Brad Leland: Ready for Prime Time

Written by Gretchen Pressley
with John Davis and Lisa Du Bois Low

When performers at Disneyland asked the audience for volunteers, a five-year-old Brad Leland was the first to jump up. He sang “Davy Crockett” and took a bow.

“I feel like I’ve been living in Disneyland ever since,” he said.

Almost 50 years later, Leland is still performing. This Texas Tech alum has played in more than 20 feature films, 25 television shows and numerous theater performances. He currently plays Buddy Garrity on the hit television series “Friday Night Lights.”

A True Texan

Born in Lubbock, Leland moved to Plano his sophomore year where he played football for Plano High School. Unfortunately, Leland sustained a serious knee injury the year they won the 1971 AAA State Championship.

“We’d all worked so hard all season,” he said. “It nearly broke my heart be on the sidelines on crutches for that big game,”

No longer able to play football, Leland turned back to his other passion--performing.

One of Leland’s first and most memorable roles in high school was Harold Hill in “The Music Man.” One the choir teacher wanted to give to another boy who sang better.

“I went to my drama teacher, practically in tears, and said, ‘I have to do this role,’ ” Leland said. “She fought for me and I wound up alternating the lead in different performances. To this day, every line and every song are embedded in my head. I’ll never forget them.”

Leland returned to Lubbock to major in theatre at Texas Tech University and he said he hasn’t looked back since.

Making it Big

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in acting and directing in 1980, Leland headed for Dallas where he worked in local theatre and landed an agent.

“I wound up getting a role on the hit TV series ‘Dallas.’ The first few years, I was lucky to get just about every part I was up for. My whole career, I’ve never gone more than seven or eight months without a part. Most actors will tell you that’s pretty good.”

His most visible role to date has been the character of over-zealous football booster John Aubrey in “Friday Night Lights.” The feature film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist H.G. Bissinger’s book portrays the town of Odessa and its devotion to its high school football team, the Permian Panthers.

And, aside from the “win at all costs” aspect of his on-screen character, one Leland was born to play.

“I’d lived the part,” Leland said. “I grew up in Texas. I’d been a football player. And I think knowing about life and relationships in the backdrop of Texas high school football really made me perfect for the role.”

Leland plays the same character (whose name was changed to Buddy Garrity) in the award-winning television drama “Friday Night Lights,” now in its second season.

Like any actor, Leland has a few parting words to say about how important acting is to his life.

“I’ve been able to pursue the dream that I had as a child,” he said. “Because of the support of my family and friends and blind luck, I’ve been allowed to do something I really enjoy. It’s kept me excited about life. It’s made me unafraid. It’s fed my love of people and given me the chance to affect people, even in just a small way, with my performances.”