“I Had No Plans To Be A Writer”: Dylan Brady’s Embracing The Ride Up

The British writer-actor is collaborating with Nicole Kidman and A24 on a TV show – but first, he’s on a holiday-from-hell in Two Weeks In August.

The line between actor and writer isn’t particularly clear for Dylan Brady. Whether it’s in front of the camera or behind the page, he’s equally at home. Unfortunately for his character in the BBC One drama Two Weeks In August, the same can’t be said. Set against the backdrop of a Greek island villa, the series spirals from the psychological nightmares to the ugly truths lurking beneath a dysfunctional friend group, turning a sun-soaked escape into a fortnight getaway from hell. Brought to us by the makers of I May Destroy You, Brady plays Jacob’s (Hugh Skinner) younger lover Will, emerging as a central figure in the eight-part thriller through his emotional complexity and quiet significance. 

This role comes at a pivotal moment in Brady’s career, as he establishes himself as a mutli-hyphenate talent. On top of his previous acting roles in Mary & George, The Diplomat and the BIFA-nominated Sebastian, he’s secured a landmark deal with A24 as a writer on an untitled screenplay that will star Nicole Kidman. With other writer credits under his belt such as Netflix’s Everything Now and the upcoming short Anon (starring Con O’Neill and filmed entirely through dash-cam footage), this very much feels like a tipping point in his trajectory as an established multidisciplinary artist in film. 

In conversation with Man About Town, Brady talks working with A24 and Nicole Kidman, his love for mentor Andrew Haigh, and details a very drunken 17-man Hungarian celebration.

Hey Dylan! Congratulations on Two Weeks In August! What is the most chaotic holiday you’ve ever had?  

I never did a party holiday or anything like that, but in my last year of drama school, 17 of us went to Budapest, which was as feral as it sounds. We were a rowdy swarm of actors let loose after being cooped up in a movement studio for three years, which was fun for us, but less so for the locals. Everyone was skint, so we walked everywhere. Two of the boys even performed soliloquies in the street for cash to spend at the pub, which haunts me to this day. Budapest is a beautiful city, but the trip was decidedly unclassy – 30,000 steps a day and seven pints for dinner. We drank every ruin bar dry but didn’t so much as look at a museum. There were so many of us that we’d often get accidentally split up into sub-groups, separated from our mates and lumped with people we didn’t much care for. Very little cultural curiosity, but lots of drunken snogs between friends, which felt nauseatingly incestuous the next morning. Glorious, nightmarish stuff. Have you ever tried to order goulash for 17 people in Hungarian? 

The drama comes from the makers of I May Destroy You and has received rave reviews upon release. What were your initial perceptions of it? Did it feel like a significant moment for you? 

Really good writing is a rare treat, and Catherine [Shepherd]’s writing is excellent. In Two Weeks In August, she manages to capture the longstanding friendship dynamic in a way which is quintessentially British, in the sense that absolutely nobody is saying what they mean or feel. And when the cracks in those relationships start to show, what seeps out is so rich – it’s complicated, dark, funny, and totally real. The inconvenient truth clashing with the middle-class entitlement to have a nice time because we “only get two weeks a year.” It was brilliant, and like nothing else I’ve read. You often have so little control as an actor – a lot of the time, you’re making the best out of what comes your way and sticks. So when you fall in love with a project, and it works out, it’s such a treat. And in such good company, too! I was excited enough by the scripts, but getting to work with this incredible cast of great actors I’ve long admired was really special.

You play the Gen-Z boyfriend of Jacob (Hugh Skinner). What were your first and lasting impressions of your character? 

I try not to bring too much judgment on a first read. I could tell Will’s arrival was supposed to ruffle some feathers and disrupt the delicate balance of ignorance and pretence which has been keeping the group together. He’s direct and unsubtle, equally full of shit but a different kind to the rest of the group. He purports a kind of radical honesty, says things like “Express your truth”, and wants everyone around him to know he has progressive ideas in his head. It’s probably authentic, but it is also performative, which I guess is symptomatic of a person who has grown up with the internet and formed their identity via social media. Maybe this is a roundabout way of saying I found him a bit annoying. But I think after watching this group of people slowly implode under the fallacy that they’re good friends, it’s refreshing to have someone try to be clear and honest amidst all the bullshit. Not all of his insights are well-deployed, but quite often he is right.

If you could describe the ideal viewing set-up to watch the show in – what would it be? 

