William Bryan “Blu Fox” ’98 NAME _____________________________________________ Actor/Writer/Director
OCCUPATION ____________________________________
Los Angeles
ON LOCATION __________________________________
ILLIAM BRYAN, also known as Blu Fox, was the vice president for the Student Government Association when he was at NCCU and participated in the weekly leadership team meetings of Chancellor Julius L. Chambers, the late chancellor emeritus of NCCU. He instilled in Bryan workmanship, organization and leadership. Bryan says he built his SGA staff like Chancellor Chambers built his team. ”His wisdom has helped me throughout the course of my career.” A native of Hendersonville, N.C., Bryan’s acting debut occurred in the fifth grade, when he played in “The Wiz.” “When I got to high school, I began writing and producing AfricanAmerican plays. It was a way of expressing myself,” he said. Encouraged by a Disney executive, Bryan auditioned for the prestigious and highly selective North Carolina School of the Arts high school drama program and was accepted, receiving scholarships to attend. As he prepared to graduate from high school, the director of NCCU’s Department of Theatre, Dr. Linda Kerr-Norflett, reached out to Bryan. “I came and did a one-on-one tour of the school. She discussed my potential and how I would flourish by attending a university with an award-winning African-American theater department. I was hooked.” Bryan enrolled at NCCU in 1994, and within a month he was cast as the lead in the campus production of the award-winning play “Old Story Time and Smile Orange.” He also joined the Eagle track team. “Eventually the fear of not making a living as an entertainer in North Carolina clouded my judgment, and I changed my major to biology and stopped acting,” he said. “I graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in 1998. I researched occupations and found
that dentistry was one of the highest-paying fields. I completed two summer internships, one at Duke and one at the University of Michigan, and a research fellowship at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Short after, I applied and was accepted at UNC and enrolled in the School of Dentistry.” After attending dental school for two and half years on a full scholarship, Bryan missed acting, writing and politics, which conflicted with his busy schedule. “I was taking 32-plus hours a semester and working and scheduling my patients at night,” he said. Bryan reduced his course schedule by half and took a job with North Carolina senator John Edwards and started auditioning. “I booked an episode on ‘Dawson’s Creek,’ and wrapped up dental school,” he said of the next phase of his life. “It started with a prayer: God let your will be done and not my own, and that simple prayer is what reignited my faith and journey, defeating fear.”
Then, Bryan headed for Hollywood. Within a month he had a manager and agent and booked his first job. Multiple national commercials, television shows and independent films followed, as did Nike campaigns and print ads internationally. Bryan was soon ready to transition back to producing, writing and directing. “There’s a lack of stories being told from the vantage point of people of color,” he said. “Over 70 percent of viewers are people of color, and we make up only nine percent of the people we see on the screen.” He also believes that learning is a continual process. “I have gone back to UCLA and taken editing, writing and directing continuing-education courses, as the entertainment industry is continually evolving.” Bryan wrote and directed his first film, “Speechless,” in 2006. The drama starred actor Omari Hardwick, known for his work in “Being Mary Jane,” “Sparkle” and “For Colored Girls.” Throughout his career, Bryan has benefited from his experiences at NCCU. “I learned great life lessons from so many people at NCCU,” he said. “Dr. Byrd in the Biology Department believed and pushed me to achieve higher goals. The late Ms. Barbara Moore, in the Health Careers office, taught me that I had to explore outside the nest of NCCU if I wanted to be competitive.” Bryan says his journey is still in progress. “Young people often ask me, what’s the secret to my success? I tell them very simply, my faith in God and a strong desire to not fail when there are more failures then successes.”
BRYAN WROTE AND DIRECTED HIS FIRST FILM, “SPEECHLESS,” IN 2006. THE DRAMA STARRED ACTOR OMARI HARDWICK, KNOWN FOR PREVIOUS WORK IN “BEING MARY JANE,” “SPARKLE” AND “FOR COLORED GIRLS.”