Brandon Flynn still has Marlon Brando on his mind.
The 31-year-old actor, who broke out at the end of the 2010s in 13 Reasons Why, recently wrapped an Off-Broadway run playing the legendary actor in Kowalski—Gregg Ostrin’s entertaining, only somewhat-factual play about Brando’s first meeting with the playwright Tennessee Williams—and it’s clear he’s still coming off the high of his well-received take on the acting titan.
When he hops on a Zoom call with me from his apartment, the boyish Flynn is in a tight white tee straight out of A Streetcar Named Desire. The lingering ghost of Brando perhaps? “It’s always interesting to end something,” he tells me. “I feel full and empty at the same time. And I guess the plight of being an actor is constantly asking what’s next?”
For now, what’s next for Flynn is a quick vacation to Zipolite, Mexico’s famous nude beach, with his husband, the author and playwright Jordan Tannahill. “The gay destination,” Flynn says with a smile. (When I tell him a friend who’s currently at Zipolite has posted nothing but skin on his Instagram Stories, he quips: “Can’t wait!”)
But before Flynn gets to hit the sand in his birthday suit, he’s got the horror-comedy The Parenting (now streaming on Max) to promote. Directed by Craig Johnson, The Parenting is about a young gay couple (Flynn and Atypical star Nik Dodani) who host a weekend getaway with their parents, in a stunning country rental that turns out to be the residence of a 400-year-old evil entity.
The film has an incredibly stacked cast. The pair’s parents are played by legends Brian Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Edie Falco and Dean Norris; their creepy rental’s kooky groundskeeper is the iconic Parker Posey, currently enjoying a much-deserved renaissance in the latest season of The White Lotus.
Watching The Parenting is kind of a baffling experience. Chief of all: how did they convince such a pedigreed cast to do a movie so incredibly silly? But to overthink would be to miss out on the fun at hand. Sometimes, it plays out like a Goosebumps episode punching above its weight (complimentary!), brandishing its starry prestige cast on a movie so extravagantly ludicrous.
GQ talked to the actor about getting projectile-vomited on by Brian Cox, bunking with Parker Posey, and adapting Gary Indiana’s Rent Boy for the screen.
GQ: The Parenting’s a lot of fun. Immediately though, when you realize how many legends are in it, you’re just like, “Wait, what?” What did you learn working with people like that? Correct me if I’m wrong, but generally, you’ve always worked with people your age.
Brandon Flynn: That’s right. I mean, my career was largely 13 Reasons Why and working with young adults.
I truly had no idea of the scope. I was told it was a studio movie, and I was like, “Oh, cool. That’d be great to be the lead of a studio movie.” I wasn’t even thinking of potential casting for anyone else. Then Craig called me and said, “You’re going to do the movie.” At that point, Nik Dodani and I had done chemistry reads together, and he’s like, “Nik’s going to be your partner.” I was like, “Oh, my God, amazing. Who’s my mom?” He’s like, “Lisa Kudrow.” I was like, “What?” Of course, when he told me Edie Falco was in it, I literally cried because I have been such a hardcore fan of hers. Then yeah, of course, Brian Cox and Dean Norris and Parker Posey. I was just like, “Whoa, this is so cool.”
