Falling in love with a craft is one thing; succeeding in it is another. Becoming a successful actor is a dream many have, but achieving that dream doesn’t come without obstacles. Preston Bradley‘s story is no different.
The TikTok star, popularly known as The King of Cream, started his journey years ago as a soccer player before pursuing comedy. In high school, Bradley was scouted by top D1 colleges and played competitive soccer. However, after appearing in his brothers’ short films, he began to become drawn towards entertainment. While attending Indiana University, Bradley decided to enroll in a few film production classes to learn more about the business. That drove him to put his college education on hold and pursue improv comedy at Second City Chicago. After years of consistent training and mastering his technique at Second City, Bradley decided to move to Los Angeles in 2014.
With just a few short films completed and a solid comedy education, Preston needed to figure out a way to get into feature films. While working at Jimmy John’s and Domino’s on the side, Bradley would find out about a company called Central Casting. There, he was fortunate enough to work on film sets four to five days a week doing background work. He would quit his part-time jobs, and transition into acting full-time between 2014 and 2017. Early in 2017, he caught his first break and booked a photo double gig for Jay Duplass on THE MINDY PROJECT.
Later that year, things really took off. Bradley was cast as a featured background player on WILL AND GRACE for two seasons. However, after shooting 6 weeks with the full cast and crew, Bradley was replaced by Anthony Ramos. They would reshoot the whole six weeks of footage he was featured in, which devastated Bradley. He decided at that moment, maybe acting wasn’t the right career for him.
Instead, Bradley joined the cannabis industry in late 2017. He started off working as a cannabis delivery driver but in 2019, Bradley was awarded the role of Brand Ambassador for the cannabis company, MEDMEN. He worked with MEDMEN until March 2019, when the Brand Ambassador program was terminated suddenly.
However fate had other plans. Coerced by a friend, Preston attended the MEDMEN X KURVANA party. There, he would meet the head of sales for Kurvana, one of the top cannabis vape companies. This allowed Bradley, in just a few short weeks, to become their Brand Ambassador. In November 2019, he was promoted to territory manager where he managed products in over 100 different dispensaries all around Los Angeles.
In August of 2020, Bradley parted ways with Kurvana and had to make another life changing choice. This decision brought him back into acting. He was asked to stand-in for Lil Dicky on his FX show DAVE. Bradley would work on the show for 5 months, but remained unsatisfied creatively. This propelled him to start creating content on TikTok.
Bradley started with typical trend style videos before creating his character, the King of Cream. The character quickly became a favorite amongst the younger generation, who started to call themselves “Creamsters.” His popular catchphrase “That’s so creamy” became one of the most “meme’d” phrases on social media.
“I would consider myself a combination of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey. The energy of Williams, with the comedic delivery of Carrey,” Preston elaborates.
Today, Bradley has amassed 3.5M followers and made him one of the top TikTok creators in the world. His controversial and edgy content has paved the way for brand opportunities and allowed him to expand his content.
For the next few years, his goals include being featured in movies and TV shows as well as working in commercials. He hopes to build a successful career in acting and to work alongside the notable names that have inspired him. Bradley plans to establish a production company at some point with his older brother, and hopefully win awards that will inspire the next generation of entertainers.
