Interview with Actor Kenneth Wayne Bradley - The RV Book Fair 2025

Hello Ken, you've had a long and varied career in theatre, film, and television. What drew you to acting initially, and how has your approach changed over time?

I was fascinated with film, television, stand-up and sketch comedy and theatre at a young age. I’d memorize comedy albums (33RPM LPs) that Mom and Dad had lying around or scenes and characters from TV like “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” Or movies like “...The Holy Grail” and perform them from the back seat when we’d go on trips, or even by myself while standing on a fence facing the huge yard my grandma had. When players would come perform for us in grade school, I wanted to be UP THERE WITH THEM. I wanted to DO that! I finally got my chance when the High School football team I was on became bigger and faster than I was. I told my Dad that I just couldn’t compete with those guys anymore and he said, “Well, then pick out something else. Join the math or science club, serve on the student council, or be part of the team that puts the yearbook together.” Dad was adamant that I stay involved with something extracurricular no matter what it was. I picked Drama, and was cast in the first play we did that year. The experience had hooked me for good! I went on to study theatre in college and degreed in Fine Arts. After graduating, I joined two theater companies in Austin, started my own, wrote a couple of plays (one that was published, and another that won a play festival award,) and I secured an agent for film and commercial work.

As far as how my approach has changed, I will just say that it is STILL evolving and ever changing. I’m not the same actor I was in High School, College or even the same actor I was 5 years ago. All the time, education and experience has equipped me with certain tools that I use to get to where I am going perhaps a little faster than when I was younger, but we all grow and change. Life goes on, and different experiences and directions will shape you as a person. Using those new experiences and becoming comfortable in your own skin…knowing that you are unique and there is no one else like you on the planet is a hard thing to wrap your mind around when you’re young. You are so eager to please, to shine and to prove yourself, that sometimes the real you can get lost. In order to make any performance genuine, I need to keep reminding myself to stay in touch with WHO I am. As I’ve aged, I’ve gotten more comfortable with that. Which is not to say that I do not still struggle. I DO! ALL THE TIME. But “some” struggle is GOOD, and I’ve made that part of my process.

Your resume includes roles in projects like Fear the Walking Dead and others. How do you choose roles, and what kinds of characters excite you most?

You are too kind. I WISH I had the clout to PICK and CHOOSE my own roles. More often than not, the roles (the directors, the writers, the casting agents, etc.) choose ME. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I was taught early on in college never to type-cast myself into roles, or dismiss certain roles because you don't feel like you are the right “type” for them, or that they are not a “fit” for you. Opening yourself to every possibility and being cast as someone you never initially saw yourself playing can be so rewarding, so eye opening. It can really help you to mature and grow in your craft. I’ve played everything from a serial killer, to a Sunday school teacher, to a College football recruiter, to a shock jock DJ, to a Police Detective. These experiences that I had where I would have NEVER “cast myself” have helped me to shape my process. They have forced me to grow past any self-imposed boundaries I had as an actor…even MORE SO than many of the roles that I thought I was perfect for!

In the High Moon trailer, you appear in a suspenseful, atmospheric tease. What was your experience filming those scenes, and how do they fit into the larger tone of the film?

This is the magic of Sean Bridges (The writer and Director.) His vision was very clear from the start about the tone and the style that he wanted to set for the film. As an actor, I was free to explore that dusty, twisted, dark, foggy and sometimes even comic playpen of his creation. The experience of filming those scenes was a blast. We all had fun because we all bought into the clear picture that Sean had in his head, and the vision that he communicated so well to us.

When watching the High Moon trailer, what moment or shot resonated with you the most - and why?

There is a beautiful arc for my character, who is a bit jaded. He’s older, stodgy, perhaps more cynical, and he is a loner who doesn’t make ties with others so easily anymore. When he discovers in a particular scene that there is an evil force out there that is bigger than all of us, and that in order to survive, we need to put our differences aside, come together and pool our resources, it’s a definitive turning point for him in the film…a moment of self-discovery and awareness that he didn’t initially possess.

When preparing for a role, do you begin with the script, your character's backstory, physicality, or some other element?

The short answer is…ALL OF THAT! But, of course you begin with the script. Everything begins with the words on the page. I try to make myself so comfortable with the text that I no longer see it as words written on a page anymore. After that, I let the character come to me. The character will help you to find parts of yourself to bring him to life, make him genuine and keep the performance honest. All of this shapes the backstory I create for my character, and what kind of physical traits or tics he might possess.

What upcoming projects or new creative directions are you most eager to explore next?

Whatcha got? I’m game! Count me in! Right now I’m running the festival circuit throughout the country with a film I shot in Maryland a year ago. I play a man who shoots his wife in a moment of dark passion, and deeply regrets his tragic actions almost immediately. Also, the first audio installment of Sean’s “Parasite Zero” ROCKED so hard, that he wants to continue the saga. I’m honored that he keeps asking me to come back and cannot wait to begin work with him on the next episodes soon.

Kenneth Wayne Bradley is an experienced film, television, and theatre actor whose career began in 1994 with his on-screen debut as the doctor in the acclaimed Travis Tritt music video Tell Me I Was Dreaming. Since then, he has appeared in numerous notable television series, including Fear the Walking Dead, The Leftovers, Longmire, Queen of the South, Revolution, Friday Night Lights, Dallas, Prison Break, and Walker, Texas Ranger.

His film credits include co-starring in Amazon’s Troop Zero alongside Viola Davis, playing Daryl in the Netflix feature Rich Kids, and featured roles in Olympus Has Fallen and Drive Angry 3D. In 2019, Kenneth won Best Actor at Austin’s 48 Hour Film Festival for his powerful performance in the short film 6:15.

A celebrated theatre artist in Austin, he has earned both B. Iden Payne and Austin Critics Table awards for standout performances in productions such as Men of Tortuga, The Pillowman, A Steady Rain, and Killer Joe. Kenneth is also a playwright, known for works including Wicker Chairs, Wind Chimes and Varicose Cream, and Seamstress, the latter winning Best of Fest at Hyde Park Theatre’s FronteraFest.

A graduate of Sam Houston State University’s Fine Arts program, Kenneth is a core company member of Hyde Park Theatre and Capital T Theatre. He lives near Austin with his wife, Cathryn. Find out more at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1156891.

Article published in The Relatable Voice Magazine - December 2025 as part of The RV Book Fair 2025. Downolad the full magazine at https://www.relatable-media.com/the-relatable-voice-magazine