Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with All These Small Moments’ Brendan Meyer

Brendan Meyer is one of the most exciting triple threats in Hollywood—he writes, acts, and directs. Best known for his roles on The OA and T@gged, Brendan is captivating audiences with his commanding, yet vulnerable performance in Melissa B. Miller’s All These Small Moments. He leads an extraordinary cast, which includes Molly Ringwald, Jemima Kirke, Harley Quinn Smith, Brian d’Arcy James, and Sam McCarthy. Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Brendan ahead of its theatrical release.

PC: Tell us about All These Small Moments, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Brendan: All These Small Moments focuses primarily on the Sheffield family at a turning point in their lives. My character, Howie, is dealing with his parents, who are going through a rough patch. He meets this older woman on the bus, who’s in her early 30s. He sees her on the public bus to school every day and is drawn to her, so he wants to know more about her and her story.

All These Small Moments is a combination of that storyline, the parents, and some of Howie’s relationships at school with his friends, particularly with this girl, Lindsay, who he keeps meeting in the library. It’s about all of those different moments.

I was drawn to this project because of the script. I auditioned for the part and then had a Skype session with Melissa, our director, and got to talk to her about the role. Afterwards, I landed the part! I thought it was a really strong script and I loved my conversation with Melissa. When those two things came together, it was pretty exciting.

PC: What was the experience like for you working with a first-time director who’s also the writer of the screenplay?
Brendan: It’s always an added bonus when you can work with someone who wrote the script. Melissa really knew the story inside and out. You could tell she put a lot of thought into even the smallest scenes that she had written.


Yes, she’s a first-time director, but she’s had so much experience in the industry. She was in total command from start to finish. I never felt like I was working with someone who was new at her job.

PC: Howie has a lot of complex relationships within the film. Which was your favorite to explore, and why?
Brendan: That’s an interesting question! They’re all so complex and different. The one that I found the most interesting was probably the one with Odessa, the woman on the bus, played by Jemima Kirke. There was something so interesting about the one-sided relationship. Howie talks to her for a little, but it’s framed through this idealized lens at the start. I don’t want to give too much away, but it certainly changes over time in terms of how he feels about her and the situation as he gets to know her story a little more.


I thought that arc was very, very interesting. I could relate to that idea of seeing something or someone in an idealized form, and then slowly seeing that picture come more and more into focus. You can also see the opposite of that with the parents, as well. Howie slowly starts to become more and more aware of his parents’ flaws and what’s going on with their marriage. It’s interesting: every relationship relates back to the other.

PC: The film centers around all the small moments that shaped the person that Howie becomes. In your own life, what moments have shaped who you are?
Brendan: It’s those moments with my family. I had such a great family growing up. My parents have an incredible marriage and my younger brother is such a great person. Sometimes I say he’s like my older brother, because I actually really look up to him. He has it all together and is such a cool guy.


Those moments with my family really shaped who I am. I was able to watch my parents and brother, and learn from them because they’re so great. My brother and I were homeschooled, so we spent all day, every day together. These moments with my family had such a profound impact on my life.

Make sure to follow Brendan on Twitter and Instagram, and catch All These Small Moments out now in theaters and on VOD.