THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Adain Bradley Reveals How He Got From England to Hollywood (EXCLUSIVE)
There had been several auditions and callbacks with THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL before Aidain Bradley revealed one very significant facet about himself: namely, that he’s British! “Xander was supposed to be a fully American role,” the actor confided to Soaps In Depth, “but at the end of my penultimate audition, I dropped my [American] accent.” Needless to say, casting director Christy Dooley was floored by the surprise — and executive producer and headwriter Bradley Bell was inspired! “I suppose he saw that I could do both [accents], and he thought, ‘Oh, this would be a great storyline,’” says the newcomer. “So that became part of my character.”
As every actor will admit, the pace of working in daytime is vastly different than any other acting gig. “Getting used to memorizing 30 pages a day instead of three pages [in a typical lm or TV project] has been a bit of a transition, and that’s the thing that surprises me the most,” Bradley confessed, though he is loving the challenge. “These guys are doing 12 items [aka scenes] in a row, and if I can do that, then I’m sure I can do anything.”
That’s not to say the daytime rookie doesn’t have some experience under his belt. Prior to landing B&B, he played Trev Brown on RIVERDALE, The CW’s dark take on the Archie comics world. “That show opened doors for me that I didn’t even know existed,” he explained. “All of a sudden, I was [auditioning for] series-regular roles or major recurring roles, movies and stuff like that. So it was a really big deal for me.”
Though Bradley was born in Kansas (his mother is American), his family moved to his father’s native England when he was very young, and he considers “home” to be the historic city of York, about three hours north of London. “I’m English,” he declared, as if settling any debate. “I’ve lived there my whole life, but my claim to fame is that I have an American passport!”
Bradley was “discovered” at the age of 10 when, after landing the lead in several school plays, he beat out 400 other contenders for a role in the musical, Bugsy Malone, which was playing at York’s Grand Opera House. By the time he was 15, he’d convinced his parents to bring him to Los Angeles for his first pilot season, where he landed not just any commercial but a Pepsi Super Bowl ad! “I was extremely fortunate my first go-’round,” he humbly acknowledged. “That was almost four years ago.”
Bradley was already familiar with co-star Nia Sioux (Emma) from her reality series, DANCE MOMS. “I’m not going to lie,” he admitted. “I knew who she was.” (Photo Credit: Howard Wise/jpistudios.com)
Though his first experience in L.A. was a whirlwind, his folks soon thought it best if he returned to Britain to finish up high school. But as soon as he had diploma in hand, that little voice inside his head was calling him back to Tinseltown. “Sometimes I miss my older brother and sister [who still live in England],” Bradley confessed, “but my parents are still out here with me, and they really like L.A. — they especially love the weather. I’ve come to realize how much I fit in here.”
Still, if he happens to miss his favorite British candy bars, he can always call on one of his siblings to pack a few the next time they visit. Or maybe not, if he’s going to be baring his abs on the soap! Bradley laughed and admitted: “I probably shouldn’t be eating anything like that, anyway!”
For more on your favorite B&B stars, keep reading the CBS edition of Soaps In Depth magazine!
More from CBS Soaps In Depth
Steffy’s Scandalous History Exposed!
More Taylor on B&B? — Hunter Tylo Speaks Out (EXCLUSIVE)
B&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor Announces the Birth of His Baby Boy
