Student Spotlight: Brandon Wilson
April 23, 2014
Next fall, a Brahma will become a Bruin actor. Brandon Wilson, senior actor at Diamond Bar High School, hopes to take his talents to greater heights at UCLA.
Wilson was with his friends one night when he found out that UCLA admission letters had been released. Not expecting much, Wilson called his mom to check for him. Little did he know, his family decided to turn the tables on the actor, informing the son that he did not get accepted into UCLA. Later that night, as Wilson walked into his house, his kitchen lit up, decorated in UCLA balloons and posters.
“I was so happy and I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I went to sleep that night thinking about my future,” Wilson said.
Acting is something Wilson had a passion for ever since he was four years old. It has always been a part of his life and it will continue to be so. However, it was not until he watched the “Thursday Night Live” production at Diamond Bar during his sophomore year that his passion for drama rocketed. Ever since, Wilson has found drama to be fun and spirited, both of which fit his personality. He could not resist joining advanced drama in his junior year.
“Acting as an art is just so interesting and challenging. It’s just really fun to do to,” Wilson said.
Although all the theatrical hassles can get busy and time consuming, Wilson’s love for it helps alleviate the workload. Wilson admits there are nights where he stays up late but he is used to it by now and manages to make it work while also fitting in time to socialize and hang out with friends.
Wilson contributes much of the success and happiness he finds in drama to his past seniors and his fellow partner in crime, junior Matthew Aquino.
“Watching how much they love acting as an art and how close they are as a class made me want to be part of that family. A lot of the love that I have for drama came from watching how much happiness they derived from it. With people like Aquino, from friends that I made, they just make it all worthwhile,” Wilson said.
Drama is not meant for anyone. Wilson feels as if he accomplished the milestone many actors struggle with: finding oneself.
“You have to be in tune in with who you are as a person before you can even portray someone else. You have to be very confident in who you are and what you’re about. Once you get that down, portraying others gets so much easier. I’m a very imaginative person, in drama especially; a lot of drama and acting is just believing,” Wilson said.
A decorated and talented actor cannot go unnoticed by his teachers and peers, especially when he starred in school plays, such as Michael Kelly in “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” and Banjo in “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” In addition, Wilson was awarded Young Artist Award for Writing and Best Original Script for “Thursday Night Live” in 2013.
“I think Brandon is a talented actor. He has a lot of personality on stage and he has really great comedic timing. He takes what you give him and he builds on it. He creates characters that are funny and corky. I think he’ll grow and make friends really easily so he’s going to really enjoy the atmosphere [at UCLA],” drama teacher Beatrice Casagran said.
