Brandon Makkole DeShazer (born January 2, 1984 in Racine, Wisconsin) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

Biography

Early life

DeShazer was born in Racine, Wisconsin to singer Bruce DeShazer i.e. Tony Christian guitarist of Prince protege group Mazarati (1986) of The Wild Pair and mother Brenda Buchanan. He is of African American and French-Creole and Native American descent. He grew up in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

and attended

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

Career

Acting career

At the age of 7, DeShazer was offered his first television role on a developing kids show on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

called '' Get Real!''. DeShazer remained on the show for two seasons before working as a catalogue model for department stores like

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

Mervyns Mervyn's was an American middle-scale department store chain based in Hayward, California, and founded by Mervin G. Morris (1920–2021). It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, ...

, and

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...

. DeShazer took to stage acting in high school where he attended Wauwatosa West High School in Wisconsin. Landing leading roles such as the controversial Emcee in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'', Brandon was recognized for his abilities at the 2000-2001 Ilium Awards in which he was awarded Best Actor and Best Dancer. Around the same time Brandon was offered his first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

role in ''Virginia Jack'' ( Sundance), where he played a pompous car technician named Rich. As the roles kept presenting themselves, Brandon found himself working with "A" class actors such a

Bernie Mac Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...

and Angela Bassett in '' Mr. 3000'' (Touchstone/Disney) in which he plays a reporter turned #1 fan. Since then, he also has found himself working with

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

and Clive Owen in ''DERAILED'', and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

and

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

in the comedy ''Stranger than Fiction''. DeShazer's has appeared in independent dramas, "Thacker Case" and "Diary of a Champion."

Career in modeling

DeShazer began modeling at a young age, appearing first in catalogues as a child. In 2002, the then 17-year-old signed with Arlene Wilson's Modeling Agency. DeShazer has since worked with the top modeling agencies Ford Models Management, AW Management, Wehmann Modeling Agency and is currently signed with Ford Models in Los Angeles. He has appeared in numerous advertisements, including

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

Zegna Zegna () is an Italian luxury fashion house. It was founded in 1910 by Ermenegildo Zegna in Trivero, Biella of the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. As of 2021, the Group is a public company. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Hist ...

, Deisel, and

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; colloquially Saks) is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street shopping district of Washington ...

as well as gracing the pages of top magazines ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', and ''

In Touch Weekly ''In Touch Weekly'' is an American celebrity gossip magazine. The magazine is focused on celebrity news, fashion, beauty, relationships and lifestyle, and is geared towards a younger readership, billing itself as "fast and fun", along with making ...

''. DeShazer now resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Filmography

* '' Friends & Lovers'' * '' Shifter'' (2008) * '' The Thacker Case'' (2008) -O'Brien * ''

Surfer, Dude ''Surfer, Dude'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by S.R. Bindler and starring Matthew McConaughey. Woody Harrelson claims the film is the most "non-work" he has ever done. McConaughey and Harrelson, who previously appeared together in ''ED ...

'' (2008) * '' Producing The Hood'' (2007) - Derek * '' Double Pleasure, Double Pain'' (2006) - Doug * ''

BloodBound Bloodbound is a Swedish power metal band formed in 2004 in Bollnäs. History They released their first studio album, ''Nosferatu'', in 2005 and their second, ''Book of the Dead'', in May 2007. The brainchild of former Street Talk members Fr ...

'' (2006) - Hugh * '' Stranger than Fiction'' (2006) * '' Mr. 3000'' (2003) – Press Box Reporter * ''Virginia Jack'' (2002) – Rich

Television

* '' Days of Our Lives'' (2008) * ''

Dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a gener ...

'' (2007) * '' Prison Break'' (2005) * '' 1/4life'' (2004) * '' Get Real!'' (1991) - Co-host * "

Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...

" (2012) * "

" (2013) * "

" (2014) * "

" (2015)

Music videos

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

's "Tambourine" * Jennifer Lopez's "Doin it Well"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deshazer, Brandon 1984 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Male models from Wisconsin African-American male actors American people of Creole descent Male actors from Milwaukee People from Racine, Wisconsin Marquette University alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people