“It Ends with Us ”Star Brandon Sklenar Opens Up About Living in His Car Before His Big Break
- - “It Ends with Us ”Star Brandon Sklenar Opens Up About Living in His Car Before His Big Break
Marina WattsDecember 18, 2025 at 3:51 AM
0
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Brandon Sklenar in Las Vegas, Nevada in April 2025 -
Brandon Sklenar gets candid about what he overcame to find acting success in an "as told to" article in The Wall Street Journal
The It Ends With Us star was raised in his grandparents home after his parents' divorce and lived in his car for a period
His new show, The Housemaid premieres on Friday, Dec. 19
Brandon Sklenar doesn't faced his fair share of challenges before hitting it big.
In an article with the Wall Street Journal published on Dec. 16, the Housemaid and It Ends With Us star told the publication about living in his car and overcoming his stutter before he got his big break with the series 1923.
Sklenar's parents divorced when he was six years old, which might have led to him developing a stutter. "Looking back, the stutter seemed to have been psychosomatic. Their split was a shock, and I was unable to express myself. It was just a trauma response to unexpressed emotions."
The actor, 35, said that his father and grandparents' home in Lake Hopatcong, N.J., was "the most consistent home" he had growing up. The three-story home "smelled like wood and had a weird vibe, as if haunted."
Tiffany Rose/Getty
Brandon Sklenar in Los Angeles, California in April 2025
He fell in love with acting from being in his own head as a child and became obsessed with movies. "I’d go to school as movie characters and stay in accents for weeks. Everyone thought I was a weirdo."
Sklenar said that his stutter "disappeared" whenever he was acting as a child, pretending to be another character. "When I was myself, it returned."
After a brief time in community college, Sklenar sold his car for $2,500 and drove to the West Coast with his girlfriend at the time. Without a network of people or a plan, they were soon evicted from their apartment.
After they broke up, he lived in his car "for a while."
He was discovered at 20 years old by a talent manager from whom he bummed a cigarette. Sklenar got an agent and was cast in small parts while studying acting and participating in the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Fast-forward to 2022, and he was cast in Taylor Sheridan's 1923, a role he knew would be "life-changing."
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
As for where the actor lives today, he's leveled up quite a bit. He and his girlfriend Courtney Salviolo and their dog Remy reside in a "Midcentury Modern house [that] has a panoramic view of the Pacific," he shared. He's working on a small movie theater in the downstairs living room.
His favorite part of the house is the "upstairs living room," which has the best views from a large deck. "There’s original polished wood paneling on the ceiling and a stone fireplace," he details. "I like natural elements."
"If I had it easy growing up, my life probably would have been very different," the Drop actor concluded. "There’s no way I’d be where I am now without that childhood stutter."
Monica Schipper/Getty
Brandon Sklenar in Los Angeles in December 2025
Sklenar previously spoke about his upbringing and work ethic as the son of a construction worker. “I come from a lineage of blue-collar workers, and I grew up on a job site, so I started swinging a hammer when I was 10 years old,” he told PEOPLE in April.
“That just breeds a certain type of thing,” Sklenar added. “You do your best, and hopefully good things happen.”
The Housemaid premieres in theaters on Friday, Dec. 19.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
