PopHorror Interviews Billy Brannigan, Star of ‘Party Night’ and ‘Stirring’

I’m always raving about the amazing female actresses in the horror industry, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my favorite indie guys as well. One of them is the incredibly talented Billy Brannigan, who after watching Party Night and Stirring, I believe has an amazing career ahead of him.

I finally had the opportunity to sit-down and talk with Billy about how he got involved in the industry, his films, his favorite characters, and more. Read on to learn more about this talented dude and be sure to follow his career.

PopHorror – It’s great to finally talk with you, Billy! What inspired you to get into acting?

Billy Brannigan – Thank you! I’ve loved movies since I was a child! Seriously, I was the only kid buying movie soundtracks from the local CD store! I would listen to them and imagine different scenes and parts of movies. I loved it. I started taking acting classes really young and I was just dying to get involved with everything.

PopHorror – What was the first film you ever worked on?

Billy Brannigan – The first feature film that I ever worked on was called The Last Train Home, and although I am credited on IMDb for it – it was never released. I’ve always done different kinds of projects though! My friends and I used to love making comedy sketches in high school. We had a group called Bowlskit72 and we had a good time with it. As embarrassing as those sketches are, I believe they are still up on YouTube. I even made videos when I was in elementary school too! But I’ll never give out the names of those videos because they are way too embarrassing!

PopHorror – Awww darn! (Laughs) You’ve def made a name for yourself among the indie horror community. How did you get involved with the horror genre?

Billy Brannigan – Thank you! I’m happy people like the horror projects that I’ve worked on! It’s all thanks to Troy Escamilla (creator of both Party Night and Stirring) for letting me be a part of his vision. He brought me on to play Travis on Party Night and that was my first full-length horror film. I loved it! When he offered me the part of Kyle in his second film Stirring I immediately knew that I wanted to do it.

PopHorror – So glad you did! As you just mentioned, one of your stand out films was Party Night. Tell us about that film and how you got involved with it.

Billy Brannigan – Troy Escamilla had posted on casting websites that he was looking for actors – so I submitted my information. He had me audition for all three of the lead male roles, and in the end, he decided that he liked my fit for the character Travis. I was a little bit disappointed at first because (SPOILER!) Travis is the first of the male leads to get killed off and I wanted to be involved with the project as much as possible. But I wound up falling in love with the character and it was super fun!

PopHorror – You are also in Troy Escamilla’s Christmas horror film Stirring. Do enjoy you working on Troy’s films?

Billy Brannigan – Yes, I love it. The films that I’ve done with Troy have easily been some of my best acting experiences. From the time on set to the all of the people involved – it’s amazing. We have so much fun and everybody is so great! I’m serious, I was only on the set of Party Night for nine days but I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had. Stirring was so exciting because I was on the set for a few weeks! It never gets old!

PopHorror – I’m glad it’s been an amazing experience. I love Troy too. Which character do you prefer more: your character in Party Night or Stirring?

Billy Brannigan – I definitely prefer my character in Party Night. He was a lot of fun! My character in Stirring was great, but overall a pretty simple dude. The way I look at it – a night with my character in Stirring will be a safe, calm, and quiet night. But if you spend a night with Travis from Party Night; you’re going to get into some trouble.

PopHorror – This is very true! Without spoiling, what do you think about the twist at the end of Stirring?

Billy Brannigan – I think it’s great. For real! Troy is such an amazing writer and Stirring is an awesome story! I love the twist, and I think the movie sends you in different directions as it leads up to it.

PopHorror – It definitely does. You had a small part in The Miseducation of Cameron Post – which did extremely well at Sundance. What was that experience like?

Billy Brannigan – It was crazy! I spent a few weeks on that set – but I, unfortunately, don’t know if any of my stuff will make it to the final product of the movie. But even being such a small part was an amazing experience! I got to meet and become friends with some famous actors/actresses that have done a lot of really cool acting work. Also, it was a much bigger production than most of the stuff I work on – so it was interesting to see how everything works.

PopHorror – That’s so exciting! Do you want to do anything beyond acting such as writing or directing in the future?

Billy Brannigan – Yes, absolutely! I dig writing and I have even pitched some horror ideas to Troy Escamilla! I would love to create something – I know how insanely difficult that is though. I definitely will write a script/direct something someday, I just don’t know when yet. I’m always coming up with ideas though!

PopHorror – I have no doubt in my mind that you can create something awesome. Just be patient! Who are your role models in this industry?

Billy Brannigan – I have a bunch of role models in the industry! My favorite actor is Jake Gyllenhaal! I think that his performances are always incredible and I love the movies that he works on! Donald Glover is a role model of mine – he started out on YouTube and has worked his way up. Now he’s got a lead role in the upcoming Star Wars movie which I can’t wait to see! Those two guys are definitely my main ones.

PopHorror – All great dudes. Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to talk about?

Billy Brannigan – I had a really cool part in an episode of A Crime To Remember on Investigation Discovery which I was wicked excited about! I got to play William Heirens, a real person who was accused of murder in the 1940’s. It aired recently and it’ll be on Hulu soon! I’m involved with a project I know you guys wrote an article about a while ago – Fire on the Mountain. It’s a movie that has been going through production stuff for a long time, but it will definitely be worth the wait! It’s slowly but surely being created and I’m so happy to be a part of it because it’s going to be an awesome movie!

I’ve also been working on some projects with a stand-up comedian from Boston – Vinnie Pagano. We will be coming out with some really cool stuff which you can find on his YouTube page: Vinnie Pagano. I’m always working so add me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram and Twitter @billybrann to stay up to date!