Brandon Hardesty
Template:Infobox Internet celebrity Brandon Hardesty (born 1987) is an American comedic performer and actor noted for his YouTube fame.[1] Hardesty posts original comedy videos as well as "uncanny" recreations of scenes from movies, playing every part himself. The Village Voice writer Julian Dibbell has called his works "Web culture at its finest."[2]
YouTube
On YouTube, Hardesty goes by the username "ArtieTSMITW," which is an abbreviation for "Artie: The Strongest Man in the World," a character from one of his favorite childhood shows, The Adventures of Pete and Pete. His most popular videos are his Re-enactment videos, in which he chooses a movie scene, and re-enacts it himself, playing all the characters. Another popular series is Strange Faces and Noises I Can Make, in which he goes through a series of making noises and faces. He also parodied the trailer for Two Girls One Cup with "1 guy 1 lunchable" video.
To date, Hardesty has had five of his videos featured on the front page of YouTube: his reenactment of a scene from The Princess Bride, his reenactment of a scene from Uncle Buck, a video dubbed "Three Impressions" which features three of Brandon's celebrity impersonations, his "Strange Faces and Noises I Can Make III" video, which has had over 4 million views, and a video entitled "The 30-Second Video". Hardesty is currently the 25th most subscribed and 13th most viewed comedian on the popular video sharing website, YouTube.[citation needed]
In April 2007, Geico Auto Insurance used "Strange Faces and Noises I Can Make III" in their television commercial. After a portion of the video plays, apparently on a computer screen, a narrator says, "There may be better ways to spend 15 minutes online." Hardesty's Strange Faces and Noises I Can Make video was parodied in the MTV sketch show Human Giant. In the sketch, Aziz Ansari portrayed a character who made a similar funny faces video like Hardesty's.
Acting career
Hardesty was contracted to play a supporting role in the independent film Bart Got a Room, released in 2008. Actors in the film include Steven Kaplan (Danny), William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines, Alia Shawkat, and Chad Jamian Williams as Bart. This marks the third known occasion in which a YouTube user has made a direct transition into film acting, the first being Naathan Phan (a.k.a. SungHero) who was cast for a featured role in Superbad and second being Cory Williams (a.k.a. Mr. Safety from SMP Films) in his feature role in Faded Memories set to release in Spring 2008.[citation needed]
In February 2008, Brandon was featured on five episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in which he re-enacted a scene from all of the movies nominated for Best Picture in the 80th Academy Awards.
In March 2008, Brandon announced in a Youtube video that he had signed with the acting agency Endeavor.
In June 2008, Brandon announced on his official website that he was cast for a role in the film Kid Cannabis, which is set to begin filming in late 2008 and will be released in 2009. The film is being directed by John Stockwell, who also adapted and directed Blue Crush in 2002.
See also
References
- ^ Russel, Jacob Hale "Filming in his basement, a rising comic talent takes on Hollywood", The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2007
- ^ Julian Dibbell (April 10 2006). "Reel Homage: Consider the curious art of remaking Hollywood, on the Web". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
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Notes
- Robbins, Mary T. "Scene Stealer" Northeast Reporter. 21 April 2006. 1 September 2007.
- Taylor, Lauren. "The Mug Meister: Parkville's Youtube hero, Brandon Hardesty, is in a Geico commercial" Baltimore Messenger. 8 August 2007. 1 September 2007.
- Bell, Eric. Brandon Hardesty recommended. 15 September 2007.