Jay Huguley and Nick Wilkinson on ‘Death on the Brandywine,’ Building Trust Across Worlds, and Why Satire Still Matters
…You’re only as good as the team you build. That’s true in anything that requires a lot of people, but especially in film. You’re only as good as the crew you’ve assembled, the financial people supporting you, every part of it, and of course the cast. You can have the best script in the world, but if you haven’t put all that together, you’ve got nothing. The value of teamwork and collaboration is absolutely paramount…
I had the pleasure of talking with Jay Huguley, and Nick Wilkinson. They come from different worlds, a study in contrasts seated across a digital divide. Jay Huguley has the easy-going charm of a man who’s spent his life in front of a camera, a Jersey kid who found his calling just across the bridge on Broadway. Nick Wilkinson possesses the thoughtful, measured demeanor of a British Royal Air Force veteran and tech-sector strategist, a writer who reverse-engineered his way into Hollywood. Together, they are the actor and the architect behind the new mystery thriller, “Death on the Brandywine,” a project that fuses Huguley’s on-screen intensity with Wilkinson’s sharp, satirical pen in a first-rate motion picture produced by Delaware’s own Lisa G. Black, a seasoned producer and top-tier guild member. Icing on the cake? Both Jay and Lisa both attended nearby top prep school academy, The Peddie School, in their formative years forging a lifelong bond.
Their origin stories are as divergent as their accents. Huguley grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, the self-described “creative, little artsy kid” whose parents fed his burgeoning passion. “We could go to Broadway plays on my birthday and I was exposed to a lot of theater,” he recalls. For him, the path seemed almost pre-ordained. Wilkinson’s journey was more circuitous. “I grew up in various places in England,” he explains, noting that a family divorce and a few relocations taught him resilience. He calls Manchester home, the place where a solid education in literature instilled in him a deep “discipline of appreciating art in plays and theater.” For decades, however, that appreciation was from a distance.
For an actor, a career isn’t one big break; it’s a thousand little fractures in the wall of obscurity. Huguley remembers his first commercial feeling like the biggest thing in the world, but his first real taste came from a New York play called Serial. “It was about a breakfast cereal dynasty… very funny, really well-received,” he says. The play was optioned by Carsey-Werner, the television titans behind Roseanne, and the cast was flown to Los Angeles. “That felt like the first time I was getting a paycheck… It felt like I was a little bit on my way.” The show never materialized, but Huguley was in the game.
Wilkinson’s entry was less a break and more a deliberate pivot. After a decade in the military and nearly thirty years in tech, he was writing “largely for my own sanity.” A producing partner encouraged him to turn his anecdotes into a book. Frustrated by the “snail’s pace at which development takes place” in trying to adapt it for TV, he decided to write something new. That something was Death on the Brandywine. His has been “a metamorphosis from one walk of life into another through a series of small breaks, rather than one gigantic one.”
Decades in the trenches of their respective industries have forged a powerful perspective. For Huguley, a career high was seeing his name on the call sheet for HBO’s True Detective. The simple, typed line — “McConaughey, Harrelson, Huguley” — was a quiet affirmation. “Working with those two actors who have been around so long… I think that was one of the thrills of my career,” he says. Wilkinson’s proudest moment is equally telling. It wasn’t a single line, but an entire production. “My biggest thrill so far was wrapping ‘Death on the Brandywine’ on time and on budget,” he states, the producer’s pragmatism shining through. The real magic, however, came midway through the shoot. “It was my birthday,” he says. “We had an impromptu party at my house… a group of around 50 or 60 coworkers celebrating my birthday with me. It was fantastic.”
That camaraderie seems to have bled onto the screen. “Death on the Brandywine” is a classic whodunnit that Huguley promises is an “edge-of-your-seat thriller.” Wilkinson describes it as a fusion of Knives Out and House of Cards, a mystery that also takes aim at modern society. “As a Brit, satire is the most important thing in British humor,” he says. “The film satirizes politicians and their endless need to raise money… It satirizes social media, selfies, and our obsession with being on our phones.”
