Two years ago, Kauchani Bratt was like most college students and had no idea what was coming next. She didn’t expect to pursue an acting career, much less star in a gripping Netflix drama that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as her first job out of college.
At the time, Bratt was studying philosophy at UC Santa Cruz when he saw a post on Instagram about an open casting call for Awakening BallNetflix’s basketball-centric film from LeBron James’ SpringHill Entertainment. Although Bratt had no acting experience, aside from a couple of college courses to fulfill general requirements, the opportunity seemed tailor-made. After all, the part required a Native performer with basketball experience, and Bratt, whose mother’s side is Quechua and her father’s side is Coahuiltecan, spent three years on his high school’s varsity team.
“I was trying to figure out, 'What do I want to do with the rest of my life?'” Bratt says. The Hollywood Reporter. “I never thought about acting. But I knew how innovative and special this project would be. I thought to myself, 'I just want to be a part of this,' even if it's just a background character.”
In the end, he was the one who took the lead. Awakening Ballpremiering at TIFF on Saturday, September 8 before hitting Netflix on September 27, centers on a Native American high school basketball team in New Mexico battling for the state championship after the death of their star player. Bratt plays Navajo basketball standout Jimmy Holiday in director Sydney Freeland's sports drama based on author Michael Powell's nonfiction book Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season in the Navajo NationJessica Matten, Julia Jones and Amber Midthunder round out the cast of the film that Freeland wrote with Reserve Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo.
Kauchani Bratt (center) in Awakening Ball.
by Lewis Jacobs/Netflix
Growing up in San Francisco, 23-year-old Bratt understands the mindset of a guy who lives and breathes basketball. After all, Bratt had been playing in reserve basketball tournaments since middle school, and his high school team won the respected Native American Basketball Invitational. He even transferred from San Jose State to a junior college after his freshman year to give his basketball dreams another shot. When the pandemic hit, he took it as a sign that this wasn’t his path.
“That was the beauty of this movie, was that basketball experience was required,” Bratt says. “One of the things that really stood in my favor and helped me feel confident getting my foot in the door was that I played basketball, I’m Native, all that stuff. Why not give it a try?”
Despite his lack of formal acting training, Bratt began to apply himself right away. During his audition process and in the time since, he took classes at an acting studio in San Francisco, where he still lives, and read seminal texts of the craft such as Konstantin Stanislavsky An actor gets ready and the work of Sanford Meisner.
Slowly, Bratt feels like he belongs to him. “The first day of the Awakening Ball “The shoot was probably the most nerve-wracking and one of the hardest days,” he recalls. “It’s my first time on a set, doing something on this level with acting, and I had no idea what to expect. Before I knew it, I just melted into the story, and I was ready to go.”
Luckily, he had support along the way from a fan: his uncle Benjamin Bratt. As an accomplished actor, the eldest Bratt’s advice during the audition process focused on encouraging his nephew to keep things simple. “Coming into this with no real experience or training, we figured out that the best thing for me to do is just be myself,” Kauchani Bratt explains. “And once I got the job, he reminded me to respect people’s time, be kind to everyone, be professional, and know my lines.”
From the landing Awakening Ballsigned with a management company and began strategizing what might happen next, hoping to tackle sci-fi soon. But for now, Bratt, who completed his degree after making the film, is focused on his big moment at TIFF and grateful for what this film could mean to anyone like his younger self.
“I just know that if a movie like Awakening Ball “If it had come out when I was younger, I would have been so inspired and filled with pride,” Bratt says. “I hope that maybe we can do the same with this film for Native kids growing up.”