Wayne Brady’s upcoming reality show allowed him to embrace and showcase his real self.
During the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., on Wednesday, July 10, the 52-year-old actor opened up about how fans will see a different side of him in Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.
When the Let’s Make a Deal host was asked about the experience of sharing his day-to-day life in front of cameras, he noted that he doesn’t have any regrets about being vulnerable despite being in the “throes of depression.”
“I’m glad that we also caught that on tape,” he continued. “And I was so in the throes of this, oh, this darkness, this whole thing, that the only way that I felt that I could show up was I needed to be needed. I’ve got to work.”
Wayne Brady on July 05, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Cindy Ord/Getty
He explained that it was a “weird” feeling and noted how the series documented his “mental health journey” as he discovered that in the past, he wasn’t his authentic self.
“I can walk on stage and be charming and affable and make you laugh and look in the camera and do my thing,” he explained. “But the fact that that guy, and I even say it in the show, ‘I could make millions of people happy, but I would go home, and I feel like a piece of s—, and I couldn’t do that anymore.’ ”
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Brady remarked on how his mental health has improved, and when he works on his various projects, such as Let’s Make a Deal, he is “having more fun” and is happy, which allows him to “show up.”
“So, I hope that in any project I do [from] this point on is affected positively because I was able to be honest,” Brady said.
Wayne Brady on October 28, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty
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Wayne Brady: The Family Remix premieres July 24 at 10 p.m. ET on Freeform and the next day on Hulu.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