Huguley plays Ry Riley, a character he describes as “a little bit of a mess,” though he has great compassion for him. “I think Ry wants his father’s love, his mother’s love, and he wants everyone to like him,” he says. “We just go about it in very different ways.”
When asked what they wish they knew when they started, their answers are a masterclass in creative survival. “I wish I hadn’t assumed everyone knew more than I did just because I was young,” Huguley admits. He also cautions young actors to shed the “please like me” attitude. “You want to go in there with ideas, as if you’re the solution to their problem. Be a collaborator, not a ‘please pick me.’”
Wilkinson’s advice comes from a different angle. “I wish I had… taken a gamble on myself to do something in the entertainment industry earlier than I did,” he reflects. He champions the wisdom of listening more than speaking — “You’ve got two ears and one mouth, and you should use them in that proportion” — and the power of a good team. “You’re only as good as the team you build,” he insists. “You can have the best script in the world, but if you haven’t put all that together, you’ve got nothing.” It’s a lesson that applies as much to filmmaking as it does to life, a truth discovered by two craftsmen who took very different roads to the same set.
“Death on the Brandywine” is world premiering at RBIFF 2025 this week. The schedule for the screenings can be seen here.
Yitzi: Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn about our interviewee’s origin stories. Can you share with our readers your childhood origin story, how you grew up, and the seeds for all the amazing things that have come since then?
Jay Huguley: I grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, which is not too far from Delaware. My dad was in commodities in New York and my mom was a homemaker. Fortunately for me, because I was a creative, little artsy kid, we lived right across the bridge from Manhattan. We could go to Broadway plays on my birthday and I was exposed to a lot of theater, which was fortunate because I was really interested in it from a young age — acting and performing.
Nick Wilkinson: As you’ve observed, I’m originally from England, so I grew up in various places there. My mother and father got divorced, my mother got remarried, and there were a few shufflings around, which taught me to be fairly resilient, I guess. The place that I describe to Americans as being nearest to home is the city of Manchester in England. A lot of my family came from there, I went to university there, and that’s the place in England that I call home. A bit like Jay, I was introduced to theater, plays, and films. I went to a decent school where we did lots of literature and got into the discipline of appreciating art in plays and theater. I’ve always had that interest, and in recent years have been able to take that interest into something I’m actually participating in rather than just watching. That’s been a thrill.
Yitzi: Can you share with us a story of your first breaks or entrees into the entertainment industry? Please tell us a story if you can.
Jay Huguley: When people talk about a break, it’s hard to conceptualize because a career sometimes feels like a lot of little breaks. I remember my first job was a commercial, and that felt like the biggest thing I’d ever gotten. Then there were little parts in TV shows. But I would say the biggest one was when I got a part in a play in New York called Serial. There were some really great actors. It was about a breakfast cereal dynasty, sort of like the Kelloggs, and it was very funny, really well-received, and got great reviews. Then it got bought by Carsey-Werner, who was producing Roseanne at the time and a bunch of hit shows. They brought us all out to Los Angeles to do it there and were going to buy the rights and turn it into a TV show. That felt like the first time I was getting a paycheck and being flown to Los Angeles. It felt like I was a little bit on my way. They ended up dropping the option and not using it, but I was there and I started to work more. I got a part on General Hospital, and that was sort of the beginning of when things started to have some movement, I think.
