Brandon Tyler Sklenar (born June 26, 1990) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films Mapplethorpe, Vice (both 2018), Midway (2019), and It Ends with Us (2024). He is also known for his role as Spencer Dutton in the Paramount+ Western series 1923 (2022–2023).
Early life and education
Sklenar was born and raised in Northern New Jersey.[1][2] His parents are Bruce Feakins and Francine Sklenar.[citation needed] His mother is of Czechoslovakian descent.[citation needed] Sklenar left New Jersey after high school and moved to Los Angeles, working odd jobs until he was signed by a manager at the age of 20.[2]
Career
Sklenar made his professional film debut in the 2011 film, Cornered. The following year, he appeared in the television series Dating Rules from My Future Self. He then appeared in the film Chance, in 2014,[3] the NBC comedy series Truth Be Told, in 2015, the films Hunky Dory and Bella Donna,[4] and the television series Fall into Me, in 2016, a lead role in the American-Japanese horror film Temple[5][6][7][8] and the Fox sitcom series, New Girl, in 2017.[9]
He was then cast as Edward Mapplethorpe in the 2018 biographical drama film Mapplethorpe, which follows the life of New York photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.[10] It screened at Tribeca Film Festival, in 2018,[11][12][13] where it was named a runner-up in the U.S. Narrative Competition section.[14][15] Sklenar received positive critical acclaim from multiple media outlets for his performance in Mapplethorpe, including from Boy Culture, who praised him for "[having] maximum impact in [his] psychologically charged scenes with [Matt] Smith"[16] He appeared in the 2018 biographical drama film, Vice, opposite Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Sam Rockwell. The film explores the life of politician Dick Cheney and is directed by Academy Award-winner Adam McKay. Sklenar then appeared in Amir Naderi's film Magic Lantern, in addition to films The Last Room and Glass Jaw.[17] In June 2018, Sklenar was also cast in the independent drama film Indigo Valley, which is based on director Jaclyn Bethany's short film of the same name. That same year, Sklenar was cast as the lead antagonist in The Big Ugly, a noir crime thriller that weaves the British gangster genre with the American Western, opposite Ron Perlman, Malcolm McDowell, Nicholas Braun and Leven Rambin.[18] For his work in the film as Junior Lawford, Sklenar received wide critical praise. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times stated, "Brandon Sklenar gives a screen-popping performance as Junior; he's fantastic as a monster cloaked in a James Dean persona."[19]
He then starred in the independent film Jonesin' – a crime comedy about a moonshiner who, after a case of mistaken identity, gets abducted and finds himself stuck in the city between two rival gangs.[20]
