Brian J. Smith on Webster O'Connor. Brian J. Smith Cast In WWII Drama World on Fire. Brian J. Smith is an American actor and theatre artist who is known for having been cast in a variety of shows in roles like Doug McKenna in Treadstone, Matthew Scott in Stargate Universe and Stargate Universe Kino, Will Gorski in Sense8, and Webster in World on Fire.His film credits include being a part of movies such as The War Boys, Red Faction: Origins, The Matrix 4, and … Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. Your continuing support helps make WQED possible. World on Fire. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. Not available. What an incredible generation of people. He says to her pretty early on in a phone call that we’ll always be alike: “You and me are always going to be chasing danger.” That is possibly why Webster became a doctor and why he wants to stay in Paris, because there are some people that just really get off on danger. In Paris, a young doctor, Webster (Brian J Smith), is drawn to a night-club saxophonist, Albert (Parker Sawyers). × Your continuing support helps make KQED possible. Your continuing support helps make WHYY possible. He’s escaped from a pretty oppressive intolerant military family upbringing. Skip to Main Content. It is a really smart thing to do because we are trying and find a way to make this feel contemporary, so that the problems and the danger that was going on back then can feel very relevant to what’s happening to us today. Your continuing support helps make IdahoPTV possible. WhatsApp. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. We have been encouraged to approach our performances, the look and the music in a way that tries to evoke the emotion of what those times felt like. Episode 5: Harry leads his unit on the route to Dunkirk as they fight to make it onto the beach and aboard a ship. Twitter. Is that true for Webster?The funny thing about war is that for all the tragedy and heartbreak that surrounds it, it forces most people to be the best that they can be. An idealist, a rebel, perhaps HARRY always just needed a cause – and the cause is the war. Money isn’t a problem for Webster, and Nic saw Webster as a late-1930s, stylish jock. It fuels their feeling for each other. Holding on to that is their way of shaking their fists at fascism and the Nazi belief. Within days of the war beginning, KASIA’s family has each faced the cruel reality of this brutal conflict, and KASIA is faced with terrible choices between protecting her family and her own safety and freedom. What happens?Webster grew up gay in Texas with a military family and a very masculine culture. HARRY betrays her with KASIA whom he meets in Warsaw. The World on Fire cast and crew answered fans' burning questions on Instragram, ... Julia Brown, Brian J. Smith, Blake Harrison and one … Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor, and why Webster's story was so important to tell. It’s this beautiful recording with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor, and why Webster's story was so important to tell. I find that very moving and exciting to play, and also relevant to what’s happening in the world right now. What’s it been like working with Parker?It's been such a dream. We see this individual who is just trying to keep his dream alive, even as it’s dissolving around him. Peter hasn’t written this in a way that feels stilted and staid. Even though Webster and Albert live in liberal Paris, we tried to play with the tension between openly and publicly loving someone, but knowing that they can’t even so much as touch each other in public - that creates secrets between people. I was fascinated with someone who finds the dream and then the dream starts to collapse and fray. November 7, 2019 by Andy Towle Leave a Comment. He feels a kinship with her and they share a restlessness; a need to be out in the world and a need to not live a conventional life. World on Fire | Clip | Brian J. Smith on Webster O'Connor. Brian J. Smith, Actor: SGU Stargate Universe. In Paris, they found that they were treated as human beings. Share this video on Twitter. Brian J. Smith, a television actor famously known for his role in Sense8. Did it make you interested or think about your own family background for the war?My great grandfather, (my dad’s mother’s dad) was in the Navy in the Pacific in World War II. To act with someone whom you feel that you can be safe with, and play the kind of scenes that we have to do, requires a kind of intimacy and vulnerability. Due to his steamy love scenes with same-sex co-actors in the series, his fans have been speculating him as a gay. Right there Nic gave me 70 percent of the intangibles for the character that I would never have gotten on my own. "You love your home in a way that it's hard to describe, but I always did feel that need to get away and to travel and here I am — working in Prague and Manchester, living in Europe, and escaping an America that's starting to feel less and less like any America I've known for the past 10 years.". Connect with PBS on Facebook Connect with PBS on Twitter Connect with PBS on Instagram. She has done so with the sole aim of making him a man of great social standing, but so far, HARRY is proving only to disappoint. In the international cast of World On Fire, Nancy Campbell and her nephew, Webster O’Connor, are two Americans facing the perils of a looming war.Actor Brian J. Smith … Read about our approach to external linking. "I grew up in the suburbs in Texas during the Ronald Reagan era so, in a weird way, I understand what it's like to grow up and be different, to not fit into a culture," he told the site. Connect with PBS on Facebook Connect with PBS on Twitter Connect with PBS on Instagram. Thank