The entertainment industry was thrown for a mighty sad loop ahead of the holidays, as longtime TV and film talent Andre Braugher passed away on December 11 at the age of 61 years old. The tragic turn of events reportedly followed a brief illness, and was a shock to friends, family, and former co-stars, with Terry Crews and more paying tribute to the Emmy-winning actor. But there are smiles to be had amidst all the sadness, thanks in part to a lovely little anecdote from a former Brooklyn Nine-Nine scribe.
Jeff Topolski, who worked as a writer’s assistant and then staff writer on Brooklyn Nine-Nine from the second season through its shortened final stretch on NBC, hit up X with his emotional response to Andre Braugher’s death, calling it “devastating” to lose someone who was “so talented, so kind, so fun.” Which then segued into a story that pinpointed the actor’s dedication to the craft, treating even the zaniest sitcom antics with ample integrity. In Topolski’s words:
We were filming a scene where Holt walked into the break room and Andre was like 'Why am I walking into the break room?' and we were like uh idk Andre, why do you think you'd walk into the break room and he was like 'Maybe I'm coming in here to eat a bowl of soup?' So we were like ...okay! And props went and got him a bowl of soup and it was filled to the brim for some reason and when we started to film the scene he had to walk into the room so, so slowly and carefully as to not spill any soup, and Andre took it very seriously...
That sounds like it would have been the basis for one of B99's classic cold open sequences, although maybe this would have been referred to as a hot open, given the soup. Unless they were using a gazpacho, of course.
That story alone is a great example of how a scene can start as one thing on the page of the script - Holt walking into the break room - and become something else entirely when an actor brings their approach to the mix - Holt painstakingly inches his way into the break room without spilling any soup. And that also takes into account whoever was responsible for filling the bowl, since it dictated how Braugher moved through the scene.
For any superfans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine hoping to go back and watch this scene via Peacock subscription, it doesn't sound like the soup made the final cut. Jeff Topolski continued:
I think we ended up scrapping the soup, but that's how Andre was, a true actor's actor. There was a purpose behind every single thing he did, and Holt was this amazing character because of Andre. He knew Holt better than anyone. There will never be anyone else like Andre.
Who can forget the time when Cpt. Holt admitted to Jake that he’d spilled minestrone soup on his pants, and that he was sitting behind the desk in just his underwear? Nobody, that’s who.
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There may not be many situations in life where the suggestion of "soup" works out as the best case scenario, but when Andre Braugher is the one putting it out into the world, it can suddenly become a genius idea. It's beyond depressing that the actor won't be around for any potential Brooklyn Nine-Nine revivals that may come down the line. Replacing him with another captain now, such as The Vulture, would just seem cruel and depressing.
R.I.P. to an actor who was always on top of his game and knew how to play it better than most. Nine Nine!
