# Stuart Brennan

Stuart Brennan (born October 8, 1982) is a BAFTA Cymru-winning British actor, playwright, producer and director. He is an advocate for independent film, helping set up and establish film festivals across the world.

## Early life and education

Brennan was born on 8 October 1982 in Barnstaple, North Devon, to parents Nigel and Lorraine Brennan. He has five brothers — Rob, Ollie, Clive, Leo and Kit.
Brennan attended Pilton Infants School, Pilton Bluecoats School, Pilton Community College, and North Devon College. He graduated from the University of Winchester in 2004, achieving a 2:1 degree with honours in Drama.
Brennan was awarded a WBC Championship belt and made an honorary World Champion by the World Boxing Council in recognition of the five years he spent training for his portrayal of Howard Winstone in Risen, a part for which he also had to lose two stone (28 pounds). In 2011, he was awarded a BAFTA Wales for Best Actor for the portrayal.

## Career as a writer
### Theatre

Brennan's graduation stage theatre performance in A Little Silhouette of a Man, which he co-wrote and performed in with two other actors, was selected to premiere for the public at the prestigious Theatre Royal Winchester, to a sell-out crowd.
His next play, Coffee Mornings, was produced and directed by Peter Snee and premiered at the Stoke Repertory Theatre in a professional production for Theatre Giant. The play had strong reviews and the writing was described by one critic as "Pinter-esque".
In 2013, Brennan wrote Houdini. He starred in the production as Theo Houdini. The play received strong reviews.

### Film and television

In 2002, Brennan wrote the horror film The Innocent, which he also produced and directed. In 2004, he wrote, directed, and produced the short film The Blood We Cry, which aired on the BSKyB network. The film deals with a false accusation of racism and mistaken identity. In 2004, he wrote the feature film The Lost.
In 2005, Brennan wrote and produced the short film The Fifteenth, based on the life of boxer Howard Winstone in the 1960s. 2005 saw his first collaboration with Horrible Histories author Terry Deary, when Brennan was hired to adapt the best-selling trilogy of books The Fire Thief into a feature film.
In 2006, Brennan wrote the feature film Risen, which he produced with Neil Jones, who also directed it. In 2007, Brennan was hired by Sunipa Pictures to write on spec the feature script Life of Scars, which is yet to be produced.
In 2009-10, Brennan was hired by Green Leaf Film Studios in Chengdu, China to adapt 26 episodes of Terry Deary's True Time Tales best-selling books for TV. The directors of the studio were so impressed with Brennan they hired him for 18 months to help set up the VFX and animation studio. He directed and produced the 30-minute, 3D-animated pilot episode of True Time Tales. He also wrote a series of twelve short episodes of adaptations of classic fables, entitled Fantastic Fables, and oversaw the production of the two-minute 2D animated pilot episode. In 2010, he wrote eight episodes of a Chinese-based mobile phone TV series, entitled Dynasty, for the studio.
Brennan was approached and commissioned in the same year to write a short film about London boxer Terry Spinks, who was portrayed in the film Risen. 2012 saw Brennan collaborate with actor Sebastian Street and write the film Tomorrow. The movie went into production in 2014. That same year, Brennan wrote two other scripts, including the dark horror A Backpacker, which is currently being produced by Ridley Scott.
Early 2014 saw Brennan write and direct zombie thriller Plan Z, produced by Imaginarium Tower and Zoghogg Entertainment and featuring himself, Brooke Burfitt, and Victoria Morrison. It was released in 2016.
2015 Brennan wrote a modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol. It was released at Christmas 2018. 2018 also saw the release of his follow-up directorial effort, The Necromancer.

