Photography and Video KEVIN SINCLAIR
Fashion Editor DAVIAN LAIN
Interview DAVID GARGIULO

Zero. Editorial. Oversight. Brody “Bro” Hartman answers to no one. Not networks. Not executives. Not even the camera. He provokes, entertains, and controls the conversation on his terms. In The Morning Show’s fourth season, Boyd Holbrook brings Bro to life with magnetic intensity: charm, menace, and mischief all in one.

Boyd’s path to this moment was unconventional. Kentucky. Carpentry. Theater sets. A chance encounter with Michael Shannon sparked the pursuit of acting. New York theater. Film school. Conservatory. Years of discipline and training forged the actor capable of inhabiting extremes, from Steve Murphy in Narcos to Donald Pierce in Logan, Johnny Cash in A Complete Unknown and a soon-to-hit-the-screens harrowing role in Atonement.  Off-screen, Boyd is deliberate, grounded, and focused. Acting is his “dog off the leash,” a way to explore rage, joy, and love safely, intensely, fully.
His character, Brody Hartman, in The Morning Show, exists in a fractured media landscape: podcasts challenge networks, truth blurs with performance, AI looms on the horizon. Boyd shapes the podcaster not as a caricature but as a human being: witty, ambitious, flawed, alive. “He’s both a provocateur and a truth-teller,” Boyd says. “I wanted to paint a full picture of a person.” Through Bro, Boyd examines power, influence, the stories we tell ourselves, and the ones we are told.
Zero. Editorial. Oversight. For Boyd, it’s more than a line. It’s a philosophy: fearlessly embracing challenge, mastering craft, and inhabiting every role with intensity and precision. “I’ve heard acting described as three levels: training to compete, training to win, and training to dominate. I want to dominate,” he says. And that is exactly how he approaches his craft.

David Gargiulo __ You started out in carpentry. Can you tell us a bit about your origins and how you eventually found your way to acting?

Boyd Holbrook __  I quit college, and I had a chance encounter with Michael Shannon at a department store. In our conversation he told me I should get into theater. After that, I started asking around, and my sister got me a job through a friend who was running the lights at a theater company in Kentucky. I didn’t do any acting there. I was just building sets and running lights and audio during shows. But that summer, it kind of exploded for me. I realized, “this is where I want to be, these are the people I want to be around, this is my pride.” Shortly after, I made my way to New York to chase it. I knew I had to be in New York to study, so after a couple of years there, I went to film school and then trained at an acting conservatory for about three and a half years.

DG __ When people say a life changing encounter!

BH __ Yeah. And, you know, when people ask me what it takes to make it in this business, I always say “there’s no advice you can give.” It comes down to the person. You can’t stop someone from doing it, they’re gonna find a way. You just keep going until you figure it out. There’s no playbook.

DG __ So you were already thinking about acting even before meeting Michael Shannon?

BH __ Definitely. I got the film bug around 16, watching Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam. That’s when I thought, “this is what I want to do.” But I had no idea how to get there. It was three or four years of figuring out how to learn performance.

DG __ You’ve played both heroes and villains. Which side do you enjoy stepping into more?

BH __ That’s a tough one. I think it’s more fun to be the hero, but it’s more challenging to be the villain. Being a villain is kind of acrobatic, metaphorically speaking. As a hero, you stand your ground; the villain dances around you. Both are challenging in different ways, and it’s fun to explore the subtleties and movements of each character as a performer.

DG __ Do you have a favorite among the characters you’ve played?

BH __ I loved Steve Murphy from Narcos and Donald Pierce from Logan.

DG __ Was there a role that scared you at first, that made you wonder if you could actually pull it off?

BH __ Yeah, I just worked on this film called Atonement with Reed Van Dyke. I was honestly so scared of doing it that I had to do it. The character was such a raw experience, and there was also the technicality of portraying PTSD in a way that honored real people who’ve lived it. I felt a huge responsibility. I didn’t want to get it wrong. Playing Johnny Cash in A Complete Unknown was terrifying at first too. But then it becomes exciting and you realize that’s exactly why you want to do it. I love that pressure. I love knowing it’s going to come down to those few months of preparation and then living it on set. That intensity. That’s what makes it worth it.

DG __ Do you feel like you become the character, or are you able to separate yourself when you’re in it?

BH __ You know, I don’t think you mystically become someone else. I think acting, when done well, is about rehearsing and finding the voice of another person so completely that it feels real. It’s an illusion. And that’s what I love about filmmaking: the magic of it, how you can transport someone else’s reality for a little while. It’s incredibly exciting and fun.

DG __ Has that ever affected your family? Does your wife ever go, “I can’t wait until you’re done with this character”?

BH __ It’s actually the opposite. Acting is a way for me to become fully human again. We have anger, frustration, joy, rage. These are all parts of our human nature. At home, I have to be patient, I have to think about my kids, and manage the daily responsibilities. Acting is the dog off the leash. It’s freeing. It’s an exercise in sanity, a way to fully explore all those human emotions I can’t always show in real life.

DG __ When I met you on set, and now during this interview, you come across so calm, collected, easygoing. Have you always been this way, or is it something that’s developed over time?

BH __ Definitely developed over time. I wasn’t always this calm. I’ve been sober for seven years, and I think that’s played a big part. I’ve cut out everything from my life that isn’t important for me to be a performer, a father, and a husband. Those are my three priorities. Everything else just falls away. As a young 20-year-old in New York, I was like a deer in headlights. I’d compare it to having a Ferrari engine in a Prius body. My mind was moving faster than I could physically keep up with. Over the last 15 years, I’ve worked on bringing everything into equilibrium: my mind, body, and focus. It’s all about being ready to perform, not coming in hungover or unprepared. I want to treat acting like a sport: I’m aiming for the NBA of acting. I’ve heard it described as three levels: training to compete, training to win, and training to dominate. That’s how I approach my craft. I want to dominate.

