Exclusive: Brandon Jay McLaren Talks “Milwaukee” and “Graceland” Season 3Posted by Wilson Morales
March 11, 2015
Recently shown at the 2015 Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, CA was the dramedy “Milwaukee,” starring Brandon Jay McLaren (Graceland), Jodi Balfour (HBO’s upcoming Quarry), Jordan Hayes (Helix), Max Topplin (Suits), Martha MacIsaac (Superbad) and Alex Ashbaugh (The Canyons).
The film, which is Torre Catalano’s directorial debut, follows seven friends through one night of radical exploration that challenges everything about society’s views of monogamy, marriage, friendship and betrayal.
A vacation to clear her head is just what Chris needs after being cheated on by her boyfriend, and a friend’s cabin proves to be the perfect weekend isolation. Yet, private retreat quickly becomes group excursion when Chris’ friends decide to support her—crashing her solitude and turning her peaceful getaway into a radical exploration of societal constraints on sex and relationships. Soon, they find they must either adhere to those limitations, or test how far they are willing to travel outside of their comfort zones.
For McLaren, who plays DEA agent Dale Jakes on “Graceland,” the film gives the Canadian actor an opportunity not only to become involved from behind the scenes but also be seen on the big screen now that his profile has had more visibility. Best known for his role as Jack Landors, the Red SPD Power Ranger, on “Power Rangers S.P.D.,” McLaren has had a string of good roles on other prominent TV series such as “Being Erica,” AMC’s “The Killing,” and TNT’s “Falling Skies.”
Blackfilm.com recently spoke to McLaren on the phone on his role in Milwaukee while he’s currently shooting Season 3 of the Graceland in Miami.
How did you get involved with the film?
Brandon Jay McLaren: Well, I’m good friends with all those people that were in the film. The girl that plays my wife Greta, Martha MacIsaac, I met her before this film. We had a film together about 4 years ago called “Dead Before Dawn.” I met her, we became friends, and through that, her husband Torre, we became friends. I know Jodi Balfour from Vancouver. Max and I also met on “Dead Before Dawn” and we worked on some independent projects together. So it was really just a group of friends who came together.
I was at Miami at the time filming Season 2 of “Graceland” and they were in LA cooking with this idea. They just called me, and “Hey Brandon, we want to make this film. We haven’t really written anything yet, but we’re in the process of it, but we like you to play one of the characters.” I was like “if I can fit it into my schedule, absolutely.” Because it’s a cool chance to work with friends, and when they’re talented that’s a huge bonus.
How would you best describe your character?
Brandon: Will is a guy at the crossroads. Professionally he’s not doing well. He’s trying to get tenured as a professor, but he can’t get published. So he’s just really not feeling good about himself. I think that’s maybe why he does something crazy, that comes out later in the film. He searches for some kind of external validation. And so I guess what happens with him is, for a lot of people in the house, that idea of freedom, which is the theme of this film, is sort of interpretive in terms of sexual kind of freedom. I think he interpreted it completely differently. I think what makes Will’s character’s cool; his version about what they were talking about that night was to be free of this lie that he’s carrying around with him. His version of the night was different, he was there for a different reason. Yeah, it was good.
When you see these types of films, where you get a group of friends, including singles and couples, get together for a single night or for a weekend in cabin, a house, or so forth, a lot drama ensues. What makes this film different from films people may compare this to?
Brandon: Why does “Milwaukee” stand out? First of all, I think this is a film that can appeal towards a broader age range. I think people in their 40s can very much relate to this, I think people in their early 20s can very much relate to this. I also think because the central theme is really something that, like I said, people in their early 20s deal with. Starting with monogamy: how does monogamy fit into our present day given technological advances, social media, everything is more accessible? So how does this antiquated idea fit into our modern life? I think there’s a huge population that can really deal with it. I think that’s what makes “Milwaukee” really an outlier, is that it touches such a broad age range, multi-generation.
I read this movie was shot in 14 days in 2 different locations. Did the fact that all of you know each other make it easier, in terms of shooting it faster than normal?
