Brian “Astro” Bradley Talks ‘Earth To Echo’Posted by Wilson Morales
June 30, 2014
Coming out this week is the sci-fi film Earth to Echo, which was directed by Dave Green and stars Teo Halm, Brian “Astro” Bradley, Reese Hartwig, and Ella Linnea Wahlestedt.
In Relativity’s PG summer family adventure movie, Tuck, Munch and Alex are a trio of inseparable friends whose lives are about to change. Their neighborhood is being destroyed by a highway construction project that is forcing their families to move away. But just two days before they must part ways, the boys begin receiving a strange series of signals on their phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they team up with another school friend, Emma, and set out to look for the source of their phone signals. What they discover is something beyond their wildest imaginations: a small alien who has become stranded on Earth. In need of their help, the four friends come together to protect the alien and help him find his way home. This journey, full of wonder and adventure, is their story, and their secret.
For Brian Bradley aka Astro, it’s been some time since he made headlines appearing The X Factor in 2011. The 17 year-old rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn plays Tuck, one of the central characters. Upcoming projects include the Liam Neesom drama, “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” which is based on Lawrence Block’s crime thriller and Steven Spielberg’s TV series “The Red Band Society,” where he appears opposite Oscar winner Octavia Spencer.
How would you best describe your character Tuck?
Astro: He’s ambitious. He doesn’t settle for anything less than what he wants. He’s not the coolest kid in the neighborhood, but he’s cool with his friends and that’s what matters.
What can you say about the film?
Astro: Echo is the main focus of the film, but I also think it’s about friendships coming together to achieve something. It has that nostalgic feel of “ET meets The Goonies” for the older audience, which will bring back memories. It’s like an adaptation of ET as if you redid the film today, you would instagram it or use other social media methods and I think that’s what the director and the producer wanted to portray in the film.
What was the appeal of doing this film?
Astro: I don’t know. I was young and I got the script and I liked it. I’m not going to turn down a movie. I don’t know how young I was when I got it, but it was exciting to be able to go out to California and live there for the first time, and be on set and see how the movie business works.
It looks like you’re the central character of the movie. How much of a challenge was it for you as an actor knowing you have to hold the ship together?
Astro: I don’t think I’m the main focus. I think it’s Munch. When I saw the film, I thought Munch was the main guy because he’s just hilarious and he keeps it going in each scene; but I guess since my character is filming the whole thing, I’m kind of the main guy in a way. I didn’t really think about it like that as far as me holding the film together. When they edited everything and they showed us the first draft, that’s when I understood how serious this film and business was. When we were just filming, it was me having fun. I didn’t think that much about it.
Can you talk about working with Teo Halm and Reese Hartwig?
Astro: I think for me Teo, Reese, and Ella Wahlestedt, it was our first time on a major film. It was also the first directing job for Dave Green on a big project. The whole experience was just fun, so we didn’t have time off-set to bond. We worked so fast on the set. We only had a week of rehearsals before we actually started filming, but it was just fun being on the set. I can’t complain. I’m a kid from Brooklyn shooting a movie and it was all fun.
How would you relate to Tuck?
Astro: First of all, he films the entire movie. He has his own online following and I used to do that too until I lost my camera. I had a Sony camera with a touch screen and everything. I used to film me and my friends hanging around and stuff. I used to put the videos on youtube, but I lost the camera and it was over. Other than that, I like how efficient Tuck is. When he’s connected, he’s connected. When you see that Munch wanting to pull out and not go to the desert, it’s Tuch who motivates him to go and I think I’m like that in a lot of different ways, especially when it comes to my music.
As you worked on this film, what did you learn from Dave Green?
Astro: What I learn from Dave Green is just to experiment and have fun. The final version of the movie is different from the first version. The camera was shaking a lot more, but they had to tone it down a little bit. Kids were vomiting at the screening because the camera was shaking so much. Dave is just a fun director. He’s not boring.
What can you say about your character on the upcoming Fox series “Red Band Society”?
Astro: I can’t say too much yet. I don’t want to reveal what wasn’t seen in the trailer. All I can say is that my character is sick; he’s in the hospital and he’s awesome.
Now that you’re getting more in the acting world, are you giving up the music?
Astro: The acting is just something that I’m trying out. A lot of these things like Earth to Echo, the Liam Neesom film Walk Among The Tombstombs, and then Red Band Society were shot a long time ago. I shot Earth almost two years ago. It just so happens that they are putting everything out at almost the same time, or not too far apart from each other. It just seems that all I’m doing is acting now, which is great, but I don’t people to think that I abandoned the music. The acting is something I’m trying out, but the music is permanent.
What can we expect from you on the music scene?
Astro: Well, I’m putting out an EP less than a few months. I’m not rushing it because I don’t have a due date. If I plan to continue acting, I know that I have to take it more serious. Even when we did ‘Earth to Echo,’ I just went in and did whatever scene I had to do that day. I never read the whole script. I didn’t know what happened to the end until I saw the film. That’s how unfocused I was, because it seemed very natural, which is good. But for other roles, I know I have to prepare a bit more and take it serious, but the music is just something I can do. It’s in me.
Earth To Echo opens in theaters nationwide July 2.
