The Stand's Brad William Henke Reveals His Inspiration For Tom Cullen
By Emily Bell
Before he was an actor, Henke played both college and pro football, a time during which he came into contact with people disabled from birth and players who had suffered head injuries in the game. He tells Looper that both had an impact on his performance as Tom Cullen.
"When I was in high school, a kid that was couple of years older than me went to University of Colorado to play football," the actor recalls. "His name was Ed Reinhardt Jr. He had a blood clot in his brain break, and ever since then, he was not himself. He said to me once, 'In here, I'm still me,' which made me feel like that's got to be very frustrating... I just try to put a lot of these feelings that aren't written in there, but just carry them with me with Tom."
Somewhat surprisingly, Henke — who played for the Denver Broncos during a stint with the NFL — does not know anyone else from his pro days dealing with the effects of head trauma, specifically Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a condition that athletes in particular are susceptible to. "I don't really know anyone personally that has CTE, and I don't feel like I do, but I know it's a possibility, always," he says. "I don't know a lot about CTE, but I do know that if you play football, rugby, box, martial arts, you're going to injure your brain... I think if I personally had effects, I would have them by now."
While Henke — whose recent work also includes roles on Orange is the New Black and Manhunt: Deadly Games — has fortunately escaped the issues that have plagued some of his fellow football players, he utilizes what he's absorbed from the people in his life to great effect in The Stand, reconceiving a somewhat dated yet still critical character for the 2020s.
New episodes of The Stand premiere Thursdays on CBS All Access.
