Brandon Hardesty

Brandon Allan Hardesty (born April 13, 1987) is an American comedic performer and actor. Hardesty posts original comedy videos as well as "uncanny" recreations of scenes from movies, playing every part himself. The Village Voice writer Julian Dibbell has called his works "web culture at its finest."

Personal life Hardesty was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the youngest child in the family. He is the son of Susan and Brent Hardesty, who is a pianist. He was home-schooled until middle school.

While at Baltimore Lutheran School, a teacher convinced Hardesty into acting in the school's theater productions. He worked as a cashier at a nearby grocery store until beginning his acting career.

In July 2018, Hardesty sold the brand of "No Small Parts" to IMDb and rebranded his "No Small Parts" channel to "The Back Focus," a channel "about discovering and commenting on under-appreciated and forgotten elements in entertainment."

After lying dormant for several years, Hardesty and his creative partner Kenny Johnson revitalized the channel in February of 2024 with a broader array of content featuring actor bios, acting analyses of classic films, and obscure film recommendations. As of July 2026, the channel has grown to approximately 161,000 subscribers and 26.7 million total views.

Acting career In September 2007, upon seeing Hardesty's YouTube videos, a producer of the film Bart Got a Room e-mailed Hardesty expressing interest in casting him for a supporting role. Hardesty auditioned, got the part, and spent three weeks in Florida for the shoot. After the film Hardesty continued to audition for films and TV shows eventually landing a lead role in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, as well as a supporting role in the film Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, both filmed in 2009.

From 2009 to 2012, Hardesty was cast as a lead in a CBS pilot entitled Living On A Prayer and posted a YouTube video doing a celebration dance, but it was not picked up by the network. He was cast as a lead in a short film "Ham Sandwich," directed by David Green. In 2013 Hardesty has been cast in roles in the film Seven Minutes as well as The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power, the fourth installment in the Mummy film franchise.

Filmography