Actor Brandon Sklenar On His Career And Finding ‘It Ends With Us’

Based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, the emotional yet empowering story of It Ends With Us arrives in movie theaters on August 9. Starring Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate, It Ends With Us tells the powerful story of Lily Bloom (Lively), from her experiences as a teenager into adulthood, with a universal theme about the choices we make that can break one free from repeating history.

Sklenar, 34, plays Atlas, the object of Lily’s affection during her teenage years. When they unexpectedly reunite years later, the two must navigate through past trauma and figure out what their deep connection can ultimately be, when the dust settles.

You may have already seen Sklenar before It Ends With Us. He continues to play the brooding yet wildly resourceful Spencer Dutton on Taylor Sheridan’s expanding Yellowstone origin series, 1923, on Paramount Plus.

So, with a hit show and a much-anticipated movie in his wheelhouse, I sat down with Sklenar, so that the world can properly get to know this insightful and talented actor on the rise.

Jeff Conway: First of all, can you tell me a little bit about your upbringing, Brandon, and how you got to this point in your life, now making major motion pictures and a television series?

Brandon Sklenar: I grew up in northern New Jersey and I pretty much until I was 13-14 wanted to become an actor. I told my father when I was 14 – As soon as I graduate high school, I’m going to move to LA and be an actor. He said, “Well, at least try to go to college.”

I did – I tried to go to community college for about six months. I mean, I just left – I didn’t tell anybody. I just left, packed up the car in the middle of the night and drove out to California two months after I graduated high school and never looked back, and started studying and doing odd jobs – construction for a long time, worked as an extra – background actor on things and whatnot, and got the ball rolling.

Conway: Brandon, how did the film development for It Ends With Us first get on your radar, and what was it about the talks you had and what you learned about Atlas that made you want to say “yes” to this project?

Sklenar: Well, it’s funny – I had actually just finished filming the first part of 1923. It was very intense and I was away from home for about five months. It was the first time I had done something like that, where I was gone for that long. It was really jarring because we were in Africa, so you’re 9-11 hours ahead and you can’t really communicate with anybody and we shot six days a week. I’m eternally grateful for it for the rest of my life, but it was emotionally challenging. I’m a home body – I love to be home with my partner and my dog and my house. The irony is I have a job that takes me everywhere, which I love, too. It’s a weird dichotomy.

I was in a position at the time before the [SAG-AFTRA] strike, I was under the impression I’d have to leave very soon to start the second part of 1923. I wasn’t trying to work at all because it was more important to me to be at home and re-establish my connection to home and everything – and then casting had reached out to me to read for the role. I respectfully said, I’m good. They just kept knocking on the door and eventually they said, “Why don’t you just Zoom with [director/co-star] Justin and talk to him?”

After speaking with him, over the course of the call, I learned what this book was. I wasn’t aware of the book and became aware of the book, and came aware of his intentions behind making the film and how important it was. I have someone in my life who’s very close to me who has gone through pretty much exactly what Lily has gone through, so it immediately, once I came aware of the story and its cultural impact and how many women it has helped, it just felt like something I had to do.

Conway: This film centers around some very heavy subject matters, including abuse, mental health, thoughts of suicide and more. How did you as an actor approach material like this with respect, devotion and realism as much as possible, even though you are in fact acting and playing a character?

Sklenar: I love doing prep and I love getting inside these characters. With Atlas, when I read it, I was like, Well, I’ve never played a character I’m more similar to. I haven’t fought in the war but there was a time when I was a kid that I wanted to kill myself and was very close to doing it a couple times. I’ve dealt with that – and depression and gone through that. I think the way he looks at the world and his perspective is very similar to mine and his vibe is very similar to mine. I feel like I didn’t really have to do much, so for this, I kind of went the other way. Instead of like muddying the waters, he’s an east coast guy and I’m an east coast guy – just show up and try and be as much as me as I possibly can and kind of forget about the character, in a sense. That’s the best thing I could go with this. I’m just going to show up and be present and be open and listen, you know?

Conway: I don’t know if It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover ever told you this directly, but she recently said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight that Atlas is her favorite character in her book. What do you think about hearing that and knowing that, Brandon?

Sklenar: It feels amazing. Colleen and I spent a lot of time together when I was shooting in Hoboken and I got to know her very well and she’s a really special person – she really is. I feel so honored that she feels that way. So far, the response has been really positive and it’s the best thing you can ask for as an actor.

