Biography
Raised in Los Angeles as the oldest of five siblings, Browning attended Crossroads High School, renowned for its strong arts and sciences programs. Despite being surrounded by the entertainment world and encouragement from friends to join the school's famous drama program, he chose to focus on other passions. "I was more interested in sports and being in love," he explains. After high school, Browning moved east to Union College in upstate New York, where he majored in Psychology. Yet, he felt a recurring pull toward drama and theatre. After graduating, he returned to Los Angeles and was accepted into the prestigious American Film Institute, studying various filmmaking aspects, especially producing. "About halfway through my first year, though, I kept feeling this urge I had felt before to be in front of the camera," Browning recalls. He left AFI to follow his true passion: acting. Browning pursued this dream by enrolling in top acting classes in Los Angeles and New York. "While I was in New York, I saw every Broadway show, studied hard, and met many outstanding artists," he says. "I developed a deep appreciation for the craft and understood why I wanted to do it." Browning soon secured diverse roles in several critically acclaimed independent films, including The Smokers (2000) opposite Thora Birch and Oliver Hudson, which won the audience award at the New York Film Festival and Best Film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival; Intern (2000), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and starred Dominique Swain and Kathy Griffin; and Blink of an Eye (1999), which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2000. In his free time, Browning enjoys sports such as soccer, horseback riding, snowboarding, and mountain biking. Indoors, he likes studying industry legends—"I read biographies of actors like James Dean and Paul Newman and am fascinated by how their lives influenced their craft. For me, it's part of the process.
