“I have to embrace change. It’s required for me to grow. Change is required of all of us to grow.”
At the start of the school year in primary school, we can remember being asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? Brad James confesses he always drew blank and never had a direct answer to that question. He could recount a list of all the things he imagined he would be, inclusive of a secret agent, attorney and surgeon, but could not settle on just one. As the universe pulled him into the profession of acting, James now realizes this was divine. “Acting is perfect for me. It allows for me to be all of the things I wanted to be when I was growing up, what profession allows you to do that?” James asks.
Born of mixed heritage but reared as a person of color, Brad James hails from Augusta, Georgia, a small town 45 minutes away from Atlanta. The town was too small for his big dreams and he later relocated to Atlanta. While seeking his dreams on the big screen, he acknowledges that he has tangoed with the lines of how he identifies himself and the influences that effect how he is viewed as an actor. “I am a man. I am a black man and I am all of these things before I am an actor,” states James.
In a virtual time machine, he recalls enlisting into the United States Marine Corp, working as a waiter and even a door-to-door salesman as the humbling work experiences before connecting with acting. Each job opportunity plays a huge role in his professionalism and appreciation for acting as his past experiences keep him humble. The former Marine officer turned heartthrob actor transitioned from training on battlefields into homes and hearts around the globe. “When I left Marine bootcamp, it was like leaving a hostage situation,” he says jokingly. “The sun looked different when I got out. I learned some life skills, but that experience taught me to be appreciative for my opportunity as an actor.”
The self-professed novice thespian accepts that he has been granted access into his dream and cherishes the moments that make his career journey surreal. “Every moment on this journey is a big moment. I have these moments that happen all the time. I don’t know if there is one singular time, but I realize there will be more of these. Every time something new and exciting happens I have a moment. When strangers stop you, especially the ones you don’t expect, like an old Asian couple, I have one of those moments.”
With a tone of modesty, Brad defines his personal successes and love for his craft. “I feel successful because I am on a journey that enables me to love everyday. Being successful means I am doing exactly what I set out to do. Being successful means I’ve made a decision and now I’m carrying it out,” says James. In this moment of truth, he ends with saying, “The fact that I can wake up everyday knowing that I am doing what I set out to do, that’s success to me.
Tune in to the new season of Tyler Perry’s For Better, For Worse weeknights on OWN Network.