BATON ROUGE — Picture this: you’re flying to North Carolina for your kid to film scenes for a TV show you’ve never heard of… and frantically binge-watching two seasons on the plane just to figure out what’s going on.
Welcome to the whirlwind world of Kerri Lynn Brantley and her son, Brant, who recently landed a role on the wildly popular teen drama The Summer I Turn Pretty.
“I didn’t even know what it was,” Kerri laughed. “We had to binge the first two seasons mid-air just to understand what Brant had gotten himself into!”
Turns out, Brant, who’s been acting since the age of five, was cast in the show’s current season. His big moment came after years of auditioning for roles with Disney, Nickelodeon, and even Netflix’s Stranger Things. While many of those opportunities didn’t pan out, this one hit the mark. And yes, he nailed it.
The kicker? They didn’t even know what show he was filming until practically boarding the plane.
“They keep it super hush-hush,” Kerri explained. “Everything had fake names—the script, the characters, even the project name. It wasn’t until our agent pieced it together that we realized, oh wait… this is THE Summer I Turn Pretty!”
Brant filmed in North Carolina last summer, and while he has only appeared in one episode thus far, the experience was unforgettable. He worked alongside actor Gavin Castille, who plays older Jeremiah Fisher. And get this—they could practically be twins.
“When we met Gavin, he was the sweetest,” said Kerri. “He treated Brant like a total star. It was such a magical moment for both of them.”
Of course, as any Hollywood mom will tell you, it’s not all glitter and glam. There’s a chance a filmed scene might never see the light of day.
“You just never know,” Kerri said. “I had to prepare Brant for the reality that his scene could be cut. But thankfully, it wasn’t! We were up at 5:30 a.m. to watch the episode when it dropped.”
Brant is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild (yep—he gets paid like a pro), and has worked on numerous commercials for Children’s Hospital, including one with golfer Bubba Watson.
But this? This was his first big break.
So what’s next for Brant? More auditions, more scripts, and more chances to shine.
As for Kerri? She’s just trying to keep up.
“I still don’t totally understand all the fan drama on the show,” she admitted. “But hey, I’m learning!”
Watch out, Hollywood, Brant Brantley is just getting started.
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