KINGSTON, R.I. – October 15, 2019 – What do you say to the woman who is supposed to save the world? For Brett Azar the answer was “pull-ups.”
To the Barrington native and University of Rhode Island graduate, who is featured in the upcoming movie Terminator: Dark Fate, meeting Linda Hamilton (aka Sarah Connor), famous for her one-armed pull-ups in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, was something special.
“If you were a big Terminator fan like I was growing up, she is absolutely legendary,” said Azar. “When I met her, the first thing out of my mouth was ‘pull-ups.’ And she just wrapped me in her arms, gave me a big kiss and we bonded over how miserable dieting is.”
This is not Azar’s first go at a Terminator movie. He portrayed a young T-800 in 2015’s Terminator Genisys, serving as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1984 body double for the film. And while he can’t discuss his role in the current film until its actual release on Nov. 1, Azar is confident fans of the original film will walk away feeling satisfied.
“They are back,” said Azar. “There are no confusing timelines, no jumping around. This basically picks up where the second movie left off.”
Azar graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2009 with a degree in kinesiology. He began his own personal training business and subleased a gym in Rhode Island before making the move to Westchester County, New York, with his girlfriend at the time. Azar found success, steadily building his clientele both as an in-home trainer and at area gyms. But he found many of his clients urging him to pursue a career in acting – which reawakened an interest he’d had as a freshman.
“They kept drilling it into my head. And, you know, at URI I did some acting and I loved it. I took Theatre 101 and tried out for the play. I was in Romeo and Juliet and that was one of my favorite parts of college,” said Azar.
He won the part of Abram, one of the Montagues’ serving men. Initially a small part, the director took a shine to the young actor and found a way to work him into additional scenes. Azar took to the camaraderie, “That tight-knit group that you develop when you are part of a play like that, it’s like being part of a team. I wish I had done more of it.”
Now he is. Eight years after making the move to the New York area, Azar is now a working actor with two Terminator credits as well as a slew of television appearances to his name. In addition to working with director Tim Miller, Schwarzenegger and Hamilton, he’s worked with the likes of Ryan Reynolds, James Spader, Jim Gaffigan and others.
And, with several projects in post-production Azar has no intention of slowing down – just don’t ask him to cook. Earlier this year, he found himself competing for the title of Worst Cooks in America during the 15th season of the Food Network cooking competition. An over-salted duck in the next to last episode led to elimination and a third-place finish for the fan favorite. In addition to improving his cooking skills, the stint also heightened his profile and gained him a wider following.
“It was really fun to be a part of that because you were learning from some of the best chefs. There are things I learned that I still use… and some things that weren’t going to take,” he chuckled.
Yet even with his burgeoning success in the entertainment world, Azar recounts his time at URI with great affection. “Socially, you can walk out on campus and be a part of any group at any time, doing anything. You don’t realize that fades,” said Azar. “Once you start getting busy with the real world, it gets hard. Even with all the filming and the cool celebrity stuff, it’s still one of the favorite parts of my life so far.”
Despite his schedule, he still has friends from the University he keeps in touch with (facebook and Instagram help) and visits his family in Rhode Island when he can. As for the future, Azar intends to keep doing what he’s doing. His ambition, right now, is to portray a super hero or super villain and to continue doing what he loves. Given his experience with the Terminator movies, he’s off to a good start.