THEATER
Brandon Kyle Goodman on Black Lives
Gay actor, writer has Netfl ix movie, writes for “Big Mouth”
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Out gay actor and writer
Brandon Kyle Goodman
is not taking a back seat
in the fi ght for equality
and has been using his platform to
help others understand why black
lives matter.
Born and raised in Queens, after
graduating from the Tisch School
of Arts at New York University and
spending time in a sketch comedy
group with fellow NYU alumni,
Goodman moved to Los Angeles,
where he lives with his husband.
Like New York, Los Angeles is facing
daily protests in response to
the murder of George Floyd by police
in Minneapolis.
“It was crazy for a couple of
days here,” said Goodman. “They
lifted the curfew last Wednesday.
A friend of mine lives out in Santa
Monica and their curfew was
at 4 p.m. They decided to change
it in the middle of the day at one
point — my friend’s husband is biracial
and was still working when
the change came. I think it’s been
madness just trying to fi gure out
the information.”
As a Black gay man in Hollywood,
Goodman felt it was important to
use his platforms to help “move the
needle forward” and educate the
public. He began posting videos to
his Instagram (@BrandonKGood)
explaining his experiences as a
Black man in America.
“For me, the thought was, ‘I can’t
sit here and do nothing,’ so I began
researching, reading, donating so
I can begin to educate the people
in my life,” said Goodman. “I hope
that I’m adding to the conversation.”
Since he began posting the videos,
Goodman has watched his
Instagram following grow by more
than 40,000. One video in particular
addressing why white people
might be feeling guilt, shame, and
embarrassment at this moment in
time amassed two million views on
Instagram.
My thoughts on why at this
time you might be feeling guilty,
ashamed, and embarrassed and
Brandon Kyle Goodman.
what to do about it.
A post shared by Brandon Kyle
Goodman (@brandonkgood) on
Jun 2, 2020 at 3:56pm PDT
“I had a friend come to me saying
that her husband watched my
video and fi nally understood his
privilege,” said Goodman. “The
videos are helping people piece it
together as well as piecing together
white privilege and allyship and
showing up for black lives.”
Goodman is starring in the new
movie “Feel the Beat,” which is
set to premiere on Netfl ix on June
19. The fi lm follows April, an outof
work actress played by Sofi a
Carson, who returns to her small
hometown after failing to fi nd success
on Broadway and is soon recruited
to train a misfi t group of
young dancers for a big competition.
Goodman stars as April’s
neighbor Deco, an outspoken queer
man who shows April support as
she readjusts to her new life.
For Goodman, the character
helped him grow and be able to become
more vocal in the Black Lives
Matter movement.
“Deco is so fearless in a way that
I have never been in expressing his
INSTAGRAM/ @BRANDONKGOOD
blackness and his queerness,” said
Goodman. “I took that fearless he
had with me. That’s why I’m speaking
out, I’m still so inspired by his
fearlessness.”
Goodman also appreciates the
representation that his character
will bring to the screen, citing that
he never really saw Black queer
characters in media when he was
growing up.
“In the movie, it’s never acknowledged
that he’s queer or Black, he’s
just there,” said Goodman. “I hope
it means a lot to people, especially
for everyone else who is struggling
to fi nd diversity and representation.
We have this Black queer
character in a kilt in a family fi lm.
I wish I could have seen that growing
up.”
However, there is still a lot of
work to be done to make these
characters more three-dimensional
and make them the leads in the
artistic performances
“I hope that these characters
can get the opportunity to have the
main storyline,” said Goodman.
“As a queer Black man, there are
other facets of my existence besides
my race and sexuality. I hope
that we can start to see that in fi lm
and on TV.”
Goodman has also found success
writing for the popular animated
Netfl ix series “Big Mouth.”
Goodman and his literary rep had
been shopping around a pilot that
he had written about his own life
when it landed in the “Big Mouth”
writers’ room. After meeting with
some of the “Big Mouth” team and
Nick Kroll, one of the show’s creators,
Goodman was given a spot
writing for the cartoon’s fourth
season.
“It was the best Christmas gift
that I could have received,” said
Goodman.
Given how long it takes to makes
a season of “Big Mouth” (the animation
extends the time to about
a year and a half), Goodman said
that the new season, which is set
to release this year, may not address
current events around the
Black Lives Matter movement right
away.
However, he added that there is
an episode that explores Mindy, a
young bi-racial character in “Big
Mouth,” coming to terms with being
Black and what that means for
her.
“There’s a special episode in season
four where Mindy is starting to
reckon with questions like, ‘What
is blackness?’ and what her blackness
is for her,” said Goodman.
“The episode deals with things
like code-switching and looks at
some interesting things inside of
race. The episode was written by
Jak Knight, and it’s going to be so
healing and refreshing and beautiful
to see. Given everything that’s
going on, it’s going to be a special
episode.”
To Goodman, it’s important that
people speak out more now than
ever before, and actively participate
in knowing that Black lives
matter.
“We need to do everything in
our power to amplify that message
and get into all the actions needed
to take to make sure that black
people are not murdered in this
country and our lives matter,” said
Goodman.
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