“I’ve heard acting described as three levels: training to compete, training to win, and training to dominate.
That’s how I approach my craft. I want to dominate.”

- BOYD HOLBROOK

DG __ In season four of The Morning Show, you play Brody “Bro” Hartman, a provocative and bold podcaster often described as a representative of the Manosphere. That’s a daring character. How did you approach him, and how did you prepare?

BH __ Right off the bat, the writing is cream of the crop. Excellent. The character is really hidden in all of that. He has a very specific point of view on modern culture and the pulse of society right now. There are all these podcasters and personalities representing that Manosphere. He’s like the Oprah of men. There’s a whole community around it, people resonating with these ideas. For me, the important thing was finding my version of that: how my voice comes through to make it real, rather than imitating someone like Joe Rogan. He’s an amalgamation of those personalities, but I also had to have fun with it. Brody’s an entertainer, he’s got a sense of humor. So it’s a really fun character to play.

DG __ Bro arrives during a chaotic, polarized America. Do you hope audiences see him more as a provocateur, a truth-teller, or somewhere in between?

BH __ He’s a complicated guy. He is provocative. He says things people might be afraid to say. Personally, I often just keep my head down and don’t want to piss anyone off. But Bro says what others might be thinking, pushes the envelope a bit. At the same time, a lot of that is covering his own vulnerability, which starts to come out over the show. It’s easy to crack a joke to hide what you don’t want people to see. So he’s both a provocateur and a truth-teller, and what I wanted was to paint a full picture of a person.

DG __ Do you see him more as a voice of the people or someone who’s ultimately out for himself and the ratings?

BH __ I think he gets a thrill out of hearing himself talk. He enjoys it. It’s fun, he’s interested in these subjects, and he knows the formula: say this, get a reaction from his hundred million followers. It’s like conducting a symphony, he can move the pulse of the conversation. And once he sees that tipping point, he realizes he can move it into politics. That’s when you’re talking about power. And power is a whole different category.

DG __ He doesn’t have a problem throwing that power in people’s faces at the station. He mentions it more than once. He knows he can take his show anywhere. Why do you think there’s been such a shift from legacy TV to this “non traditional TV,” like podcasting and breakaway media?

BH __ Breakaway media. You’ve got these legacy pillars, but in 20 years, no one’s gonna be watching CNN the way they used to. People are catching on to the muzzling effect of traditional news: the way subjects are filtered. Breakaway platforms are talking about what people really want to hear because they’re interfacing directly with their audience. The audience says, “Cover this, what’s up with that?” And there are highly capable, intelligent people who can answer those questions and reach their own following. Of course, there’s always a question of legitimacy. These new platforms are building reputations, trying to become pillars themselves. The traditional media thinks, “Why would anyone trust me? Why would anyone lie for money?” And the audience naturally questions it too. That tension. That’s where the shift is happening.

DG __ In The Morning Show with legacy media a lot of the coverage revolves around backroom dealings with lobbyists and politicians. Bro doesn’t follow any of those rules, which is what really makes him authentic.

BH __  Zero. Editorial. Oversight.

DG __ This season also touches on deep fakes and AI misinformation. Do you think the show might influence our conversation about these new technologies and the nature of truth?

BH __ I think somebody’s gotta have that conversation. We need to discuss the ethics and morality of all of this. Imagine a president giving a completely fabricated speech, it could influence a huge number of people. Art and commerce are a safe way to show that this is happening, to spark conversation. I don’t think anyone really knows the future of these technologies yet, so the more dialogue, the better.

DG __ And as an actor, how do you view AI? Is it threatening?

BH __ Honestly, no. You can hear AI songs or see AI-generated paintings, but authenticity can’t be replicated. There’s value in a real human performing in front of you, the resonance between performer and audience is something deeply physical and scientific. Think of it like two guitars in the same room, if one is off, you feel it immediately. That connection can’t be faked. It won’t go away, but it will make human performance more unique, scarce, and valuable. Seeing a real actor on stage or screen is irreplaceable. That’s why I went to the theater the other day. I wasn’t watching a robot perform, I was watching a human, seeing myself in the performance. That experience is priceless, and it will always be coveted.

DG __ So AI could actually increase the value of what actors do?

BH __ Absolutely. Scarcity creates uniqueness, and uniqueness creates value. Real human performance will always be sought after.

DG __ Outside of acting, what keeps you grounded?

BH __ It’s really the simple things. Putting my feet on the ground, sitting in the sunshine. I’ve become quite minimalist in my life, and that clarity keeps me free and focused so I can do this work.

DG __ Has being a father influenced the way you choose roles or think about your career?

BH __ Definitely. For about twelve years, I was on the road almost ten months a year, long before my son came along. You can’t live like that forever. Now I think differently. How long will I be away? Who will I work with? I’m not going to leave my family for a miserable set or to work with people who are difficult. I’ve paid my dues. I just want projects that excite me. I want to work once or twice a year, less is more. Like everyone, I want to work smart and make it count.

Photographer Kevin Sinclair, Fashion Editor DaVian Lain, Interviewer David Gargiulo, Groomer Jessi Butterfield (Walter Schupfer), Photo Assistant Anna Istomina, Stylist Assistant Megan Hollis, Talent Boyd Holbrook (Viewpoint PR)

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