## Career as a director
### Film and television

Brennan directed the following feature films:
* Getting High With Leo – drama – 2002 (student film)
* The Innocent – horror – 2003 (student film)
* Plan Z – horror – 2016
* The Necromancer – horror – filmed in 2016/17
* Wolf – horror – 2018
Brennan directed the following TV shows or short films for TV:
* The Blood We Cry – drama – 2004 (student film)
* Terry Deary's True Time Tales – The Magic & The Mummy – 3D animation – 2010
* Fantastic Fables – The Fox and the Crow – 2D animation – 2010
Brennan directed the following music videos:
* "Inside Out" – for The New Electric, a Canadian pop band
* "Journey's End" – for Roger Taylor, of Queen fame

## Career as a producer
### Film and television

Brennan set up and ran Burn Hand Film Productions from 2001 to 2014. He has worked with British Phoenix Films, Studio 82, Jumping Tiger Inc. and Imaginarium Tower.
He has worked and developed projects in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, China, the United States, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Canada.
In 2004 he produced a corporate film for Microsoft, which Bill Gates introduced at his Atlanta conference that year. Brennan also produced a corporate film for the NHS in 2008.
He has worked as a producer on numerous short films and feature films.
In 2016 his movie Plan Z was released to critical and commercial success. It played theatrically at eleven cinemas in the UK, and was released on iTunes, GooglePlay and on DVD in ASDA in 2017. Top horror critic MJ Simpson called it "One of the top horror films of 2016."
In 2018 he produced and directed the movie Wolf.

## Career as an actor
### Theatre

In 2004 Brennan performed as one of the leads in A Little Silhouette of a Man at the Theatre Royal Winchester. He then toured the southwest UK with a production by Wessex Actors Company, in the lead role in Does Santa Really Dream of Reindeer. The show played 13 venues across the region and was well reviewed.
He teamed up again with the Wessex Actors Company in 2005 for a larger scale tour of The Mayor of Casterbridge in a lead supporting role as Donald Farfrae, directed by Michael Barry. The play toured 18 venues across Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.
2006 saw Brennan take the stage in Joe Flavin's production of Blue in Camden, London, as one of three actors dealing with the loss of their friend.
In 2008 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brennan drew rave reviews for his "brilliantly convincing" performance in the two hander The Open Couple, playing opposite Jennifer Sarah Dean and directed by Peter Snee. There were also performances in London.
In 2012 he gave his voice to a recorded version, performed live with puppets of A Christmas Carol, performing the role of Bob Cratchett, directed by Peter Snee.
In 2013 he performed as Theo Houdini in the lead role of the play Houdini in the UK & Ireland Tour. Although the play drew mixed reviews, including a strong four-star review from The Stage, Brennan for the most part was praised, with comparisons being made to a young Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Daniel Day-Lewis.
In 2016 Brennan played the lead role of Professor Goodman in the national Australian tour of Ghost Stories, directed by Jennifer Sarah Dean and Peter Snee. The play earned strong reviews and sold out many of its dates as it toured Melbourne, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga, Canberra, Perth and Geelong.

### Film

Brennan won a BAFTA in 2011 for his performance in Risen. He was the youngest-ever recipient of the Award and the first Englishman to ever win the BAFTA Cymru for Best Actor.
The World Boxing Council recognised Brennan's portrayal of the boxer Howard Winstone and his commitment to portraying the boxing accurately in the film, by making him an honorary World Champion. Head of the WBC Mauricio Sauliman presented Brennan with an authentic championship belt.
Risen took five years to make, due to financing issues. Brennan trained the entire time, so that once filming took place for the fight sequences he could actually spar with the other boxers in the film—most of whom were played by world boxing champions, including five-time world champion Érik Morales. Brennan dropped 28 pounds (2 stone) to portray the featherweight boxer Howard Winstone. Brennan spent six months before filming speaking all the time in a Welsh accent, and continued for two years, during the project's hiatus. On set and during filming, he stayed in his accent.
In the film The Reverend, Brennan, who portrays the title character, actually became an ordained reverend, after taking an online course. He also read the bible and attended church services.
In 2018, he appeared in the film Tomorrow.

## Film festivals

In 2008 Brennan set up the Newport International Film Festival, to help support and foster filmmaking and exhibition opportunities for filmmakers in Wales. For the first two years he personally covered all of the costs of the event, giving free entry to filmmakers and free admission to the public.
In 2010 he established the Film Festival Guild and set up two new festivals, the British Independent Film Festival and the British Horror Film Festival.