Nick Wilkinson: Mine’s a bit different. I spent most of my working life in other industries. I was in the British Royal Air Force for a decade, and then I worked in the tech sector for 25–30 years. Throughout that time, certainly in the latter stage of the tech sector, I had taken to writing, but largely for my own sanity. I would write little anecdotes of things I’d seen to relieve stress. Then, through a mutual friend of ours — the catalyst for me getting involved in the filmmaking industry, my producing partner, Lisa Black, who I believe went to school with Jay — I was encouraged to turn those anecdotes into a book. I must have told her about them at a party or something. I wrote a book called Snakes & Ladders, and my film company is called S&L, which is Snakes & Ladders, nothing to do with Saturday Night Live. A few years ago, again with Lisa’s encouragement, we were trying to get Snakes & Ladders made as a TV show. Being fairly new to the industry and not used to the snail’s pace at which development takes place, I was getting a bit frustrated and thinking I’ll just stick to my tech stuff, as at least that happens fairly quickly. I was encouraged not to do that but to have a go at something else. That’s when I started writing other scripts, one of which was The Death on the Brandywine film, which we’re largely talking about now. Mine’s been more of a metamorphosis from one walk of life into another through a series of small breaks, rather than one gigantic one.
Yitzi: This may be hard to nail down, but you’ve been on so many amazing shows and have probably been to so many amazing places. Can you share with our readers one or two stories that most stand out in your mind from your career so far?
Jay Huguley: Wow. A story. Let me think. In terms of a break, I think my first day of work on True Detective, when the call sheet said McConaughey, Harrelson, Huguley, felt like a big step forward. Working with those two actors who have been around so long, have done so much, and are so trained — I think that was one of the thrills of my career up until that point.
Nick Wilkinson: My biggest thrill so far was wrapping on Death on the Brandywine on time and on budget, there or thereabouts. It was a pleasure to be on the set with all the cast and a great crew for the entire time. We had a wonderful time making the film, and I think that shows in what we’ve been able to produce. We really had a thrill. Perhaps the best day for me was in the middle of the shoot. We shot in a cemetery and then had some scenes in the street nearby my house, and it was my birthday. Pretty much most of the cast and many of the crew were involved, and we had an impromptu party at my house on my birthday. That would be the pinnacle of my entertainment career so far: having a group of around 50 or 60 coworkers celebrating my birthday with me. It was fantastic.
Jay Huguley: I think it was the coldest day of the shoot too.
Nick Wilkinson: Yes, it was really windy, wasn’t it? The air temperature was cold, and there was this biting wind. I arranged it all deliberately. People didn’t have to act looking uncomfortable at the funeral; they were physically uncomfortable.
Jay Huguley: Whenever we had a three-minute break, we would all rush into a van that had the heat on.
Yitzi: You mentioned Death on the Brandywine, let’s jump right in. Tell us why our readers have to watch Death on the Brandywine. Tell us why it’s so compelling.
Jay Huguley: There’s so little I can say in terms of plot because it’s all spoilers, but it’s an edge-of-your-seat thriller. As actors, we read scripts all the time, and usually by about page five or ten, you either love it or you don’t. For me, with Death on the Brandywine, I could not wait to find out what happened. I had no idea who did it or if it was my character. It’s really a thrill ride, and I think people are just going to love it. It’s a great mystery with a lot of action. I’m really excited to share it with audiences because I think people are going to love it.
Nick Wilkinson: All the things that Jay said. We have shown it to an audience. We had a private screening for a lot of the background folks here in Wilmington that helped us make it. Even though they’d been involved in the film, they didn’t guess the ending. They were surprised, but when they found out what it was, they went, “Oh.” From a writer’s point of view, that was great and very satisfying. The other thing is the who-done-it mystery genre is very popular with all demographics and a very satisfying experience to watch. It’s conflict, but it’s relatively low conflict, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, so I think people enjoy that. The other element is that, as a Brit, satire is the most important thing in British humor. As the Brits say, taking the piss out of stuff is the way we live our lives. The film satirizes certain things about how we live our lives today. It satirizes politicians and their endless need to raise money to pay for their campaigns. It satirizes social media, selfies, and our obsession with being on our phones. It also satirizes vanity and people’s image consciousness and spending money on ridiculous things, which we won’t give any more spoilers on. But there’s lots of social commentary, and when we have shown it to audiences, people get that too. They laugh in the right places and get the funny side of it. All those things make for a very entertaining 90 minutes. It’s good fun.
Yitzi: What message do you hope audiences take away from the film?
