Andrew Jacob Brown began studying the craft of writing in 2007 and went on to write his first novel “Haven: The Fate of the Four Races” in 2012, which soon went on to win two book festival awards in the same year. But it was his love for movies and Old Testament battle stories in the Bible that inspired him to learn the craft of screenwriting. In 2013-14, he won two straight contest awards with his script “In Debt Deep,” and the script was optioned. In 2016, he made his first short film “Moriah,” which was a gold winner in the 2017 Neo Noir Film Festival. Then in 2018, Andrew changed his focus, wanting to create family friendly, faith-based action-thrillers.
He launched his production company, Confound Productions, and filmed 5 multi-award-winning feature films in 4 years. He released 2 films just this year in 2023 – “Before it Happened” and “Piercing Wounds,” both are available on Amazon and Tubi TV. As his production company has grown and started to take off, so did his acting, winning 4 Best Actor Awards and 3 Nominations. Andrew is now represented by the Brock Agency.
FMM: What led you to act?
I think I always had it in me as a kid, I just didn’t know it. But as I got older, it was the love of telling stories that brought it to light. I started out as a writer in 2007, wrote a novel, and then not long after I transitioned into writing screenplays. I found that screenwriting was more of my niche. I began to do very well, winning a few screenwriting awards early on, and then I had one script optioned called “In Debt Deep.” But the film was never made. It was 2015 when I decided to invest in my own filmmaking equipment and study the craft. I took everything that I learned from writing, and from my discipline in martial arts (but that’s another story), and used it as a foundation to learn to create film. I often tell people that the price that I had to pay is, “Time”. Countless hours of it.
Then after launching my production company, Confound Productions, I shot an award-winning short film and an award-winning micro budget feature in one year. And after playing a supporting role in my first feature, I was ready to step into the acting world full-time. My first Lead role was in “Covid 19 Response”, and I was nominated Best Lead Actor at the biggest Christian film festival in the country – The International Christian Film Festival. Then I was a Lead in “Family First,” “Before it Happened” and “Piercing Wounds,” all in which I was blessed to win Best Actor awards in multiple festivals. Having only been in 5 features, my resume has grown to 18 wins and 14 nominations, which opened the doors to getting an agent and opportunities to work on other people’s projects. And I believe it’s all because of the grace of God. Acting is my ultimate goal and dream. And now that I’m living it, I want to reach the highest level to inspire others and honor God.
FMM: Your script, In Debt Deep won several awards. Tell us about it and why you believe it resonated with audiences.
It was interesting because I wrote it in 2013, at a time when we didn’t see a whole lot of strong female leads. And I just thought it would be cool to have a female lead character with MMA skills, tough as nails, get thrown into an underground fight circuit and have to fight strong brute men to pay off a debt for her niece. And this main character is suicidal, and the only thing keeping her alive is her niece. So I just think a combination of an interesting character and being a female lead, people got engrossed into the story. And I was blessed to win at the 2014 Nashville Film Festival and the 2013 World Series of Screenwriting Contest.
FMM: What do you look for in a role?
I tend to take the military, detective or characters with attitude. Characters that are jerks are a lot of fun. I have to laugh a little bit, because it’s true. I like those characters because it gives me a chance to transform into something that I’m not. To explore something different.
I like drama, I like action scenes and I like story. If there’s a great story with an interesting character that I think I can pull off, I’ll go after it. I’m just looking for someone to give me the opportunity to prove myself 🙂
FMM: Tell us about Confound Productions.
Acting is hard enough. Landing a role is even harder. I’d have to say that I’m fortunate to have Confound Productions, because it gives me creative control to create great characters and make films that give me an opportunity as an actor. And I’m fortunate to have gone the route of learning the craft of writing first. Spending those countless hours studying and having that as a backbone really has been one of the main reasons for the success that I’ve had with my films. I believe the success is all in the writing, and I say that humbly. And another layer of the success is that I have a good support system and a good team, and without them, my films wouldn’t be a success. It really does take a village as they say. You gotta have a good team, and people that will compliment you in your work.
We have been really blessed to have won multiple festival awards, and honestly, I give God all the credit on that. Our goal is to just get better with every film, and I believe we have. One of the amazing things that I’ve seen is that we’ve had so many different kind of awards, and so many people that have been a part of my films have been blessed by it. We’ve had best actor, best actress, best feature, best supporting, best cinematography, fight choreography, ensemble cast, best director, best villain, best teen actress, best child actress — it’s crazy. Like I said before, it’s all very humbling. We’re just trying to do our best and we’ve been fortunate. And we pray that we continue with that success.
FMM: This year you released, “Before it Happened” and “Piercing Wounds. What was your inspiration for these films?
“Before it Happened” is a faith-based film with a powerful ending that is meant to get people to rethink their lives. And I can’t go into detail on that, you’ll have to watch the film. It’s on Tubi TV and it’s on YouTube with 333K views and climbing. But it was inspired by the days we live in. People have been through a lot in last few years with covid, with money problems and family problems. And I wanted to make a film that gave some perspective on life and what we strive for in this life, and maybe for some people, it would give inspiration and hope.
“Piercing Wounds” is an action-love story. And I always wanted to incorporate an action film with a love story. It was just a thought that I had, what if John Wick was in a Nicholas Sparks novel? And that’s how Piercing Wounds was born. I wish there was a more exciting conclusion on how I got there, but that’s it. And so far, it was the most fun I had filming a feature film as a whole. I was so blessed with an amazing cast, every actor showed up and gave a hundred and ten percent. We shot the film in 12 days, and by the end of it, I had new family members. Since the release this year, this film has been doing very well on Tubi Tv and Amazon, and we couldn’t be happier.
FMM: Who would you like to work with?
I’d be happy to work with and learn from any of the great legendary actors in this industry. But there are a few that’s on my bucket list.
Denzel Washington and Mel Gibson are two of the greats that I watched closely growing up. And they both direct film, I would love to work with them, whether it’s being directed by them or act in a scene along with them. Another is Keanu Reeves. My daughter and I have a common bond when it comes to Keanu. We enjoy watching his movies together, and he is her favorite actor. And because of my martial arts background, I’d love to do a fight scene with him.
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Confound Productions