Conway: Let’s also talk about Blake Lively, not only as your It Ends With Us scene partner but as the producer she was on this film. What was it like working with an industry professional like Blake?

Sklenar: Honestly, it’s probably the best experience I’ve had working with anybody – I can honestly say that. She’s just an extraordinary person. I continue to be blown away. I mean, her ability as an actor – her performance in this film is some of the best work I’ve ever seen her do for sure in anything and I’m very familiar with her work – I’ve seen most of it. To get to share that with her feels like such an honor – such a blessing. Her presence is – she’s this force of life, is how I put it. She’s so alive and it’s just a reflection of who she is as a human being. As a human being, she’s just an incredible person and I think it’s reflected in her work.

Conway: Between your ongoing work on 1923, recently with It Ends With Us – you’ve been on New Girl, Vice, Westworld, The Offer and more – how would you describe your career’s journey and trajectory so far, Brandon?

Sklenar: Oh man! I’ve always been very big on like vision – not necessarily goals – I think goals are not really lofty enough or specific enough. People have goals but I’ve always had a pretty specific vision of what it is I’m trying to do and how I’m trying to go about it. I never really wanted to be in the position that I’m in now, until I was the age I am now, because I didn’t think I’d be able to go about it with the same awareness that I have now. At the age I am, with the work that I’ve done personally, to me, it makes sense. It’s a linear thing for me. I’m very pleased with how things have come together and to be in a position now where I feel confident in my awareness and my confidence in myself, in terms of being in the position where you have more responsibilities as an actor and as a man and being able to handle the weight of those responsibilities. I’m grateful that I am where I am personally, to fully accept the position I’m in now, and I’m looking forward to what happens next.

Conway: So then, what’s the status right now of the 1923 season two production, Brandon? Have you had the joy of working alongside Hollywood greats like Dame Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford on the series yet? (PLEASE NOTE: This interview took place on June 19, 2024)

Sklenar: I’m actually leaving in five days to go start the rest of 1923. We start filming in about two weeks and I’m leaving for pre-production in five days. I’ve had all the scripts for six months. I can confidently say that it’s going to be absolutely incredible. The tone shifts a lot and it’s definitely a bit darker. It’s very beautiful. It’s so hard for me to not give away spoilers. I do get plenty of Helen and Harrison time, and it’s going to be special. I mean, the finale of the series is probably one of the best things I’ve read in my life. I’ve kind of known how it was going to end since day one – Taylor [Sheridan] kind of told me. I knew the full arc of Spencer from day one, so in shooting part one, your mindful of where he needs to go. I’m really excited.

Conway: What else is on the horizon for you, Brandon? What are the types of characters and stories that you are seeking out most within your career lately?

Sklenar: I actually just finished shooting this Blumhouse Universal film [titled Drop]. It’s a psychology thriller that Chris Landon directed. Meghann Fahy is the lead of that – I’m the male lead. That one comes out April 11 in theaters. We have a full theatrical on that and I’m excited about that one. It’s a very cool story and it’s original. It mostly takes place in one location. It’s very reminiscent of Rear Window or an Agatha Christie whodunnit and it turned out better than any of us could have imagined.

I’m just excited to work with great directors and great actors, and just continue to learn and grow. I’d like to direct at some point in the next five years. I’m kind of just trying to learn. The little kid in me, I would love to do a proper western – a proper, straight western – that has been a dream of mine for a long time. I kind of touch it a little bit in 1923, but that’s something that I would love to do.

Conway: Lastly Brandon, if you could speak to your It Ends With Us character, Atlas, after embodying him on-screen and understanding his story, what would you tell Atlas, if only you could, whether that’s a pep talk, a comforting message – what does he need to hear, Brandon?

Sklenar: Oh wow. That’s a really good question. What would I say to Atlas? I would just give him a lot of love and respect for how he showed up for Lily and held space for her. I think that’s just like the most important thing, when someone is going through what she’s going through. Often times, they don’t need a solution, really. They don’t even want an answer. They just want the space to be and to feel and to be allowed to be a mess and to feel it all and express it all, and to not have someone react to it or try to come up with a solution, but just to be there in that space and listen. I think that’s something that’s really captured in [Hoover’s] book and the movie. He’s just there and he reflects it back to [Lily] in such a beautiful way and gives her the power to change. He doesn’t try to change things for her, and I think that’s the most important thing. One of the biggest lessons men can learn from watching it, hopefully, which you don’t really see enough of.