## Filmography

* 2002 - Getting High With Leo - Director
* 2002 - The Innocent - Writer, producer and director
* 2003 - Lonely Face - Kevin
* 2004 - Shindig - Jack
* 2005 - Annabelle - Priest Valon
* 2005 - The Blood We Cry - Michael/writer, producer and director
* 2005 - Group Dynamics - Stephen
* 2005 - Tenderness - Producer
* 2005 - Give and Take - Executive producer
* 2006 - The Fifteenth - Howard Winstone
* 2006 - The Bond - Thomas
* 2006 - The Innocent - Kenton
* 2006 - The Lost - Private Scott
* 2006 - The Penalty King - Auto-Paints Barcelona Keeper
* 2007 - Loyalty Line - Executive producer
* 2007 - The Feral Generation - Dave
* 2008 - ZoTN - Producer
* 2008 - The Sickhouse - Classroom Student
* 2008 - Rachel - Associate producer
* 2009 - Jack Said - Valuev
* 2010 - Risen - Kenton/producer
* 2010 - Terry Deary's True Time Tales – The Magic & The Mummy – 3D animation – 2010
* 2010 - Fantastic Fables – The Fox and the Crow – 2D animation – 2010
* 2010 - Dynasty - Writer
* 2011 - The Reverend - The Reverend
* 2013 - The Zombie King - Associate producer
* 2013 - Blue Channel - Simon
* 2014 - Serial Killer - Jack
* 2016 - Job - Executive producer
* 2016 - Plan Z - Craig/Producer
* 2017 - Journey's End - Producer
* 2018 - Tomorrow - Sky
* 2018 - The Necromancer - Logan
* 2018 - A Christmas Carol - Scrooge
* 2019 - Wolf - Grackus/producer and director
* 2021 - Wrongfully Convicted - Preach
* 2022 - Stalker - Daniel Reed
* 2022 - Kingslayer - Richard
* 2024 - Warchief - Orion
* 2024 - Assassin's Guild - Atticus
* 2024 - The Stoic - Marco

### Theater

* 2004 - A Little Silhouette of a Man
* 2004 - Does Santa Really Dream of Reindeer
* 2005 - The Mayor of Casterbridge - Donald Farfrae
* 2006 - Blue
* 2008 - The Open Couple
* 2012 - A Christmas Carol - Bob Cratchett
* 2013 - Houdini - Theo Houdini
* 2016 - Ghost Stories - Professor Goodman

### Music videos

* 2016 - "Inside Out" – for The New Electric, a Canadian pop band
* 2017 - "Journey's End" – for Roger Taylor, of Queen fame

## Awards and recognition

| Film festival | Project | Award win | Award nominations |
| Horrorhound Weekend Film Festival | Plan Z | Best Director | Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor |
| Big Island Film Festival | Plan Z | None | Best Film |
| Fright Night Film Fest | Plan Z | None | None |
| Canada International Film Festival | Plan Z | Best Foreign Film | Best Foreign Film |
| National Film Awards (UK) | Plan Z | Best Thriller | Best Thriller |
| The UK Festival of Zombie Culture | Plan Z | None | None |
| Mountain Film Festival | "Inside Out" | Best Music Video | Best Music Video |
| Creation International Film Festival | "Inside Out" | Best Music Video | Best Music Video |
| Canadian Diversity Film Festival | "Inside Out" | Best Music Video, Best Director | Best Music Video, Best Director |
| Los Angeles Cinefest | "Inside Out" | Semi-Finalist | Best Music Video |
| Film Score Festival | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| The Monthly Film Festival | "Inside Out" | None | Best Music Video |
| Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| Rock N'Roll Film Festival Kenya | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| El Ojo Cojo International Film Festival | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| Alaska International Film Awards | "Inside Out" | Best Music Video | Best Music Video |
| Film Score and Scruffy City Film & Music Festival | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| 2nd Indore International Film Festival | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| Brazil Cinefest | "Inside Out" | None | None |
| Horrorhound Weekend Film Festival | The Necromancer | None | Best Director, Best Film |
| Bristol Independent Film Festival | The Necromancer | Best Film | Best Film |
| Seneca International Film Festival | Tomorrow | Best Film, Best Film Audience Award | Best Film, Best Film Audience Award |
| SCAD Savannah Film Festival | Tomorrow | Best Film | Best Film |
| Scottsdale Film Festival | Tomorrow | None | Best Film |
| Napa Valley Film Festival Film Festival | Tomorrow | Best Film, Best Film Audience Award | Best Film, Best Film Audience Award, Best Actor |