Brett Kelly's breakout role as Thurman Merman in 2003's Bad Santa, turned him into a festive household name, but where is the star now?
Twenty-two years after he starred alongside Billy Bob Thornton in the Christmas comedy, Brett, now 31, is still working in the entertainment industry.
Although his career hasn't skyrocketed to the dizzy heights of Tinseltown fame, the Canadian star has had a steady stream of work and has come a long way from his days as a curly-haired, bullied kid in the holiday film.
© Shutterstock / Featureflash Photo AgencyThat being said, Brett confessed he never moved to Los Angeles, and chose to stay in his hometown of Vancounver and commute when he worked instead.
A 'normal' life
"Anytime I was working, I would come back home and it was basically just right back into my normal life," he said during an appearance on news.com.au's podcast, I’ve Got News For You.
© WireImage"For the most part, I was very lucky in getting to have a pretty normal life and then get parachuted into those moments where you’re in a movie with Billy Bob or something like that."
Movie career
Brett went on to star in the likes of the 2003 movie, Unaccompanied Minors, 2009's What Goes Up and Bad Santa 2 in 2016. He took a break from acting at 17 to spend four years studying business at the University of British Columbia. "This line of work, you never know what's going to happen," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I always wanted to have something to fall back on."
© Global/The CWHe's currently starring as one of the main characters, Cecil Patterson, in the dark comedy, legal drama, Family Law. Brett Joined the canadian TV series which started in 2021, early on.
Brett was also a contestant on quiz show Jeopardy in 2024. He finished with zero points so didn't qualify for Final Jeopardy and landed in third place.
He looks back at his Bad Santa days with fondness, but confessed that auditioning for the role at the age of eight, wasn't for everyone.
© Getty Images"I had heard that one of the kids who was in before me — they said that it didn’t go too well and he kind of broke down in tears," said Brett — who beat out Two and a Half Men's Angus T. Jones for the role.
"I understand some kids not being able to grasp that, when some mid-50s man just starts unloading the most obscene insults you can possibly imagine."
Working with Billy Bob Thornton
In reality, Billy Bob was nothing like his onscreen character, Willie Soke though. "He was very, very warm and welcoming," he said of the Landman actor. "One of the nicest people, even to this day, that I’ve ever worked with.
© Alamy Stock Photo"On weekends we'd go over to his house and I'd be hanging out with his kids and swimming in the pool. He was very welcoming and made me and my whole family feel really at home the entire time we were shooting."
Weight gain
Brett still sports his curly locks and fresh-faced appearance but confessed he had to gain a lot of weight to play Thurman in the second movie.
"I put on 40 pounds before the start of the shoot," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I ate anything I could get my hands on. But then it was two months in Montreal — the greatest town for disregarding your health — so I put on another 15 during the shoot.
© Getty Images"It was 50, 55 pounds by the end. The fun part was before, putting on all the weight, and doing the movie. The pain came after. It took about four months to put on and then I'd say about twice that to take it all off."
Not much is known about Brett's personal life and he doesn't appear to have any social media accounts. But he says he hopes to continue working in entertainment and that he won't have to use his degree any time soon.