you! That's not their only connection. Desperate for news of TOM, the uncertainty of his son’s wellbeing and the haunting horrors of his own experience of battle look set to overwhelm him, until unexpected news from his daughter LOIS gives him renewed hope for the future. How does this show differ from other World War Two dramas?Period dramas can often have a lot of clichés. Her nephew, Webster, (Brian J. Smith) is a doctor in the American hospital in Paris. When a local theater critic cited 19-year-old Brian J. Smith as “a young actor going places,” probably no one could have predicted how far. There’s a piece of music, Cavalleria Rusticana, that to me feels like Webster’s relationship with Paris. He becomes this smitten teenager and it’s so lovely to put that kind of pure innocence and erotic attraction in the frame of this awful, awful stream of events that’s happening in the world. He's living in a dream world. Like his sister KASIA, life is set only to get tougher for GRZEGORZ, and the devastating battle at Danzig is just the beginning of his wartime anguish. Find on Wikipedia. He then flitted between theatre and TV, landing roles on Stargate Universe and Gossip Girl and, in 2013, the Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie. Thank you! He makes firm friends with KONRAD, a brave man more suited to the challenges conflict brings, and together they eventually flee Poland and make their way through Europe, in the hope their lives can be spared, as so many of their fellow countrymen brutally lose theirs. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. Played by Helen HuntAmerican broadcaster and journalist NANCY CAMPBELL is addicted to war. Skip to Main Content. A naïve and loving teenager, he wants only to prove himself to his father. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. Since that performance at Collin College in 2002, the Dallas native has gone on to lead roles that have taken him around the world—literally. Connect with PBS on Facebook Connect with PBS on Twitter Connect with PBS on Instagram. Who is Nancy to Webster?Nancy is Webster’s aunt. Hate Crime (2006) Roger Ebert. Starring alongside Jeremy Irvine in Treadstone, Smith plays an all-American oil rig worker who becomes embroiled in a CIA behaviour modification programme. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. When WEBSTER and his colleague HENRIETTE trial their plan to smuggle patients out of the hospital, ALBERT is keen to leave too, and turns to WEBSTER for help. … ABOUT PROGRAM VISIT WEBSITE . Episode 5 | 0:02:43 | AIRED: 5/3/2020 | EMBED CODE. February 3, 2021. I remember he sent me an email really early on before filming explaining his thoughts on Webster and that he thought Webster would have played sports when he was young or tried to play sports as a way to fit in. The cello and the piano remind me of Albert and Webster. Upcoming: Treadstone in the USA, and World On Fire on BBC/PBS. ‘World on Fire’ heads to Masterpiece on PBS in 2020 On: September 18, 2019, By: Bill Young Having reluctantly returned from the To the Manor Born KERA Tour of England this past week (remember it was 50 degrees cooler in the UK than at home), it’s time to play a little catch up with regards to what is coming our collective way from a programming standpoint. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. With both children away, he finds solace in unlikely friendships; with HARRY CHASE’s mother, ROBINA, and the young Polish refugee she has reluctantly taken into her home. … Thank you! Webster looked up to Nancy as this larger-than-life figure who would always come back to visit and bring him toys/gifts from her travels. 2021 Bustle Digital Group. I found a really great book called Americans In Paris which is all about the Americans who chose to stay in Paris when the Nazis arrived - I believe their number was around 2,000. © 2020 TheTVDB.com, A Whip Media Group Company. In Manchester, the love-lorn Lois is trying to keep the family together. With his action-heavy roles in Sense8, Jason Bourne spin-off series Treadstone and BBC One's current WWII drama World On Fire, Brian J. Smith is the picture of confidence on screen.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Cast and Characters. World on Fire: Episode 5 (S1EP5 BBC1 27 Oct 2019, Brian J. Smith) Published. Even if it’s a pretty intense scene, in our breaks we have tears running down our faces, laughing, just cracking each other up. The people we are today, our rhythms of speech, our dreams and our desires would be very similar to people back then. I could not have picked or asked for someone who just makes all of that feel so easy and fun at the same time, because we really do have a lot of fun. In November 2018, it was announced, per Deadline, that he would be playing the joint lead in a series inspired by the Bourne franchise. Cast: Jonah Hauer-King (Harry Chase), Julia Brown (Lois Bennett), … Your continuing support helps make SCETV possible. World on Fire | Clip | Brian J. Smith on Webster O'Connor. It makes those events feel more dangerous and it makes that love and that connection feel more vital because it is so threatened. World On Fire. I think that’s what Webster feels like with Albert and living in Paris. His betrayal seems to simultaneously break her heart and open her mind. So was his World on Fire character. He is an actor who is known forStargate Universe (2009), Red Faction: Origins (2011), and Hate Crime (2005). Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. Skip to Main Content. “I try to be that boy I idolised in high school.”