Brandon Timothy Jackson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Beverly Yvonne (Bozeman),a pastor, and Wayne Timothy Jackson, a pastor. His maternal grandfather was a Pentecostal child preacher, and he credits his sense of humor to both his father and his life, which straddled the fence between suburbia and the inner city.
As the "class clown" in his school, Brandon developed his passion for comedy and acting by participating in talent shows and performing at youth nights at his father's church. By age 14, he had already begun his career as a stand-up comedian, performing at local school shows and community projects, including the "Motor City Youth Festival". He made his film debut in Marc Cayce's "Nikita Blues" in 2001.
Brandon took an internship at a local Detroit radio station and soon found himself as a guest host at another station. His drive took him to Hollywood, where he was cast as an extra in major films such as "Ali", "Bowling for Columbine", and "8 Mile" in 2001. He began to get calls to open up and work with comedians, including Chris Tucker and Wayne Brady.
After performing at New York City's "Showtime at the Apollo" and BET's "Comicview", the 19-year-old actor/comedian was cast in his first major movie role as Shad Moss's (X) best friend, "Junior", in "Roll Bounce" in 2005. He won the Black Reel's 2006 Best Breakthrough Performance award for his performance.
Jackson starred opposite NBA basketball superstar Kevin Durant in "Thunderstruck" in 2012 and alongside Martin Lawrence in the third installment of the "Big Mommas" franchise, released by Fox in 2011. He played Lawrence's son and the two went undercover to solve a murder. Jackson is perhaps best known as Alpha Chino from the high-concept runaway hit "Tropic Thunder" in 2008.
He received rave reviews for his role as the satyr Grover Underwood, the best friend and protector of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in 2010, opposite Logan Lerman and Alexandra Daddario. Brandon co-starred in both Hulu's original series "Deadbeat" in 2014 and Showtime's "Californication" in 2008.
Brandon Timothy Jackson lives in Los Angeles.
