Interview With “The Chi” Star Brian King! (@BKing15)

We recently had the chance to chat with “The Chi” star Brian King. During the interview, Brian talked about getting his start in the entertainment industry, his role on “The Chi”, upcoming projects, and more!
1. How did you get your start in the entertainment industry?
I dabbled in acting in high school for a very short stint my senior year and studied it in college for a year. After college I started out working as a writer in advertising. And with smaller projects where we didn’t have the budget I would write things with my buddy where we would act in them. The more they worked, the more we got to do them. I then started writing little things outside of work to star in, shoot myself and from there it snowballed. So I decided to take it more seriously and
got some head shots, auditioned for a play, got the play, sent out head shots, met with agents, got an agent and next thing you know I had an agent and was auditioning. After a year of not booking one role, I booked a Budweiser Beer commercial and from there just kept on working. I’ve been creative all my life, but not until after college did I realize this is something I could like really do.
2. How did you land your role in “The Chi”?
I actually landed the role of Detective Bill Wallace from a self-tape I did in my living room about a year ago, last March. It was a Monday afternoon and I had a friend FaceTime me from L.A. to read the other lines. I didn’t have much time to get it done. So we did it and I sent it off and forgot about it. And about a week later I heard they were interested. Usually there’s a callback for a part this big, but that
didn’t happen. And a another week later I was driving and got a call from my agent saying the part was mine. Hahaha…I pulled over and got a little emotional. Then called my my family to tell them and no one was answering their phones. It was kind of funny hahaha…
3. What is the show about?
The show is about the Southside of Chicago. In recent years the news/media is constantly reporting the about high number of murders and deaths in these neighborhoods. Our show focuses on one of those deaths, the death of a high school basketball star, and how that incident kicks off a chain of events that effect an entire community, giving a us a a closer, more realistic look at the all the people in these neighborhoods, not just the ones reported on the news.
4. What character do you play?
I play Detective Bill Wallace. One of two detectives in our story. The other is Detivie Cruz played by the awesome Armando Riesco.
5. What do you think makes the show different from other shows?
I don’t think there is a show like ours out there. The characters and stories of our show take you into a placeĀ TV hasn’t really gone before. Although we start with the death of a teenage boy, our creators and writers are introducing you to some amazingly relatable characters, with real problems, dilemmas and situations straight from real life. And they’re presenting it with a very beautifully palette backed by awesome music. That all sounds easy, but I think that’s hard to achieve in today’s TV world and do it well.
6. Do you have any other upcoming projects
I have a movie coming out this fall I have a nice little part in called “Widows” starring Viola Davis and Liam Neeson and directed by Steve McQueen.
7. What are your social media accounts?
Instagram: @thesonofbozo
Twitter: @bking15