Tommy Bracco

Photography by: Roberto Araujo

With a look comparative to your typical Staten Island Italian; tan skin, pumped biceps, club fashion, and an overall look that says I may be friends with Jwoww and Snooki, Tommy Bracco, the multi-talented dancer, actor, and reality show star exemplifies the overused, cliche line; you can’t judge a book by its cover.  

“Where I’m from, everyone is kind of similar to the Jersey Shore TV show; everyone is tan, we all have spiky hair, we wear tight T-shirts, (we’re) Italian… Everyone was the same where I grew up,” says 29 year old Bracco of Staten Island, New York. Although he may come across as your typical New Yorker, Bracco is far from the ordinary yankee. 

A former  student of the infamous Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts, Bracco spent his teen years studying the art of dance. However, as he dealt with the inevitable peer pressures of adolescent years in the early 2000s, Bracco was not so quick to share his talents publically. 

As a preteen, he says,“I was so scared to label myself as a dancer because boys didn’t dance back then. So, I started with acrobatics because that was cool; being able to flip was cool. Then I went into hip-hop, because that was the second coolest.”

Despite his attempts to stay one of the cool boys in school, Bracco could not shake his newly found passion for the art of dance. Soon after high school began, Bracco found himself involved in various styles of dance such as tap, jazz, ballet, modern, etc. “It was inevitable that I was going to fall in love with dance...I was addicted,” he states. 

He continues, “Freshman year of high school is kind of when I was really like, this is a part of me; I can’t ignore it, I can’t deny it, I love this, I gotta dive in.”   

Immediately following high school graduation, Bracco took the plunge into the arts, auditioning for positions that would further advance his acting and dancing abilities. His first professional performance was at Arizona Broadway Theatre playing the role of businessman and gambler, Joey Biltmore, a character from the classic show Guys and Dolls. Bracco says, “I moved to Arizona for a few months, I did this show, I met a whole new group of people, and I had the best time doing it. It kind of just kept building from there.”

Soon after Guys and Dolls, Bracco received his biggest break yet when he booked Disney’s Beauty and the Beast National Tour where he played the role of the Tumbling Carpet. For an entire year, Bracco spent his days hopping from location to location, hitting about 30 different states. To his surprise, this was only the beginning.

“Right after Beauty and the Beast I booked Newsies on Broadway, and that was my Broadway debut. That was kind of when everything exploded,” say Bracco. 

Throughout his two and a half year Newsies journey portraying the loyal, Brooklyn street-rat, Spot Conlon, Bracco advances his talents as an actor and dancer while also working with various different types of performers. 

Along with the countless hours of rehearsing and performing it takes to be a Broadway star, Bracco learned there is an element of socialization actors acquire on the job. 

He says, “When you’re doing shows for Broadway, you are constantly meeting a new cast and a new group of people. Most people don’t have an experience like that. Most people have their nine to five job; they come in, they work with the same people they have for years and years and years, but that's not the case for when you are in my industry. You meet a new group of people all the time. As performers, we get to learn how to work with every different kind of personality.” As Bracco’s professional career thrived on the stage for years to follow, performing in shows such as Pretty Women: the Musical, he began to explore new ways of using his socialization skills. 

In June of 2019, Bracco appeared on the hit television reality show Big Brother for their season 21 premier. The show follows a group of houseguests, who are survalenced under one roof, competing for the chance to win $500,000. 

Growing up watching the show with his friends as a kid, Bracco always aspired to be a contestant. When the opportunity presented itself, he knew his performance career would help benefit him in the competition. He says,“I am very athletic because I am a dancer, but I knew that the physical competitions were not going to be my strength and weren’t going to be my strong suit… My real strength was going to be my social game and that’s because of my field.”

Whether it was the social game or not, Bracco was right about one thing; he did make it very far into the competition. Surviving 86 days out of the total 99, Bracco came close to the win and ended up placing 5th overall. 

Although he did not make it to the finale of the show, Bracco enjoyed the chance he had to socialize. “I love it. I love it, love it, love it. I love meeting new people and hearing people. That’s really what it's about. I love to listen to other peoples stories. (During the interview) I’m talking a mile a minute about myself and it doesn't feel natural the way that listening about other people does,” he says.

As much as Bracco enjoys socializing with new cast members and friends, being confined to just one group of people on a reality show for 86 days straight ironically made him lose sight of true reality. However, there is one group of people in Bracco’s life that will always be able to keep him grounded.  Bracco states, “Coming out of the house you really are part of a social experiment. I didn’t feel myself when I left the house. I felt a little lost and I had a hard time being myself, I didn’t know who I was anymore… my family reminded me.”

He continues, “They always remind me. They always keep me humble and they are my rock. Without them, I don’t think I would be able to survive in this industry, honestly.” 

What is a strong, humble, Italian man without his family?  The love Bracco expresses for his family outways the love he has for any other passion. He says, “Every single one of (my family members) are so different and we each bring something so special to the table. We each are like a different piece to the puzzle. Without even one of us the puzzle’s incomplete. They’re literally amazing. I'm obsessed with them.”

Photography by: Roberto Araujo

In fact, throughout all career paths Bracco has explored and continues to explore, home is the place he returns to feel content. “It’s my happy place to be in my parents kitchen, at my moms kitchen table, eating Sunday dinner. When I say Sunday dinner I just mean like macaroni and sauce but it’s prepared everyday of the week, not just Sunday. (My family and I) literally just sit at my moms kitchen table having “sunday” dinner every night of the week. It’s my favorite thing in the world, it’s like Disney world.” 

Currently, Bracco is working on a new project that will combine his love of performance, his love of socializing, and his love for family. In the upcoming summer of 2020, Bracco plans to release his first podcast where he will be reviewing reality shows with his family. “It’s called Real Tawk. It’s gonna be launching sometime in the nexts few months...because I am so passionate about reality shows, I wanted to find a platform to discuss my opinions and I'm going to be doing that with my family. So, it’s me and my cousin Angelica... my father’s also going to have a segment,” he states. 

He continues, “It’s a family show talking about reality shows. We’re thinking we are going to be connected to the Broadway network BPN. So I’m going to be combining my love for reality shows and Broadway into one show with my family. It’s literally everything combined into one and I’m so excited for it.” 

For some, it may seem as though Bracco is scattered all over the performance and entertainment industry. He is. However, what is the problem with that? “My journey is a little more unconventional than most performers, but I’m okay with that. I like that,” Bracco states.

At only 29 years of age, Bracco has made an effort to explore all his current passions without a single regret or thought of stopping. He says, “My Dream is to make money being myself. That can manifest in a bunch of different ways...It’s always good to not just do one thing and be able to do a billion different things.” 

It took some time for performer and entertainment extraordinaire Tommy Bracco  to become content with himself and who he is. However, once he accepted his individuality, his life opened up with possibilities and opportunities. “If I could give any advice to anybody it’s to embrace the things that make you different and not run away from them, be proud of them… I believe that that’s the key to success and happiness,” states Bracco. 

He continues, “I am short, I have a space in between my teeth, I have this thick accent, I have a crazy-loud, outgoing personality, Italian, and I embrace it; I embrace what makes me different.”

Throughout all of Bracco’s investments and endeavors in his career, the one attribute he believes makes himself stand out is his individuality, and he encourages others to invest in their true selves as well. He states, “So often we try and look left and look right; we compare ourselves to what’s going on around us. That’s kind of how we measure success is by what other people are doing, but what I believe is the key to being successful in any industry, not just as a performer, is to look and find what makes you unique, you special.. and learn how to highlight that.”

Original release can be found in the April issue at: http://www.unclearmag.com/issues