Brandon T. Jackson has always been a stand-up comedian at heart, though he is more well-known for his acting. In fact, Jackson was doing stand-up routines long before he ever appeared in any movies. Unfortunately, his film career got in the way. “Every time I went to do a stand-up comedy special, my agent would pull me in a movie,” he explained to The Koalition Entertainment, “and I wouldn’t turn down the movie because, I mean, why would you?”
Yet despite his success in Hollywood, Jackson still felt incomplete. In the same interview, Jackson recalled that when he was in New York filming “Deadbeat,” he spent every spare moment on the New York comedy scene. “After [shooting], I would go right to the comedy clubs,” he said. He describes this moment as a low point in his life, since he was watching instead of performing, but he also credits it for rekindling his love of stand-up comedy.
Jackson still acts in the occasional movie, such as the independently-produced “Trap City.” In fact, he is glad that he has one foot in each medium, because it means he can do a stand-up routine one day and a serious drama film the next. “You [can] be a Michael B. Jordan and an Eddie Murphy,” Jackson told The Koalition Entertainment. Still, it’s clear that stand-up is where Jackson’s passion lies. He told The Interrobang, “I did a lot of movies, but okay I’m grown now and I wanted to step back into stand-up.”
