When it comes to the ‘Why’ question of acting, actors have all different kinds of answers. For some, they’d been acting in school plays and local theatre since they were in school. They always knew they wanted to be listed as an actor. For others, they went to school for something else, maybe even started careers doing something totally different, before they realized acting was their passion.
Hallmark star Brendan Penny had no thought of becoming an actor as he grew up, nor had he ever tried acting. But somehow, his dad had an inkling that it was something his son would succeed at.
The $193 One-Way Ticket That Launched Brendan Penny’s Acting Career
“I didn’t become an actor until my early 20s,” Penny told the “Deck the Hallmark” podcast. However, once he decided to do it, he made certain that he couldn’t change his mind.
“I figured if I was going to give this a shot, I couldn’t have a safety net,” he continued. “So I moved to Vancouver. I just got a one-way ticket from WestJet at the time, which I still remember was $193. And I had, I think, like $3000 saved up.”
When asked what sparked his desire to be an actor at 22, he gave a surprising answer.
“My dad told me to. That was it,” the “More the Merrier” star revealed. “I had zero idea. It was my dad; my dad said I should go do that.”
Brendan Penny Kept Going After Teachers Called His Audition the Worst They’d Seen
Despite his dad’s gut instinct that his son should be an actor, it took Penny a while to find his footing in the industry. He recalled being at a gym and overhearing Canadian actor Kevin Durand and a woman discussing acting. He walked up and joined the conversation, stating, “Hey, I’m new, and I want to be an actor.” While Durand went back to his workout, the woman offered some advice.
She told him that he should go to acting school. Then she sent him to a school where her friends were doing scene studies, and he auditioned.
“When I was done, one teacher looked at the other and said, ‘That was the worst audition I’ve ever seen in my life,'” Penny recalled. “The other lady said, ‘I don’t even know what that was supposed to be.'”
Despite their lack of confidence, he was determined to become an actor. “I said, ‘Look, if you let me in, I promise I’ll work harder than anyone,'” the “Wedding Cottage” star told them.
For the next four to five years, he worked three jobs while studying acting, slowly improving.
“I was just so obsessed with acting and getting better and trying to learn,” Penny said. “It was a slow start, but eventually things clicked.”
