From New Jersey to the OWN, Elizabeth native BreakOut Star,
Julian Brittiano, talks about his life and being “Chosen by Oprah”
Every Wednesday, I am cemented to my television watching the latest drama on OWN “GreenLeaf.” The series consist of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis, Tennessee megachurch. It is full of saints, and sinners. Aunt Mavis portrayed by Oprah Winfrey is the blues club owner. At the legendary bar, there is bartender David depicted by Julian Brittiano. He was booked merely as an extra actor. Now, Mr. Brittiano has a recurring role as the bartender.
Single Parent
Mr. Brittiano is an Elizabeth, New Jersey native who was raised by a single. She adored both her two boys: Julian and his older brother who has cerebral palsy. He graduated from Elizabeth High School and credit his disabled brother as his source of inspiration and motivation when “…going after his different endeavors.” His childhood was unique because Julian and his mother spend 4 to 5 days out of the week at the developmental care home with his brother. He reminisced, “Many of my friends were patients in my brother’s facility, and they were in wheelchairs.”
As a Gifted and Talented student, he flourished in academics as well as sports and music. He was in the chorus, band, drama club played the piano, sax, guitar, and bass. In high school, he played football, track, and basketball. He earned a scholarship for his football skills to the University of Maryland majoring in Psychology. He left college early to pursue his love for football entering the NFL Draft. He worked out with the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and eventually played arena football in South Dakota.
Back to the Music
After football, Mr. Brittiano came back to his first love – music. He unapologetically described himself as the “The Art Guy.” The Art Guy became a producer and submitted tracks with recording artist “Tweet” and a group called “Lyric” as well as independent artists. He has worked on many different genres of music: Pop, Rock, R&B, and Jazz. Music is his first love. When he returns to music, he plans to record a “Faith Based Hip Hop CD.”
While working in New York City as a marketing director, he coordinated events such as record release parties for record labels. Besides, he marketed events for the NFL, NBA, NY Giants, and MTV. He met the right people which led to his first modeling opportunity. Mr. Brittiano proudly recalled when he was invited to walk the runway for the first time for a local independent designer in New Jersey.
At 6’4 and 250 pounds, he graced the runway for BET Rock the Runway. He modeled for Steve Harvey’s line of men suits and Dr. J’s big and tall men clothing line. I asked him who taught him how to walk. He laughingly stated he watched Tyra Banks “America Next Top Model” to learn about the modeling industry.
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