Finn’s Finest Hour
Photo by Malik Daniels
It took actor Brandon Finn a few years to break into Hollywood, but his crowning achievement has finally come: a leading role as Prince Kūpule in the Apple TV+ series Chief of War.
For Chief of War star Brandon Finn, the iconic Hollywood sign is more than a landmark. It’s been a vision of possibilities. A manifestation of his future.
As a flight attendant for Hawaiian Airlines, he would work many layovers to LAX with a view of the historic marker in the distance.
“I would see that sign and I never fully let go of that dream of trying to find a way to get my foot in the door and be in the performing arts,” he says.
It’s a dream he’s had since he was a teenager attending Punahou School, where he took an introductory theater class and fell in love with the stage.
“I realized there’s a beauty in finding a way to express yourself through character, through storytelling, that I couldn’t find anywhere else other than being on stage … and that’s really where the spark began,” he remembers. “Paul Palmore — he’s retired now — that was my instructor at Punahou, and I credit him for igniting that spark, that love that I still have to this day for the performing arts.”
But, as Finn can attest to, breaking into showbiz is not easy, especially for someone new to the industry with no connections. Born on Maui and raised on O‘ahu, Finn grew up in Waipahu before moving around from Mililani to ‘Ewa Beach and then between Kapolei and Kāhala. He graduated from Punahou in 2011, and attended Chapman University.
“I didn’t have any money to my name at the time, so I didn’t know how to pay for tuition,” he recalls. “So, I got a job at (the school) library and I realized this is great but it’s not enough to pay the tuition and to provide for myself, so I dropped out and moved back home. My dad was living in Kuli‘ou‘ou, and there’s a Zippy’s at Koko Marina (nearby). I ended up applying for a job at Zippy’s and worked there for six months.”
Soon after, Finn learned that Hawaiian Airlines was hiring, and his parents, who are both flight attendants with the commercial airliner, suggested he apply. He took their advice and earned his “wings” as a flight attendant on reserve status. In 2018, he transferred to its Los Angeles base and has since called the City of Angels home.
“Living in Los Angeles, I started trying to connect with people in the industry and acting studios. I knew I had to find a way to get better and get the repetitions in and put my work on display and see what happens from there ,” he says. “In 2020, I got pinned for a job as one of the Power Rangers for Netflix’s Dino Fury. I believe that role went to Kai Moya (also from Hawai‘i).
“I never gave up. I kept at it. I kept going to the studio, doing my repetitions, and in 2022, six years after moving to Los Angeles, I got hired for Chief of War as Prince Kūpule.”
Chief of War is a historical drama starring Jason Momoa, who’s also credited with writing the script and serving as executive producer. The show will premiere Aug. 1 on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes. Thereafter, new episodes will be released every Friday through Sept. 19. Based on true events, the nine-episode series follows warrior Ka‘iana, portrayed by Momoa, as he tries to unify the islands before Western colonization arrives in the late 18th century.
Prince Kūpule, the son of King Kahekili (played by Temuera Morrison), is Finn’s biggest role to date and one that he describes as the greatest honor of his life.
“Throughout my journey there’s been a couple of close calls that I’ve had where I knew I was on the short list of choices or I knew it was myself and one other person for this big, potentially career-changing role and it never came my way,” shares Finn. “So, when I heard my manager say, ‘You’ve been network approved, you’re hired for the job,’ I didn’t believe her at first.
“The (voice) in my head from hearing ‘no’ so often kept going, ‘This can’t be right. There’s something wrong here.’ My manager insisted, ‘No, you’ve got the role’ … I couldn’t believe it. I cried … To finally seek this stamp of approval that you are who you say you are and you’re not only good enough but you’re good enough to actually work at a studio like Apple TV as a series regular actor, it meant the world to me … It confirmed what I had believed in myself all along.
“Then, to play this character, Prince Kalanikūpule, the last reigning king of Maui, the same island that I’m from … I kept having this pinch myself moment, like how is this a possibility?”
For his role, Finn gained 15-20 pounds through strict weightlifting and food regimens, and took intense stunt and fight choreography training. He also spent about a month and a half working with a Hawaiian language coach.
“To be fully transparent, no one really told me, ‘Hey, you need to put on weight,’” notes Finn. “If you look at the males in the cast, it was clear as day I was the smallest guy — 165 pounds, 5 feet 9 inches tall. I thought it was best for the aesthetics to put on some weight, so I started eating way more than I usually do — a lot of sweet potato and rice with more eggs and more meat. By the end of it, I put on some muscle and weighed about 185 pounds, and I found that to be really helpful.
“It not only gave me the aesthetic but also the confidence to move around the world the way that Prince Kūpule did. It even helped me find my voice during some of the scenes.”
Finn, who still works as a flight attendant, is grateful to be able to travel home to Hawai‘i regularly.
“I love being home, I genuinely miss it,” he says. “I miss being able to access the beach and take my surfboard and surf at Bowls, or take the boogie board to Sandys or Makapu‘u.
“I miss the food … I gotta grab some poke every time I’m home … I can eat Spam, eggs and rice (with a little garlic salt) every day of my life until I die and I’d be a happy camper.”
He also finds joy in films (his favorites include Star Wars, Braveheart, The Untouchables and the musical Singing in the Rain) and cigars, which has become a celebratory ritual.
“The journey in the performing arts and making it in the entertainment industry is so up and down sometimes,” says Finn. “I learned that you have to celebrate the wins, so the rule of thumb for me is whenever I book an acting job, I celebrate with a cigar. Tabak Especial is the one I like to order for myself. I like it because it’s got a hint of coffee. I’ll have that with a nice espresso…
“There was one period of time where I had three jobs back-to-back-to-back and I had three cigars and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I might have to give myself a break.’ This might be a little too much but all to say cigars have become a celebration for me. It can be so discouraging at times that whatever the win is, take the win and hold onto it. You don’t know when the next one is coming.”
For now, he’s busy celebrating the release of Chief of War, and is excited about the resurgence of the Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian language it could bring not just within Hawai‘i but to the world.
“We have Jason Momoa at the helm and throughout this series, the audience is gonna to hear ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i to a degree that they’ve never heard it before — at least from my understanding. I’ve never seen it to the degree that I’ve seen it in the final cut of this — and so if there’s any moving of the needle with that, that would be a huge win.
“To say I’m honored to be a part of this is a complete understatement. I can’t describe it in words.”
