Christopher Bradley

Christopher Bradley (born 11 May 1961) is an American film actor and director known for his roles in The Initiation (1984), Santa Barbara (1986), Waxwork (1988), and Criminal Passion (1994).

Christopher Bradley was born on May 11, 1961, in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. His father was a college professor and his mother, a registered nurse. He has seven siblings. 

Bradley was raised in Pennsylvania and Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he was 18, he relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, after receiving a scholarship to Texas Christian University. He graduated from TCU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. After a short stint in New York, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in acting. While in Los Angeles, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Acting

Christopher Bradley made his acting debut in 1984, playing the role of "David" in director Jud Taylor's TV movie License to Kill, starring James Farentino and Penny Fuller.

He did a play in Dallas and got an agent, which led to commercials work and a role in the cult 1984 classic The Initiation, starring Daphne Zuniga (of Spaceballs and Melrose Place fame) and Vera Miles (of Psycho fame). The following year, he was seen as "Todd" in John Erman's An Early Frost, the groundbreaking AIDS drama starring Aidan Quinn and Gena Rowlands. It just so happened that his close friend from Dallas had died of AIDS prior to him receiving the offer to play the part. At the audition, he was perceived to be too young to play Quinn's boyfriend, but Bradley told the casting director "I'm not going to leave your office until you tell me I can be an extra. I've got to be a part of this movie." He ended up getting the role of "Todd" as part of a group therapy scene. 

In 1986, Bradley was seen in 3 episodes of the acclaimed TV series Santa Barbara, playing the role of "Tommy" alongside Lynn Clark, Lane Davies, and Justin Deas.

Over the following years, Bradley appeared in several films/TV movies/TV series including The Wraith (1986), Waxwork (1988), Mad Dog Coll (1992), Leather Jacket Love Story (1997), and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998).

He was last seen on the screen in 2014, starring as "John Beck" in Matt Chesin's short film Focus, opposite Amanda Bassett and Julia Anne Severance.

In 2017, he also filmed for director Robert Conway's sci-fi Rhea, starring Anna Harr and Caleb Thomas. The film has been in post-production for a while and the release date is unknown. 

Bradley has also performed on stage, most notably as gay playwright Tennessee Williams in Teatro Bravo's Arizona Premiere of Rancho Pancho, about Williams' relationship with his male lover Pancho Rodriguez.

Direction

Bradley made his directorial debut in 2002, with a short animation comedy Backstage with Little Lorenzo, in which he lent his voice to the father character and Fred Tatasciore was the voice of the mother character. The following year, he made its sequel Little Lorenzo Gets Rescued! with the same cast.

In 2013, he wrote and directed a short film titled The Violation, starring Beth Grant, Elaine Hendrix, Slade Pearce, and Shayne Topp. The film shows 15-year-old Mickey Dougherty (played by Pearce) having a crush on 17-year-old Oscar Heim (played by Topp), who in turn has a crush on Mickey's sister Tina Dougherty (played by Chelsea Ricketts).

Bradley's last film as a director/writer was the 2019 drama The Trigger, starring Slade Pearce and Julia Anne Severance.

Teaching

In addition to acting, writing, and directing, Bradley teaches screenwriting for the Film and Media Studies Program at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.

Bradley currently resides in Mesa, Arizona, with his partner.