, the infamous Nike Tiger
Woods Commercial. That commercial was
definitely my light bulb of, "Hey, I think I
might have some success at this." [LOL] It
was my first audition ever and on top of that
it was a "cattle call" which means they
wanted to see anyone and everyone who in
anyway resembled Tiger Woods to play one
of the kids saying "I am Tiger Woods" in the
commercial. I remember there were proba-
bly about 5,000 kids at the audition held at
this huge golf club in Burbank. When I
booked my first audition ever I knew that
was a sign. [Laughs]
Read the rest online at
www.theskanner.com
review: Overcome Any Obstacle, Finish College, get a Degree
Book Review
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