Cyrus Norcross
Special to ICT
LEUPP, Ariz. – Brian Price faced a critical decision: choose stability and study physics at Columbia University, or take a risk and pursue his lifelong passion. Eventually, the former Navy SEAL decided on his next mission: acting.
“I was thinking of doing physics because I enjoy learning about science and I could get a job,” Price said. “But I always knew I wanted to be in movies and on TV.”
During his first year at Columbia University, the Navajo man received a phone call that would solidify his decision to change his major to theater.
“I got a phone call from Michael Bay’s casting director and they had heard that I was a Native American SEAL thinking of going to film school,” said Price. “They wanted a few pictures of what I look like in my SEAL gear because they were thinking of casting me in ‘Transformers: The Last Knight.’”
Price sent off his photos in his SEAL gear and the casting director called him back in minutes, inviting him to the Transformers set the next day.
“They paid for my flight to Detroit and I was on the Transformer set for a month,” he said. “I loved the environment. The only other place I worked that I gave it 100 percent, besides the SEAL teams, was the Transformer set.”
The work ethic of the film industry intrigued Price as the film crew worked toward a common goal: creating the best movie they could. The film culture ignited his childhood ambition, steering Price to pursue acting at Columbia University.
“The people wanted to make the best film they could. It felt good,” Price recounted. “From there, the crew wanted me to continue to film with them in Europe, but I got accepted in Columbia’s acting program, so I switched my focus to drama and theater arts.”
Healing through acting
Price’s transition from military to civilian life was a complex process full of uncertainty. Through acting, Price was able to start his healing journey.
“Being back in civilian life, it was hard. I was having some mental health issues. I didn’t really know how to handle that,” Price said. “Therapy was difficult. I tried to shift my mindset from a wartime mentality to a student. Columbia was probably one of my darkest times and I was deeply depressed.”
For Price, the experience of combat and SEALs who lost their lives in Afghanistan lingered with him. Acting allowed him to unravel the emotions that he pushed deep down.
“You have a buddy die or there is a helicopter crash, you don’t have time to be sad,” he said. “You hold back your tears and get ready for the mission the next day. You do that enough times, you become numb.
“But acting helped me with my healing journey,” Price said. “Acting school doesn’t shy away from emotions and encourages you to explore what it means to be human.”
Stepping into the spotlight
A memorable experience that Price will cherish is performing in his first play, a devised piece. A devised piece or devised theater is a collaborative effort on making a performance from scratch. In essence, making a new recipe with your own ingredients.
“Devised pieces are nice, it’s not something that’s already set in stone,” he said. “It’s something that everyone puts their two cents in and builds together.”
He was cast by Shannon Sindelar, a theater director and producer based in New York City. Sindelar is an adjunct instructor at Barnard College and enjoys working in the experimental theater realm.
“I wanted personal stories from the actors and about their inner experience, so yeah, Brian talked about being in the service,” Sindelar said. “I was drawn immediately to him. He has a really honest presence. I could tell he was a good person and he would be interested in building this devised piece.”
Sindelar spoke about Price’s dedication to the art of acting and his curiosity to learn new skills and ideas. As a professor she wishes to teach those traits to all her students.
“I think if given the runway to develop himself as an artist, as a professional, as a businessman, the sky’s the limit. He has vision and ambition and energy that I wish I could teach,” she said.
During the performance, Price spoke about getting anxiety before going on stage but feeling relieved as soon as he started performing.
“I remember my cue was about to come on and I’m sitting off in the wing and I’m having an anxiety attack. Like what are you doing? What on earth are you thinking?” Price recalled. “Then as soon as my cue hit, I took a big breath and I stepped out and all the fear was gone.”
In 2020, he earned his degree from Columbia University and eventually returned home to Arizona.
Becoming grounded
During the pandemic, theater productions were shut down and Price looked to different outlets to better understand storytelling, and himself. He read acting books and moved to Florida, where he began going to therapy and later became certified as a mental health coach.
He helped counsel special operation veterans who were dealing with mental health issues. The intensity of special operation missions and having greater exposure to life and death situations is a scenario with which Price is all too familiar.
“People don’t get it,” he said. “They don’t understand the mind of a veteran, you know, and I’m just thankful to have helped a few brothers during a hard time.”
As COVID-19 restrictions began to ease, theater companies began to open back up. Price moved back to Leupp to hone his craft on acting and spend time with his family.
While home he has taken part in five plays, played six characters, did stage management and produced a play. He recently starred in “Romeo and Juliet” during the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival on Aug. 3.
His versatility as an actor shined as he played characters with two different personalities, the commanding Prince Escalus and the goofy Peter. The research he conducted and the guidance he received from renowned Shakespearen director Jim Warren allowed Price to portray the roles as if they were real people. Warren is the founding artistic director of the American Shakespeare Center.
“One of the things that I first noticed about Brian is he’s got an infectious enthusiasm for doing the work. He’s excited to be an actor and excited to learn,” Warren said. “He’s the first one to show up with a smile and he leaves rehearsal the same way. Having him in this troop of actors has been a blessing.”
Warren spoke of a memorable moment with Price and how he added his own spin to “Romeo and Juliet.”
“I showed up for rehearsal and Brian was decked out in Navajo regalia. He was proposing the regalia for the Prince in ‘Romeo and Juliet,’” Warren recalled. “That was just brilliant. It just blew my mind and it felt so appropriate. I found that to be stunning and wonderful for our show.”
Vision for the future
Moving forward, Price feels an obligation to not just hone his acting but to be of service to his community. To accomplish this, he applied for the Fulbright Scholarship with the intention to go to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts for his Master of Fine Arts in Classical Theater.
The Fulbright Scholarship is an international educational program that provides funding for students, teachers and experts so they can learn, research or teach in another country. He said he hopes to use his education to start a company that would help Native high school students get involved in the entertainment industry.
“When I was a SEAL, I wanted to be an asset to the overall mission,” he said. “Now that I’m working in film and theater, I need to be an asset to this profession and give back to the community, ”
Warren talked about the prestigious academy, highlighting its reputation in the theater world. He also touched on the trend of growing diversity within the theater industry.
“We are in a place where Brian is one of the great examples of how folks that have been overlooked in the past, are getting opportunities that they should have been getting all along. To shine, to grow, to learn and to represent their own backgrounds in this vast world of theater and in particular the classical works and in Shakespeare,” Warren said.
As Price moves forward in his career, his mission is to inspire Native American communities toward the theater arts. He envisions having an educational initiative tailored for those communities, specifically for high school students. He said Native communities largely lack theater, filmmaking or digital photography programs. And, he said, those communities lack a voice in the entertainment industry.
“We really don’t have a platform, I mean every single movie about Native Americans, it’s the same stereotypical thing,” Price said. “I’ll be able to come back and give that to Indigenous people and give them a platform.
“Growing up on rez you either play rez ball or you watch a thousand DVDs. I was terrible with basketball so I chose the movie route. But I just want to tell the next generation coming up, ‘You can do anything you want in this world.’”
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