Jay Huguley: I hope they have the same experience I had the first time I read it. It’s exactly the kind of movie I love to see, where 20 minutes in you think you know who the killer is, and then 30 minutes in you realize you’re completely wrong. Halfway through the movie you think… I mean, it’s a total thrill ride. I hope they have as much fun with it as I had the first time I read it.
Nick Wilkinson: I want people to be entertained, to feel as if the time was well spent, and not to be distracted. I want them to really immerse themselves in it and enjoy it. And at the end, feel, “I wish they made more like that.” Getting people into theaters is hard work these days, and I think the more we can entertain people and make them feel they really enjoyed the experience, the stronger the industry will be for it. Having a movie that people really enjoy and think, “Hey, I’d go more often if there were films like that,” would be fantastic for me.
Yitzi: Would you compare this to the Knives Out series?
Nick Wilkinson: The first one, Knives Out, has some similarities. It’s a whodunnit. You don’t know whether he was killed or took his own life. It’s in a big house. So, there are some similarities to the first Knives Out. The second one, Glass Onion, is a little bit more James Bond-ish, and it doesn’t go that way. The other thing it leans into, because of the political side of it, is a kind of House of Cards vibe. There are lots of references to politics, spin doctors, and getting voters. Knives Out meets House of Cards is a decent fusion.
Yitzi: Jay, how do you compare and contrast your personal character with Ry Riley, the character you play? How are you similar and how are you different?
Jay Huguley: I hope we’re not very similar, but I’ve certainly known a lot of people like Ry Riley growing up. I went to college, so I’ve been around a lot of people like that over the years. I guess if I define one thing that was similar, it’s that we both want the love of our family. We go about it in very different ways, but I think Ry wants his father’s love, his mother’s love, and he wants everyone to like him. We just go about it in very different ways. I think Ry is a little bit of a mess, and I have great compassion for him, but he’s not made some good choices in his life. For an actor, that’s really fun to play around with.
Yitzi: This is our signature question. Each of you has been blessed with a lot of success and must have learned a lot from your experiences. Looking back to when you first started your careers, can you share five things you’ve learned from your experience that would have been nice to know when you first started?
Jay Huguley:
- The first one that comes to mind is that I wish I hadn’t assumed everyone knew more than I did just because I was young and starting out. I trusted agents, managers, producers — everybody was older than me and had been doing it longer. Then you get a little older and realize, “Hey, wait a minute, I was right about that thing.” That was one for sure.
- Second, I wish I had learned early on to avoid the “please like me” thing that actors do a lot when they’re younger. You go into an audition thinking, “I hope they like me, I hope I’m the right actor for this part.” The truth is, you want to go in there with ideas, as if you’re the solution to their problem. Be a collaborator, not a “please pick me.” Directors and producers respond to that confidence.
- Third, this career is full of nos and disappointments, and I think I let them get to me early on. When you’re five or ten years into a career, you realize that’s just part of it. I wish I had spent less time getting down about my early disappointments because you have to learn that that’s part of the gig. Get up and move on.
- Another thing I always tell young actors is to treat yourself like a business. I wish I’d started that earlier. Get a desk, treat yourself like a commodity. I guess that’s it. Those are the ones I came up with.
Nick Wilkinson:
- I wish I had trusted myself or taken a gamble on myself to do something in the entertainment industry earlier than I did. I probably always had that desire somewhere deep down, and it took me until the third stage of my career to act on it. There’s that phrase, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Looking back, maybe I should have done this 20 years earlier. That’s one.
- Another is something I didn’t always pay attention to as a younger guy: “You’ve got two ears and one mouth, and you should use them in that proportion.” You don’t always have to be the one who talks the most to be the leader or make decisions. You can absorb and listen, then make decisions. People tend to respect that more than someone who dominates the airwaves.
- I’ve also learned over the years to be more empathetic and try to understand why people are doing things, instead of immediately leaping to “that’s messed up” or “I don’t like that” and assuming the worst. I try to put myself in other people’s shoes and understand what’s motivating them.
