How Ray Romano Helped Andre Braugher Find His Niche As An Actor

Andre Braugher, who sadly died on December 11 at the age of 61, took on a host of memorable roles throughout his career. From the stern yet occasionally goofy Captain Raymond Holt of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" fame to the Baltimore Police Department's Frank Pembleton on "Homicide: Life on the Street," Braugher excelled no matter the material he was given. Thus, it might be a bit surprising to learn that he had trouble finding his place in the acting world for some time. It took a combination of his own hard work and the influence of comedian Ray Romano to make it happen.

During an in-depth discussion with Variety, Braugher discussed his experience trying to land roles and the frustration that came with what little was available. "I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to book these jobs, but it's not as though I had a lot of auditions. It's not as though there's been a platter laid out for me to feast at in terms of roles," Braugher said. Luckily for him, Romano was looking for a third lead in his latest comedy program, "Men of a Certain Age" — something quite different from Braugher's usual more dramatic efforts. Romano and fellow series co-creator Mike Royce approached him about the project, he took it, and made a huge step forward in finding his acting niche.

Braugher turned out to be a perfect fit for "Men of a Certain Age," and though his casting was a bit of a gamble, Romano firmly believed it paid off.

In the short-lived "Men of a Certain Age," which ran from 2009 to 2011 across two seasons and 22 episodes, Andre Braugher portrays Owen Thoreau Jr. He's a family man who works at his father, Owen Thoreau Sr.'s (Richard Gant), car dealership and is friends with Joe Tranelli (Ray Romano) and Terry Elliott (Scott Bakula). Despite not being an actor known for his comedy chops, Braugher thrives in the Owen Jr. role, hence why Romano is so glad he took the chance on him when the series was coming to fruition.

"We Googled 'Andre Braugher comedy,' and Google said, 'You win ­— we have nothing,'" Romano told Variety, jokingly driving home how separate Braugher was from the world of comedy at the time. While some may see this as a negative, Romano saw it as a positive, believing his comedy could come from a more genuine place. In Romano's eyes, Braugher made the most of the opportunity and then some. As for Braugher, he was thankful to have gotten the chance to work with Romano in the first place. "Both as a writer and as a performer, I found him to be just a wellspring of knowledge. He's aces, period," he said.

Even though it was a bit out of his wheelhouse, "Men of a Certain Age" proved to be a standout credit for Andre Braugher. It gave him a platform to explore a different side of his profession while charting a new course in his career. It's just too bad the series didn't stick around a bit longer. Still, it gave Braugher the chance to flex his comedic chops just a couple of years before "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" debuted.