BIO
Born in New York and now Los Angeles-based, Brian announced to his bewildered family that he was going to be an actor at the age of 11. At this point he had only three “productions” under his belt, starting with a Christmas play in his basement at age 4 where his older siblings whispered his lines in his ear.
This love of performing continued all through high school and then college where he took on poster, advertising, and scenic art duties (including painting entire backdrops by himself). By junior year he had started his own theatre company in Queens and by senior year he began interning at New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre. As the intern who held on the longest, he began appearing in EST productions acquiring his Actors’ Equity card just months after his college graduation with a small role in their production of David Mamet’s Cross Patch directed by William H. Macy. He concluded his time in New York studying with the likes of Betty Buckley and Susann Brinkley all the while making multiple appearances in the television comedy sketches of Conan O’Brien and Gilbert Gottfried.
Relocating to Los Angeles, Brian immediately got involved with the west coast theatre community, appearing in productions with the Pasadena Shakespeare Company, the Knightsbridge, the Company of Angels, International City Theatre, and the world-famous Laguna Playhouse.
Onscreen, he has starred in the award-winning films Criticized (19 Festival Awards including Best Actor), 4EVR, and The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon among others. In its post-film festival life, The Horribly Slow Murderer… has garnered 38 million views on YouTube, has become an online series, and has inspired a genuine cult following among fans. Brian’s character “the Ginosaji” is a popular cosplay character at conventions, has been portrayed in fan art, tribute videos, flash mobs, and even on fan tattoos. WhiteFlag toys honored him with an action figure. The term “Ginosaji” now appears in the Urban Dictionary.
Brian is an L.A. Area Emmy winner for his roles in two Public Service Announcements for the City of Beverly Hills, the first of which, entitled It’s a Wonderful City, featured him portraying Jimmy Stewart for the first time. After years of comparisons by friends, casting directors, and even Jimmy’s own daughter Judy, Brian began making appearances as Jimmy Stewart/George Bailey in Seneca Falls (the Real Bedford Falls) and Jimmy’s hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania at their respective It’s A Wonderful Life Festivals.
His production, Jimmy Stewart On the Front of Life - a one-man drama dealing with Jimmy Stewart’s post-war experiences - made its debut in Seneca Falls.
Brian was the very first Norman Bates on the Universal Studios Tour, an unusual day job that resulted in television appearances with Michael Bublé and Conan O’Brien (again).
Brian is also an artist and illustrator with works appearing on murals and in several textbooks. An idiot savant (sometimes light on the savant) when it comes to history, he fancies himself something of a Hollywood/Los Angeles historian. He currently resides in that city he loves so well.