The show is best watched with friends, I think. That way, you can identify with the characters and argue over who is most likely to ruin the vibes at dinner, like Dan, or get off with an inappropriate mutual like Nat. These group holidays, whatever you think of them, are such a universal experience, and at the very least, you can learn how not to do the next one.

Alongside acting, you’ve recently had a script you penned acquired by A24 after a bidding war. There are rumours that Nicole Kidman will star! What can you tell us about how that project is progressing? 

For the first time in my life, I’m thrilled to say the rumours are true. It’s been a whirlwind few months – I sold the show in February, immediately jumped into a busy script schedule and started shooting a new sitcom for the BBC. I feel like I haven’t slept in months. It was the first time acting and writing collided in that way, but luckily, A24 and Nicole [Kidman] are the best creative partners I could dream of, so I’ve felt very supported. And we’re cooking up something I’m really excited about. 

Before sending ripples through the industry with your creative endeavours, what did life look like for you? 

I was lucky in that I started working almost straight away. I’d finished my final play at drama school, and was on set a couple of weeks later. In the early years, I was always juggling day jobs alongside acting work – restaurants, shops, escape rooms, call centres, you name it. I worked every weekend through my time at drama school, too. I couldn’t wait to leave home and went to train at 18, so my life kind of began at university. There was a lot of uncertainty, lots of anxiety around money and an inability to stay still. I had to work hard to stay afloat, which often meant spinning many plates.

Can you paint a picture of a younger Dylan? Was this career always the path you wanted to take? 

I was a bit of a nightmare, I think. I had lots of energy, unwarranted confidence, and a desperate need to be the centre of attention. I would make my older sister and her friends endure live performances, I’d glue myself to the dance floor at family weddings, I’d insist on asking “How do they do that?!” every three minutes while watching Eastenders with my mum. I was nicknamed Dylan the villain. Said in affectionate jest, but I was definitely a handful. I didn’t know yet that I could make money from being a loud, annoying attention seeker. I knew I enjoyed performing, but I only learned it was an option when I moved schools for sixth form, auditioned for the school show, and people around me started talking about drama school. 

Did acting or writing come first? Do they both feel like they allow you to flex similar creative muscles, or do you crave one at different times? 

I had no plans to be a writer – that kind of took me by surprise. I was always curious about storytelling, but whenever my friends at drama school said they were writing, I’d always think, “About what?” Like, what does a 19-year-old have to say about the world? But once I’d started working, I was working through some stuff and realised there was an itch to scratch. I started writing my first script. That was at the end of 2019, and a few months later, the whole world stopped, and there wasn’t much else to do. I feel like both practices feed each other. I tend to be more self-conscious as an actor, and writing definitely allows me to execute more of a vision. But for every day on set I spend itching to make a story of my own, there’s a day stuck behind my laptop where I’m hoping to be rescued from my misery with a phone call from my agent.

How has being a writer yourself influenced your ability to consider scripts for potential acting roles? 

To varying success, I try to switch off my writer’s brain when I’m reading scripts as an actor. I think judging something based on what I’d do differently can get in the way of connection, which is important to find if you’re trying to land a role. What’s helpful is knowing that, as a writer, a script is a bit like a map. There’s a route drawn out for you, and the destination is the feeling or the objective of the scene. And how you arrive at that is up to you – it’s OK to detour. And that doesn’t necessarily mean pitching dialogue rewrites on tape, but it might mean that you take the viewer somewhere unexpected along the way. Being a writer has taught me that there is almost always a reason for the way something is written. The writer, the producers, and a very experienced script team have lived with the script for months, or even years, before it lands in your inbox. So I try my best to sell it, even when making it my own.

We read that Andrew Haigh was an important mentor for you. What was one thing he shared that altered your outlook on the industry? 

Andrew’s a hero of mine, and has been a great support over the years. When I was gearing up to direct my first short in 2025, he told me, “Go with your actors.” It was such good advice for working with actors, but also universally. Listening to people’s creative instincts and building on them will always bring out their best work, but pushing an agenda against the grain of what you’re working with often results in a stalemate. And it’s not that you shouldn’t have a vision, it’s just about finding the right people to surround yourself with who really get it from the outset.

Finally, career aside, what will a summer-2026-done-well look like for you? 

I am about to run away to Spain for two weeks with all my friends, which feels like an appropriate way to celebrate the release of Two Weeks in August. I get to watch two dear friends get married in June, which will be glorious, and shortly after that, I’ll be off to LA for a bit. Throw in a couple of day festivals, an annual camping trip with my friends, and a house move, and that’s my summer jam-packed! 

Two Weeks In August is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer (UK).