The Lion King Star Brandon A. McCall on Wearing Out the VHS of the Disney Hit and More

Name: Brandon A. McCall

Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama

Credits: McCall is making his Broadway debut as Simba in The Lion King. He first joined the national touring production as an ensemble member and understudy and then took over the role of Simba in 2019 touring before joining the Broadway company for its reopening.

"I started acting at the age of 12, it was my mom's way of keeping me out of trouble. She took me to this audition and I got in. The director saw me and this other guy that I looked like, so she actually wrote a part just for us. I remember every time we came out the crowd would go crazy. I was like 'Yeah, I can do this.' That's how it all got started."

"My high school did not have a drama department, but I did this theater troupe from the age of 12 to 18 every summer. My senior year in high school, I walked past my ninth grade history teacher and I'll never forget it. She's a big part of my journey. She said, 'Mr. McCall, what do you plan on doing, after high school?' I was like, 'I want to be a pediatrician, so I'll major in biology.'  She was like, 'Great, because I didn't think that acting thing was going to work out for you.'  And I said, 'Ooh really?' I walked away from her that day and changed my major to theater and attended Alabama State University. That's where it became a career choice."

"My daughter is obsessed with The Lion King. I remember when I was younger, I had the VHS and I played that thing all the time. That's probably how I learned how to work the VCR because my mom and sister were tired of me requesting to watch this movie. My daughter's the same way.  She wants to watch The Lion King all the time. If she doesn't want to watch the animated versio, then she wants to watch the musical. I have to pull up my videos."

"I don't think anything can match the moment of being on Broadway, especially being in The Lion King. It means so much to have my family, my wife and my two girls, actually be able to see the show and for my girls to be able to watch me and have that example of chasing a dream and actually accomplishing it. Family is a big deal. It's a big theme in the show, and it's a big theme of life."

Watch the interview below, and head here to check your local listings for The Broadway Show. Hosted by Emmy-winning anchor Tamsen Fadal and powered by Broadway.com, it is the only nationally syndicated weekly theater news program.