Brandon Sklenar

Sklenar was born Brandon Feakins in Dover, New Jersey, and raised in Northern New Jersey.^[1][2][3][4] His parents are Bruce Feakins and Francine Sklenar, daughter of a former stage grip for the Metropolitan Opera House.^[5][6] Sklenar graduated in 2008 from Hackettstown High School and enrolled briefly at County College of Morris before heading out to California after two months, adopting his mother's surname for acting purposes.^[1] He moved to Los Angeles, working odd jobs until he was signed by a manager at the age of 20.^[4]

Sklenar made his professional film debut in the 2011 film Cornered. The following year, he appeared in the television series Dating Rules from My Future Self. He then appeared in the film Chance, in 2014,^[7] the NBC comedy series Truth Be Told, in 2015, the films Hunky Dory and Bella Donna,^[8] and the television series Fall into Me, in 2016, a lead role in the American-Japanese horror film Temple^[9][10] and the Fox sitcom series, New Girl, in 2017.^[11]

He was then cast as Edward Mapplethorpe in the 2018 biographical drama film Mapplethorpe, which follows the life of New York photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.^[12] It screened at Tribeca Film Festival, in 2018,^[13][14][15] where it was named a runner-up in the U.S. Narrative Competition section.^[16][17] Sklenar received critical acclaim from multiple media outlets for his performance in Mapplethorpe, including from Boy Culture, who praised him for "[having] maximum impact in [his] psychologically charged scenes with [Matt] Smith"^[18] He appeared in the 2018 biographical drama film, Vice, opposite Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Sam Rockwell. The film explores the life of politician Dick Cheney and is directed by Academy Award-winner Adam McKay. Sklenar then appeared in Amir Naderi's film Magic Lantern, in addition to films The Last Room and Glass Jaw.^[19] In June 2018, Sklenar was also cast in the independent drama film Indigo Valley, which is based on director Jaclyn Bethany's short film of the same name. That same year, Sklenar was cast as the lead antagonist in The Big Ugly, a noir crime thriller that weaves the British gangster genre with the American Western, opposite Ron Perlman, Malcolm McDowell, Nicholas Braun and Leven Rambin.^[20] For his work in the film as Junior Lawford, Sklenar received wide critical praise. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times stated, "Brandon Sklenar gives a screen-popping performance as Junior; he's fantastic as a monster cloaked in a James Dean persona."^[21]

Sklenar then went on to appear in Roland Emmerich's Midway for Lionsgate^[22] with Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, and Patrick Wilson. Sklenar portrayed George H. Gay Jr., who was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8).

He then starred in the independent film Jonesin' – a crime comedy about a moonshiner who, after a case of mistaken identity, gets abducted and finds himself stuck in the city between two rival gangs.^[22]

In early 2020 he was cast in the lead role of the independent film Futra Days opposite Tania Raymonde and Rosanna Arquette. The film is about a man traveling to the future and exploring the nature of control. For his role, he received the Best Actor award at Vienna Independent Film Festival, in 2022.^[23] In March 2021, he joined the cast of the film Karen opposite Taryn Manning and Cory Hardrict.

In 2022 he was cast in the role of Spencer Dutton in the Paramount+ Yellowstone prequel television series 1923.^[24]