Brandon Lessard says that he landed "the role of a lifetime" on the upcoming film Unholy Trinity, due to a combination of his character, the story and his colleagues on the project.
The up-and-coming actor, 25, is among the lead cast of the film, which reunited him with director Richard Gray, whom he worked with on three previous films. His co-stars include Samuel L. Jackson, Pierce Brosnan and David Arquette.
He plays Henry Broadway in the period film. It's been teased that Henry is tasked with murdering the person who framed his estranged father for a crime that he didn't commit, with him then ending up in the remote town of Trinity, where a series of unexpected events are said to then take place.
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Brandon Lessard (centre) worked alongside the likes of Pierce Brosnan (left) and Samuel L. Jackson (right) on the upcoming film Unholy Trinity (Jane Owen PR)Speaking to the Mirror about the project, Brandon said that he first read the script around eight years ago, shortly after completing his debut feature film, Broken Ghost (2017). "I really fell in love with the character of Henry," he explained.
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The University of Southern California graduate, who is a self-professed fan of the Western film genre, told us: "It was a Western about kind of a character you don't typically see. He's not really a gun-slinging bada** in any sense."
Brandon added about his character in the interview: "He's a young man, who's not really lost his way, he never really found his way. He doesn't necessarily know his purpose in life [and] he's sort of put on this path of revenge."
"For me, since the very beginning, it was always a film I very much wanted to do," he further commented. The actor shared that in the meantime though he worked on a couple of other projects, such as the film Robert the Bruce (2019).
The actor has a lead role as Henry Broadway in the period film, which was directed by his frequent collaborator Richard Gray (Jane Owen PR)Unholy Trinity began filming during the SAG-AFTRA strike in the US last year. It was given an interim agreement by the actor's union, which allowed independent productions to film under the terms of its last offer to the AMPTP, which represents production companies, before the strike began.
The actor, from Virginia but who's now based in California, said it was a "lifeline" to be able to work during the strike, which ran from July to November. He said: "I'm very, very grateful to the union for allowing us to do this project."
Brandon continued: "It was a godsend that we were able to do this project and it helps pull the movie together to be honest. Stepping on set in the middle of a strike you could tell everyone was really grateful to be there and be working."
Discussing his experience with the industrial action, he said: "We all struggled during the strike." Brandon said that he'd been set to do a film related to boxing beforehand and was preparing for that, like "bulking up," when the strike began.
He teased that he just had to sit around his apartment and watch TV whilst the industry came to a halt, until he had a "great phone call" about Unholy Trinity. He said: "It was really nice when I got the call from [director] Ritchie saying not only are we finally doing this film we talked about for eight years but we also got the interim agreement so we're good to go."
Brandon spoke to the Mirror about the experience recently, including discussing having got to work during the actor's strike in the US (Jane Owen PR)Filming on Unholy Trinity took place in Montana over a five-week period and concluded in November. Brandon teased that whilst he had been "a bit nervous" before production began, he felt differently once he was filming his scenes.
He said that whilst it was "nerve-racking" before he got to the set, he didn't feel the same once he began filming with his on-screen father Tim Daly. Brandon said: "Once I started doing those first scenes, and I was working with that calibre of actor, actually a lot of the nervousness went away."
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Brandon told us in the interview: "When you are acting with the likes of [Tim, Samuel, Pierce, David and others] you can just zero in in the scene. Just focus on them and everything else kinda melts away. I was very happy to make that discovery because then I could just focus on the work."
Discussing having worked with Pierce, 70, and Samuel, 75, on the film, he said: "I got to do multiple scenes with [Samuel]. I grew up watching his movies. I love his performances. I got to perform scenes with [Pierce]. He is just fantastic and a real gentleman too. I very much like the guy."
He also spoke about what it was like working with co-stars such as Pierce and Samuel on the project (Unholy Trinity/Kehana Rose/@rowdythebronco)The actor suggested that Pierce may be seen as "serious" given that he's best known for his role as James Bond in four films in the franchise of the same name. Asked what he's like though, Brandon said that Pierce is "a funny guy".
He stated: "You think of James Bond and you think y'know suave, super spy, but overall very like serious." Further sharing his thoughts, he then said about his co-star Pierce: "He's a funny guy [though] and just a joy to be around."
"[Both Samuel and Pierce], when they showed up, they'd be cracking jokes, they'd be making sure everyone was okay, everyone was having a good day. You could see people just brighten up when they showed up because they really are just very wonderful people to be around," he commented.
Brandon said that although he didn't "necessarily talk about advice" with his co-stars Samuel and Pierce, he did "learn by watching them" on the film set. He suggested that the pair taught him that "less is more" can apply to his acting.
He said: "I learned that I can bring it down and just sort of ... less is more, is the saying. I realised that I don't have to be doing some crazy performance. It's all in the eyes, it's all focused. It does not need to be over the top." The actor further commented in the interview: "So I did kind of hone my performance a bit more being in the scenes with them."
And opening up about the message of the film, he told us: "We all in our own way are set on a certain path in life. It's not necessarily always like a path that we choose but we find ourselves on this path and ultimately we come to a crossroads where you have to make an impossible choice."
"But ultimately, your destiny, your life is in your hands, and you are the only person who can decide what you want to do with your life. The sort of person you wanna be. Even if it seems like that power isn't in your hands, even if it seems like you are powerless, you do have that power and you are the captain of your course.," Brandon further commented.
Looking ahead, he said: "This was the role of a lifetime for me but it is not the last role of my lifetime. I definitely want to build up that repertoire of good work. I'm just excited for the next project and whatever the future might bring."
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