- Similar to what Jay said, I’ve struggled a bit in the film industry with imposter syndrome, assuming everyone knows exactly what they’re doing. Then you find out they’re only one page ahead of you in the Filmmaking for Dummies book. You end up thinking you’re less knowledgeable when that’s often not the case.
- And the last one, the fifth, is that you’re only as good as the team you build. That’s true in anything that requires a lot of people, but especially in film. You’re only as good as the crew you’ve assembled, the financial people supporting you, every part of it, and of course the cast. You can have the best script in the world, but if you haven’t put all that together, you’ve got nothing. The value of teamwork and collaboration is absolutely paramount.
Yitzi: This is our final aspirational question. Jay and Nick, each of you, in your respective ways and fields, are people of enormous influence. If you could put out an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Nick Wilkinson: I’ll go with mine because it goes back to my empathy point. I’m not a strongly religious person, but the phrase, “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself,” is a very good maxim for the world right now. Treat people as you would like to be treated yourself. Be empathetic, be kind. Don’t always see something wrong with somebody just because they’re different or come from a different country. It’s humanity. “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.” That would be my movement.
Jay Huguley: I would add to that that whatever energy you bring to work, to a set, to a rehearsal for a play, it sets a tone. When you treat people with respect, show up, work hard, and support each other, the product is going to be better. I would say just support your fellow man, support your fellow coworkers. Especially in what we do, there are very long hours and it can be hard.
Yitzi: How can our readers continue to follow your work? How can they watch this film and support your work in any possible way?
Nick Wilkinson: The only way to watch the film at the moment is at the Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival, which starts next week. We are in the process of looking for and selling the film to get distribution. As soon as we’ve got that, our social media horns will be blowing. We may satirize social media, but we’ll be indulging in it too. At the moment, we don’t know where that is. We have submitted to several other festivals. Just keep tracking us. You can follow us on our Instagram account, Death on the Brandywine, and whatever distribution deals we may make will be seen on there. I have several other film projects on the go. One is a soccer-related coming-of-age comedy — but the age in question is 50 — that I am working to get into production next year, and a couple of other scripts that I’m working on. That’s it from my perspective.
Jay Huguley: I’m in the new season of Landman with Billy Bob Thornton and Demi Moore, which will come out in November. I’m in something called Cape Fear, which is a revival of the original. It’s going to be an eight-part series for Apple. I’ve got a movie coming out called Come With Me with Ron Perlman and Theo Rossi, which is looking for a home right now. And hopefully some other stuff. And I’m very excited about Death on the Brandywine and for audiences to finally get to see it.
Yitzi: We have what we call our matchmaker question. The point is maybe we could connect you with somebody who could give you the best deal. Nick and Jay, is there a person in the world or in the US with whom you’d like to sit down and have a power lunch? We could tag them on social media. Who’s your dream person to sit down with?
Nick Wilkinson: My dream person to sit down with is another person from New Jersey, and I give him very minor credit for the reason why I now live in the United States: Mr. Bruce Springsteen. I’ll just explain why. In the late 1990s, I was working for an American-owned multinational company in England, and they offered my boss a chance to come and work in America. He talked about it with his family but turned it down. He said he didn’t know enough about America or wasn’t confident to move there. So they came to me and asked me to do the job. Because I’d been a Springsteen fan at that point for 20-odd years and had absorbed a lot of his material, I’d never lived in America, but I felt I had an understanding of it through my connection to Bruce Springsteen and his music. I said yes, and I’ve lived in America ever since. Springsteen is part of my life story from that point of view. He’s still somebody I have a great deal of admiration for, his music and him as a person. He would be my matchmake from heaven.
Yitzi: Nick and Jay, it’s been a delight to meet you. I wish you continued success, blessings, and good health. I hope we can do this again next year.
Nick Wilkinson: Thank you very much. It’s been a pleasure.
Jay Huguley: You too.
Jay Huguley and Nick Wilkinson on ‘Death on the Brandywine,’ Building Trust Across Worlds, and Why… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.