Brandon Greenawalt-People You Should Know

Fashion, People You Should Know, Style — By Buddy Sampson on June 6, 2014 at 7:39 pm

Keeping His Eyes on the Horizon

The young actor and model walks up to the Starbucks in Marina Del Rey, California. Seemingly impervious to the glances of several ladies, who turn their heads when he walks by, he walks up to an outdoor table to sit down with a journalist. Exuding his natural, but disarming charm and smile, you realize, immediately, that the actor and model, Brandon Greenawalt, has that “it” quality- someone that you know that has all the tools for success- drive, ambition, talent, charisma, confidence and most importantly, humility.

Brandon Greenawalt, of Holtwood, PA, came to Hollywood a mere four months ago and has hit the ground running. You may have seen his face in films such as “American Sniper,” “Paranoia,” and “After Earth.” “I’m playing a ranger and I was star struck right away, I grew up close to Philly and I grew up watching Will Smith, so it wasn’t just being a normal, oh my God, it’s Will Smith,” laughed Brandon Greenawalt. “I loved Will Smith and I still do and he came up to me and said ‘Ranger?’ and he saluted me and I totally lost it. I had one line.” Additionally, in the movie “Paranoia,” he had a dance scene with Amber Heard. The handsome actor, model and fitness buff, signed to the prestigious modeling agencies Wilhelmina Agency New York, and the Ramona Agency New York, has made a number of television appearances, including a surprise visit on the Katie Couric show. “I rapped to Katie,” he laughed. “Katie came over and gave me a huge hug. It was an awesome moment, to be on the Katie Couric show. “

Holtwood, PA, where Brandon grew up, is a town with small town values. Located in Lancaster County, near the city of Lancaster, PA, Holtwood’s big source of notoriety is the Muddy Run Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant. “Lancaster County is very family-oriented and conservative,” said Brandon. “They focus on the little things that matter most in life, like family, gatherings, weddings and not the materialistic. There’s a lot of hard workers, working in the farms, or roofers, or working in construction. There are not many lawyers, doctors or professions like that.” As a result, Brandon, who always desired to be in the entertainment industry, had to commute to bigger cities to pursue his passion. “So I would always drive to Philadelphia for every audition I had or any photo shoot I had,” he explained. “It started to get rough when I had to go to New York and back. I would do whatever it took. Sometimes I’d drive all the way to New York for an audition. It would be a 10 hour day.”

As a child, Brandon developed his true passion, acting. A natural and outgoing kid, he was the class clown. “I sang ‘Johnny Be Good’ in kindergarten,” he laughed. “Every year there was a talent show, and I won the talent show every year in elementary school. I even did the Tom Cruise thing, you know where he slides out in his boxers, and I had the crowd going crazy.” Later, he became an athlete, excelling in football and baseball.

Always ambitious and outgoing, Brandon was viewed as a go-getter. As a result, the prestigious jobs in the small town atmosphere of Holtwood, and in other localities were available to him. He worked for Pal Steel, as an iron worker. “You know that famous picture, of all the iron workers sitting on the beam, having lunch?” he asked. “That’s what I did.” But Brandon knew that he wanted to pursue acting and modeling. He knew he had what it took to be successful in the industry. Of course, there were growing pains. “I quit a full time job where I was going to be a foreman,” he reflected. “The whole family was like ‘oh my God, what are you doing? You could have been a foreman. I said, ‘I can’t live this life anymore.’ I was making great money, but I couldn’t live that life anymore.”

Brandon began to develop his own business, fitness, and with his penchant for hard work and determination, it wasn’t long before he began to see progress. “Within one year I ended up building a gym in my father’s garage and I was up to 30 clients daily, which means 12-14 hours a day and guess what, I started burning out.” Fueled by his desire to act, he decided to roll the dice and move to Los Angeles. But unlike most young promising actors, Brandon knew that study, and the work ethic he developed in Holtwood, would give him a distinct advantage over most.  “Opportunity is at my front door,” said Greenawalt. “I tell everyone if you can’t find work in Los Angeles, you’re either lazy or you’re not working hard enough.”  One of the biggest influences in his life, was his father, Neil Greenawalt, who passed away two years ago. “My Dad was always the number one believer in me,” he said. “When everyone else doubted me, he was like, hey buddy, one day you’ll be in California and I’ll be coming there to you.  He said one day you’ll be in the movies and you’ll be in Calvin Klein. And now, it gives me goose bumps to talk about it, it’s happening. He’d say, Brandon, you can be great at anything you put your mind to, anything you really, really put your mind to, you can do it.’”

A Master Personal trainer, with a certification that took 1000 hours of study, Brandon believes in teaching his clients the value of better food choices and exercise.  “At the end of the day, your clients just want to know what to eat and what to do,” he said. “But if you have to, you do have the knowledge to break it down for them.”

One of Brandon Greenawalt’s life sayings to live by speaks volumes about his character. “I feel like in life, all the pain, all the struggles and challenges that you go through you have to keep your eyes on the horizon and the footsteps along the way,” said the actor/model who is already seeing signs of huge success on the horizon.

Brandon Greenawalt’s humility, charm, wisdom at a young age, drive for success, and “it” quality truly puts him in the prestigious category of one of the People You Should Know.

Visit his website at http://www.brandongreenawalt.com.