Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Bratton.
Justin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My path into entertainment was pretty unconventional.
I was born in Brownsville, Texas, and grew up mostly in Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin. After graduating from the University of Texas, I spent some time living and working in Monterrey, Mexico. With my mother being from Myanmar, I had always been fascinated by the idea of just taking off and traveling through Asia and then the rest of the world. I made it to Asia and just kind of stopped.
A good friend of mine from Singapore, who also went to the University of Texas, got me into modeling while I was there. It was something I had never considered and figured it would most likely lead nowhere. I booked my first gig for Tiger Beer, got that first check, and it slowly became a career. I used the money to backpack across Southeast Asia and Australia. After that I started doing modeling contracts throughout Southeast Asia and using Bangkok as my base.
Bangkok is where I became involved in the independent film scene. I started acting, writing scripts, making short films and teaching myself how to edit. I never studied acting or filmmaking, so I learned by doing – and from the talented people I was fortunate enough to have around me.
Eventually, another friend suggested that I move to Singapore and try television hosting. Modeling wasn’t paying what it used to once social media started getting a foothold in the world, so I packed my bags and headed on down. It ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made.
After about a year of some serious networking and doing auditions I began hosting travel, lifestyle, documentary and competition shows across Asia. That eventually led to hosting Asia’s Got Talent, performing live in front of thousands of people and appearing on broadcasts seen in more than 50 countries. At the same time, I continued acting, including a role in HBO Asia’s Halfworlds, while writing and developing my own projects behind the camera.
Over the years, I’ve become much more involved behind the camera. On Challenger Battleground for Discovery and HBO Asia, I worked as a host, producer, challenge producer and writer. The series went on to win Best Reality Show at the Asian Television Awards and is now streaming on Prime Video.
Today, I’m bringing all those different parts of my career together. I’m currently in post-production on Surviving Silence, a psychological horror feature we shot in Thailand that I wrote, produced and star in. I also recently acted in a science-fiction horror film shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was my first film role in the United States.
I’m now spending more time back in Austin, Texas, building the next chapter of my career here while continuing to work throughout Asia. It’s a long commute, but I love the balance of working in both the United States and Asia.
Its definitely been a wild ride. I never really had a plan, I just kept following the opportunities that seemed exciting. Somehow, that took me from backpacking through Asia to modeling, acting, hosting major international productions and eventually creating films of my own.
I’m excited about being back in Austin and exploring what the entertainment scene here has to offer. I’ve already met so many amazingly talented people and can’t way to do my next project out of Austin, Texas.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There’s definitely been some ups and downs. I think a career in entertainment can look like its all glitz and glam from the outside, but there are long stretches of uncertainty, utter chaos, and emotional torment. To stay in the entertainment industry and make it your life is truly some kind of sickness. But I love it and couldn’t see myself doing anything else.
When I first moved to Singapore, I didn’t have a network or any guarantee that TV hosting would work out. I spent about a year networking, going to auditions and watching the bank account dwindle to almost nothing. There were plenty of jobs I didn’t get, projects that disappeared and periods when I had no idea what the hell I was doing.
I’ve also had to reinvent myself several times. When modeling stopped paying what it once did, I made the move into TV hosting. Covid in 2020 was another massive hurdle. I had just moved to LA when that happened and now was stuck in Los Angeles and the world was falling apart. But during that time i wrote 3 feature films and was motivated me to get more involved in producing and to have know-how in every facet of the industry.
Making my first feature Surviving Silence has probably been the greatest challenge of my career. Writing, producing and starring in an independent feature. Filmmaking is hard, not everyone likes each other after making a film. Some relationship are forged for a life time, baptized by fire, while others are utterly destroyed. It can be traumatic in the most insane ways that only those who have done it can relate to.
But seeing the film come together has also made it one of the most rewarding experiences of my life… its process we are still in the midst of to this day! I’m looking forward to finally showing to the world in the near future.
One of the mains I’ve learned is that you have to be adaptable. You can’t wait for someone else to give you permission to create, and you can’t let rejection convince you that you’re on the wrong path. When one area of my career slows down, I use that time to write, develop something new or learn another part of the process.
It hasn’t always been easy, but when the shit hits the fan, thats usually what pushes me toward doing something new and rewarding.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I never really know what box to check when someone asks what I do. I’m a television host, actor, writer, producer and filmmaker—sometimes, against my better judgment, all at once.
Hosting is probably what I’m best known for. I’ve hosted travel shows, documentaries, challenge shows and, most notably, Asia’s Got Talent. I love improvising, reacting to unpredictable situations and connecting with people in a way that feels genuine.
While hosting is incredibly fun and rewarding, I’ve fallen in love with the challenge of acting and the creativity it requires. My personality as a host is energetic and playful, but as an actor, I’m usually drawn to darker roles. Apparently, I enjoy either making people laugh or making them deeply uncomfortable.
After nearly two decades of working across different countries and cultures, I’ve been fortunate to acquire quite the back of tools. I’m comfortable walking onto a set almost anywhere in the world and finding a way to connect. I host, act, write, produce, direct and edit, and I’m comfortable moving between unscripted and scripted projects.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Austin feels like home. I went to UT, and since then, I’ve never stopped loving this city. I love its energy and even the way it looks when you drive into it—the water running through the city, the hills out west and the skyline rising in the middle of it all. It’s just a beautiful place.
Austin is also this strange collision of cultures that maybe shouldn’t work, but somehow does. You have cowboy and Wild West culture mixed with Tejano and Mexican influences, and a progressive energy bumping up against traditional Texas conservatism. All of those things meet right here, and it works. There is a balance to it and its part of what makes this place so unique and interesting.
I know some people are upset about how much the city is changing, and I get it. It is changing. But it still feels like Austin to me. People are still incredibly friendly. They still wear cowboy hats and boots, there is still amazing blues rock and country music. We still have the best damn breakfast tacos and barbecue on the planet, most importantly, Austin is still weird. People are selling crystals on south lamar, there are yoga paddle board parties that turn into raves, and folks sporting mohawks at the best latte spot in town.
As the city grows, new people, cultures and ideas are arriving. People coming from places like California and New York are bringing a youthful, vibrant energy that’s mixing with Austin’s college-town roots and its long-established creative scene. There’s so much happening here every day, the city is exploding with possiblities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.justinbratton.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justin_bratton/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justinbrattonofficial/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-bratton/