Brandon: No, no. I think the 14 days, there was like 2 or 3 days that didn’t make the screen. So the movie that you see was really shot in about 8 or 9 days, because those extra days, those didn’t even make it. So what we shot were really 8 or 9 days.
Did it make it easier? I don’t think it’s ever easy, no matter who you’re with, to shoot a feature film in less that 10 days, you know what I mean? Given that we knew each other, I think people were very much willing to pitch in to do jobs they wouldn’t necessarily done otherwise. We all kind of had to have our actor hats on, our producer hats on. Catering, we all had to do that ourselves. It was very self-made project. So I think the fact that we were friends, that might have added to that kind of spirit.
Can you talk about working with Torre. Even though you know him, but what did you pick up from him as a director.
Brandon: Torre was a great man to work with. Torre knows us well, Torre’s known what we’ve all done, so Torre really didn’t mess with us too much. He let us do our thing and trusted all of us. I can only speak for when I was shooting with him, because I’m only there for the scenes that I’m in. But I can’t say what he was like when I wasn’t there, but I know for me and the crew that I was working with, he very much let us do our thing, and let us bring the characters off the page.
Was there any particular scene that stood out, or more fun to shoot?
Brandon: The challenging part was that it was such a short amount of time. It was all night shoots, for the most part. Other than that first day, we’re shooting nights. So the situation where you’re just trying to get as much sleep as you can and fit it in. You go to work at 7PM, you might be in the first, you’re done from 12, they don’t need you again till 4:30 in the morning. So you go, you try to get a couple hours of sleep, you got to wake up, and get right back, you know what I mean? That can mess with you a little bit.
But other than that, the actual material itself, there’s nothing more challenging than any scene is ever a challenge. Scenes of any kind of emotional nature are inherently challenging, and there’s nothing about that mood that made it more so. But it was challenging as one would expect it.
As you mentioned, you’re in Miami shooting season 3. What are we expecting this year from Dale Jakes?
Brandon: Oh man, Dale Jakes. Well, Dale has been on a real roller coaster. The first season, he’s not about being there. Second season he had a lot of failures with his son and this year he’s starts off very much an advocate for Graceland, whereas before he didn’t believe in it. I think he really has nothing else to grab on to at this point.
Our first day is March 10, Tuesday, and I only have the first 2 scripts and I don’t know what the entire arc is for Dale. But I anticipate that he would end the season very much different than how he starts the season. If I could say that then I’d give too much away.
How much has fun has this been? This is your third series in the last few years, but this one seems to be lasting longer. You’re one of the main players, and just being part of a series that’s renewed?
Brandon: Oh, it’s been great. It’s so funny, I was talking to Chris Gorham from “Covert Affairs.” We did “Harper’s Island” together. He was on “Covert Affairs” and I think he went for 5 seasons on “Covert Affairs.” I think he was saying that “Covert Affairs” was his first show that lasted longer. It’s so hard, especially in today’s environment, because it’s so competitive, so many shows, to go for more than 1 season. So it’s been so nice to even be with a character for this long. You really sort of, you can sink into this character for 4 or 5 years, and just to see how the show evolved, it’s been a wonderful experience, and I love the people that I work with, and hopefully it goes for another 3.
And just as an actor, how fun is it? You’ve gone from “The Killing” to “Falling Skies” to “Graceland,” and you seem to be getting good work. It’s obviously your work, but you have good people around you getting you lined up?
Brandon: Yeah, I know, I’ve been lucky. I think the best part of it is that the characters have been quite different, which is really nice for me. You want to do different types of things, you want to play different types of people. I just did that 5-episode arc on “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce” which got picked up for a second season. And again, that was a different type of character for me. So yeah, it’s been really, really great. I’ve been very, very, very fortunate.
Besides the TV work, any more roles coming up in the film world besides “Milwaukee”?
Brandon: Not yet, no. “Milwaukee,” I was happy when that came out and hopefully it’ll get to a couple more festivals. But I’m going to be in South Florida until the end of July, so that’s a ways away. I don’t have anything lined up for August yet, but a couple months closer to wrap, I’ll start thinking about what my next move might be.