. American star Brian J. Smith plays Webster O'Connor: an American doctor who falls in love with a musician in Paris. Created by Peter Bowker. Brian J. Smith plays Webster O’Connor in World On Fire. WWII drama centered on the lives of ordinary people affected by the war. Photo of Brian J. Smith - The 68th Annual Tony Awards - Arrivals - Picture 7. Her father (Sean Bean) is a pacifist with shell-shock and her flaky brother Tom (Ewan Mitchel) is in trouble with the police. LOIS BENNETTPlayed by Julia BrownLOIS BENNETT is a Mancunian factory worker. “I look at the roles I’ve played — heroic, very masculine American guys — and it’s me playing out a fantasy,” he told the New York Post. Brian J. Smith as police officer Will Gorski in Netflix's 'Sense8'. Clip: Ep5 | 2m 43s Share this video: Share this video on Facebook. Thank you! In 2008, he took to the stage, appearing in Broadway play Come Back, Little Sheba. We will be talking about hip-hop and rap one minute, then we’ll get ready to do the scene and as everything’s settling down, his face - and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before with another actor - changes from the inside. Brian Jacob Smith (born October 12, 1981) is an American actor, known for his role as Will Gorski in the Netflix-produced series Sense8, Lieutenant Matthew Scott in the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe, and his Tony Award-nominated role as Jim O'Connor (The Gentleman Caller) in the 2013 revival of The Glass Menagerie. ALBERT FALLOUPlayed by Parker SawyersJazz musician ALBERT FALLOU is deeply in love with American doctor WEBSTER O’CONNOR. Brian J. Smith plays Webster O’Connor in World On Fire. World on Fire airs on Sep. 29 at 9 p.m. on BBC One. Speculation about Brian J. Smith’s sexuality has been raging for a while, but in the December issue of Attitude, the actor finally put the rumors … The first series … Connect with PBS on Twitter. He's escaped from a pretty oppressive intolerant military family upbringing. The SGU actor will appear alongside Helen Hunt in the upcoming BBC period drama ... SGU's Brian J. Smith co-stars on the sci-fi drama from the Wachowskis and the creator of Babylon 5. DOUGLAS BENNETTPlayed by Sean BeanDOUGLAS BENNETT is a pacifist who was mustard-gassed in the First World War. Browse more than 100,000 pictures of celebrity and movie on AceShowbiz. It can be a catalyst to bring out the best that humanity can be. Cast as a Chicago-based police officer who forms a psychic connection with a group of seven strangers, the show was cancelled after just two seasons, reports Screen Rant. World on Fire Brian J. Smith on Webster O'Connor. New York She is a brilliant nurse and they’ve grown close over time. Donate Now to … When you’re raised that way, the nervous system gets very good at putting on blinkers and seeing only what’s essential to survive. At first as a surgeon in a neutral hospital, and then a surgeon in a neutral hospital under Nazi occupation, WEBSTER finds himself fighting on all fronts; for his own identity and freedom, for his lover ALBERT’s freedom, and for those patients who, as of May 1940, are prisoners of war. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor, and why Webster's story was so … Brian J. Smith was born on October 12, 1981, in Dallas, Texas, USA, as Brian Jacob Smith. He watches as his son and daughter go off to war, despite the fact that he is a pacifist. WEBSTER O’CONNORPlayed by Brian J. SmithWhen we discover WEBSTER in September 1939, he is working in the increasingly busy corridors of the American hospital of Paris. Facebook. World on Fire. Webster grew up in a military family. Movie Reviews Great Movies Collections TV/Streaming Features Chaz's Journal Interviews Cast and Crew Brian J. Smith Find on IMDB. Read their profiles; On iPlayer. Brian J. Smith breaks down why he felt so connected to his character, Webster O'Connor. Share. When the Germans invade, ALBERT grows worried for his and WEBSTER’s safety, and for his own freedom as a Parisian of west-African heritage. ReddIt. BBC One is going to screen the series in 2019. Upcoming: Treadstone on USA, and World On Fire on BBC/PBS. When Webster’s father comes to visit he feels like he is being pulled back into that world that he does not want to go back to. A talented singer, LOIS and her musical partner, CONNIE KNIGHT are determined to make their own contribution to the war effort. How does Webster meet Albert?Webster visits an underground club, a very permissive jazz club run by Albert. Connect with PBS on Facebook Connect with PBS on Twitter Connect with PBS on Instagram. Now, Smith is preparing to show his latest work to the world. Sense8’s Brian J Smith Comes Out as Gay. So, naturally, people are thirsty for background knowledge on the cast. Blog Posts. She can’t stay away. Home World On Fire World On Fire | An interview with Brian J. Smith (Webster O’Connor) World On Fire | An interview with Brian J. Smith (Webster O’Connor) 26th September 2019. Brian J. Smith opened up about his sexuality for the first time publicly this week while reflecting on his Texas childhood in a candid new interview. Editor. Is that something you do as an actor or is it all on the script?In terms of research, it’s a conglomeration of a lot of stuff. Your continuing support helps make ArizonaPBS possible. I actually got to read some letters that my grandmother still has that he wrote to his wife and the kids when he was overseas, and it’s fascinating to know that your family was a part of that war. Grzegorz and Tom also struggle to survive the chaos of the evacuation. Before long, however, ALBERT’s fears become their reality, and he is interned in a camp just outside Paris, where he defies their racial profiling by forming a classical orchestra of inmates. Donate Now to OPB … Smith almost joined the army, per the New York Post. On TV. Donate Now to … The ordinary people whose lives are embroiled in the global conflict of World War Two.