Brad William Henke isn't completely comfortable with this interview. Not that he isn't gregarious and outgoing, and not that he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself. It's just that the idea of people knowing too much about him conflicts with his desire to be the sort of actor who can move from part to part without being recognized. "I think that when people are really famous, they come on the screen and people instantly know who they are," he notes. "It was a tough decision for me to do interviews, because I feel like, as a character actor, it's best if people don't know me or how old I am or what I talk like."
Still, Henke relented after he was asked to test for the head of Showtime for his upcoming series, October Road—despite having been a regular on that network's series Going to California. "I was like, 'I have to do something so people do know who I am—to help my career when I'm trying to get a movie and I don't get the part because they offer it to some person who was in a reality show or something,'" Henke says. "It's disheartening. I want to get those jobs that I might not get because they want the most well-known person. I want to be able to get those jobs and work consistently, because this is what I love to do. And I have to figure out what to do to enable me to do that for the rest of my life."
It would have been difficult for Henke to go unnoticed much longer. Following standout performances as less-than-savory characters in films such as Me and You and Everyone We Know and North Country, Henke caught attention from audiences this year with his turn as a victim on the Showtime series Dexter and a triumvirate of terrific roles in back-to-back films. In the indie realm, he shared scenes with Oscar winner Adrien Brody in Hollywoodland and turned in a sweet and nuanced performance as Maggie Gyllenhaal's brother in Sherrybaby. He also appeared in the studio picture World Trade Center for director Oliver Stone, in which he played… Maggie Gyllenhaal's brother. "I guess the gods think her brother should look like me," Henke says with a laugh. "When I went to be put on tape for Oliver, they told me Maggie was playing the sister. I thought, 'Well, I probably won't get it then.'" Months later, he received a call at 7 p.m. asking him to get on a flight to New York the next day. "When I got there, Maggie was there, and I asked her if she got me the job," Henke recalls. "She said, 'No, I didn't know anything about it.' She was shocked to see me. What was neat about it was we had the history of playing brother and sister, but they were different characters."
In both parts, Henke had the difficult task of playing an ordinary guy who is still compelling to watch. The actor says he tries to act the part and not worry about how he'll come off. "I just have to live and do it and hope the camera catches it," he notes. "You have to have confidence in yourself and as an actor that it's going to come out of your pores and eyes—that you don't have to show it, you just have to make yourself feel it." Henke is also aware that famous actors need people they can play off of. Recalling an interview he once saw with Kevin Costner, Henke notes, "He said that when you're working with a big star, they need to trust that you can hit the ball back to them…. That's what I try to do."
In addition to his busy acting career, Henke is also an acting coach—something he initially didn't admit to because he was concerned about how he would be perceived. "I know a lot of people who became teachers because they stopped acting, and I was worried about being labeled or looked at in a certain way," he explains. But while working on October Road, director Gary Fleder asked Henke to coach a young actor. "It was really neat, and Gary said, 'Everyone knows you're a great actor. Do whatever makes you happy.' It's funny how one little thing of someone saying something to you can really hit you like that. So I've embraced it. I think it's a gift I have that will come in handy when I direct."
And Henke's work as a coach led him to one of his proudest moments. "The Shield called me to coach someone, which is the biggest honor," he says. "They paid me, and I framed the check. It was only, like, $150, but it meant a lot to me."