Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Trinkets’ Brandon Butler

Fans will recognize Brandon Butler for his role as Scott Reed in 13 Reasons Why. His performance as the multi-layered and often misunderstood jock established Brandon as one of Hollywood’s most dynamic young actors. Currently, he’s showing off another side of his versatility playing the villainous Brady Finch in the AwesomenessTV and Netflix collaboration, Trinkets. Based on a popular novel, the series follows an unexpected friendship that forms between three girls who meet in Shoplifters Anonymous. Pop Culturalist caught up with Brandon to chat about Trinkets and how he prepared to get into his character’s mindset.

Trinkets Questions

PC: Tell us about Trinkets, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Brandon: Trinkets is about three girls who come from different sides of the high school spectrum that meet at Shoplifters Anonymous. Long story short, they become friends and a lot of craziness happens. My character is Brady. He’s very entitled…he thinks he is, at least. He’s dating Tabitha in the show and he’s known to stir up things.

I was drawn to this project because it’s a story that everyone can relate to. There’s friendship, the challenges of high school, and finding your place in the world. The way that we approach the friendships and overall story is something I haven’t seen too much of. I was incredibly fortunate to be a part of it. I’m very proud of the show.

PC: The series is based off a novel. Were you familiar with the source material and how faithful is this adaptation?
Brandon: I was definitely familiar with Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and her work. I intentionally didn’t read the book because I wanted to make Brady my own. I knew that the characters were going to be loosely based off the book, but that the writers, Kiwi, and that whole team were going to put a new spin on it. We definitely cover some of the same topics that are in the book, but it’s more loosely based off it. The scripts and episodes stand on their own. I didn’t want to try to copy or prepare myself for what the book may have.

PC: Brady emerges as the villain in this series. How did you approach playing him?
Brandon: It was tough! It’s such a small cast and we all got along really well. Whenever we had time off, we would always hang out, but I had to be able to turn that switch on to play Brady and pretend we weren’t friends. It was all in the mindset. Music really helped me get into character—I listened to certain songs before a scene if I had to be really angry or portray a certain type of emotion. It helped me get into the zone.

PC: How much of Brady’s backstory were you given? Will we see him have any redeeming qualities or is his strictly this villainous character?
Brandon: That’s a great question! There wasn’t too much talk as far as what Brady’s background may be. Our writers are fantastic, though, so if we’re lucky enough to get a second season, I’m excited to see where they take him. We did discuss that there has to be some good qualities in Brady, otherwise Tabitha is too smart to stay with him; she’d just leave. His anger and jealousy just get the best of him. I’d love to see Brady have a redeeming moment, but who knows?

PC: Brady and Tabitha have a complicated relationship. What was the most challenging part about bringing that to life?
Brandon: A lot of the scenes between Brady and Tabitha were intense; they were always fighting. Communication was key between Quintessa and I. They were great to work with. It was a lot of us talking about what we were comfortable with. We got to know each other personally, which allowed us to get more comfortable with one another from the get-go.

PC: You got your big break on 13 Reasons Why. What did you learn from that experience that you were able to apply over to Trinkets?
Brandon: Oh, wow! I learned a lot. I’m still relatively new and am always learning and trying to get better. On 13 Reasons Why, I was wide-eyed—I was really observant and looking at how everyone handled themselves, how they’d prepared, and stuff like that. It was a lot of fun, but you have to remember it’s also a job. You have to be prepared. Everyone was so close on 13 Reasons Why and had each other’s back, no questions about it.

I tried to bring the teamwork and friendship that the 13 Reasons Why cast had over to Trinkets. I wanted to make sure everyone felt comfortable. I tried to speak to everyone as much as possible. The first night we all hung out, we knew it was a smaller cast, so we all went out for drinks and bonded.

PC: Both shows tackle tough subject matters. How do you decompress after a long day of filming?
Brandon: For me, it was a lot of The Office. I needed some kind of comedic pick-me-up, especially in those scenes where my character is very unlikeable.

PC: Were you able to draw any parallels between Scott, who you play on 13 Reasons Why, and Brady?
Brandon: That’s an interesting question! I don’t know if there are any parallels between the two except that they’re both athletes. Scott is misunderstood. At the beginning, you think he’s one way, but by the end you realize he isn’t.

PC: The season finale of Trinkets leaves things pretty open-ended. Where would you like to see your character’s arc head if it gets picked up for a second season?
Brandon: Yeah! The writers left things wide open for so many characters. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Like you said, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Honestly, our writers are fantastic and I trust them completely. It’s fun to see Brady in some sort of drama or trouble, but it’d be equally as exciting to see him have a redeeming quality.

Career Questions

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Brandon: It’s a funny story. Growing up, I was the diehard sports guy. I played baseball, basketball, you name it. Then I went and saw a Harry Potter movie with my mom, grandmother, and my brother; it was the Sorcerer’s Stone. At the time, I didn’t know too much about Harry Potter—I was only seven or eight—but my mom and grandma read all the books. I remember going to see it and I wanted to do what Harry Potter [Daniel Radcliffe] was doing. My grandma and mom were like, “You want to go to Hogwarts?” I was like, “No, no, no. I want to do whatever he’s doing. I want to act!” Oddly enough, I guess the first installment of Harry Potter got me interested in acting. After seeing the film, I told my mom I wanted to be on the stage and silver screen. So, I did theatre locally in downtown Chicago. After I graduated high school, I went to L.A. to give acting a try.

I was actually supposed to go play college baseball. I had a scholarship and offer, but I decided to move out to L.A. to give this acting thing a shot. It was what my heart wanted. I figured if nothing good comes of it, at least I could say I gave it a shot.

PC: How challenging was that decision to forego the scholarship to pursue this other dream that you had?
Brandon: It was super tough. I remember there were times when I would travel to play a baseball game in the afternoon and have to rush back for a dress rehearsal. I grew up juggling both. I had my sports friends and I had my theatre friends. I had this voice in my head telling me that I had to give acting a shot: “If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. You can always say you tried.” That was always my mindset. There wasn’t too much pressure, but it was a big decision. I listened to my gut and thankfully my parents have always been super supportive. I don’t know what I would do without them. I’m glad I listened to my gut.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Brandon: That’s a really good question! I can’t think of one right now…maybe Entourage? No, let’s go with Friends.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Brandon: Newsies

PC: Favorite book?
Brandon: The first book that popped in my head was Derek Jeter’s biography. I read it back in high school and did a paper on it. It’s about his life and how he handles himself with a quiet confidence. That’s something I’d like to have in my life. His morals and what he stands for really spoke to me.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Brandon: Hands down, Grease!

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Brandon: Paul Klein from LANY

PC: Hidden talent?
Brandon: I don’t know…sports? I grew up playing baseball and basketball competitively. I feel like that’s such a boring answer. [laughs]

To keep up with Brandon, follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and catch Trinkets now on Netflix.