See Brandon Sklenar Young: The ‘Glee’ Cameo Fans Can’t Stop Rewatching
Before ‘1923’ and ‘The Housemaid,’ a young Brandon Sklenar was fist-bumping Cory Monteith on ‘Glee’
Key Takeaways
- Brandon Sklenar, 35, appeared as an extra on ‘Glee’ back in 2010 before fame hit.
- He packed his car after high school and drove to California alone to pursue acting.
- His breakthrough role in ‘1923’ changed his life personally and professionally.
Most people know Brandon Sklenar from his work in 1923 , The Housemaid or It Ends with Us. But long before these breakout roles, he had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment on Glee, a TV series with a fandom so big it has its own name. Here’s a look back at Sklenar’s early days on screen, including what he has to say about that “Gleek for a day” appearance.
A look at young Brandon Sklenar
Sklenar was born in 1990 in New Jersey under the name Brandon Tyler Feakins. Growing up, he knew he wanted to be an actor, but his father didn’t love the idea, he said in a 2024 interview with Forbes.
“Pretty much until I was 13-14 wanted to become an actor. I told my father when I was 14, ‘As soon as I graduate high school, I’m going to move to LA and be an actor.’ He said, ‘Well, at least try to go to college.’ I did—I tried to go to community college for about six months. I mean, I just left—I didn’t tell anybody,” Sklenar said. “I just left, packed up the car in the middle of the night and drove out to California two months after I graduated high school and never looked back, and started studying and doing odd jobs—construction for a long time, worked as an extra—background actor on things and whatnot, and got the ball rolling.”
One of those background acting gigs was playing a friend of Finn (Cory Monteith) in Season 2, Episode 2 of the hit musical comedy show Glee.
“I’m in the ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ video,” Sklenar told Esquire earlier this year. “I’m on the bleachers with Cory Monteith, rest in peace. Yeah, we’re fist-bumping.”
Following that, Sklenar had small appearances in New Girl (2017), Vice (2018), The Big Ugly (2020) and Westworld (2022). His breakthrough role came later that year when he played Spencer Dutton, a key character in Taylor Sheridan’s critically acclaimed Yellowstone prequel 1923.
“That show changed my life, my career and my personal life. I grew tremendously as a human being and as an actor through that experience. I will forever be grateful for all of it, and to Taylor, Ben Richardson, 101 [Studios] and Paramount for the opportunity,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter in April 2025. “I was a wreck many times on that set, especially during the finale. It was so emotional. ”
What Brandon Sklenar is doing now
After 1923 ended in 2025, Sklenar starred in Drop (2025) and The Housemaid (2025). He also worked on the highly anticipated book-to-screen adaptation of It Ends with Us (2024). That film drew intense online scrutiny and has since been linked to an ongoing legal dispute between Sklenar’s co-stars, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
“What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film,” Sklenar wrote on Instagram in August 2024. “It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.”
Currently, Sklenar is working on a variety of projects, including the upcoming thriller F.A.S.T. and a neo-Western called The Rescue. The 35-year-old is in a long-term relationship with Courtney Salviolo.
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