WHHS is known for its academic excellence pushing a multitude of its students into the spotlight. Whether it’s for sports, school or theatre, each year many students work to achieve their dreams.

For Aidan Brogan, ‘24, hard work and perseverance, mixed in with a little bit of luck, took him straight to the top to become one of the many profound students that walk these halls.

Brogan has been acting for five years and is now able to say that the time and effort he put into memorizing lines and going to auditions has finally paid off.

Two years ago, Brogan went to an audition for a movie that he was cast as a stand-in. A stand-in goes to the set before the main actor, testing the visuals and making sure the setting was right for them.

Brogan recently heard from his casting agency asking if he would be interested in going for a role in the newly released film, Dark Waters. He said yes.

Dark Waters is based on a true story that takes place in Parkersburg, West Virginia and Cincinnati. It’s about an attorney who uncovers the dark truth behind an international company whose chemicals are causing numerous deaths.

In the movie, Brogan portrays Teddy, the son of the main characters, played by Anne Hathaway and Mark Ruffalo. Brogan said one of his favorite parts about filming was getting to meet and work closely with the two very successful actors.

Naturally, Brogan was nervous working with the actors.

“Don’t psych yourself out and be confident, be yourself,” Brogan said.

Brogan feels lucky that he had the opportunity to work on a set with real, experienced actors and would not trade the experience for anything.

Though filming was a blast for Brogan, it took place during the school year. Balance was often a tough aspect of the process considering the heavy workload of WHHS, but Brogan had help. “It was difficult but we had an onset tutor. So we [actors in school] would have to do three hours of work before going back on set.”

Along with the onset rules, Brogan was able to maintain the grades to stay at WHHS while being successful in his growing career as an actor because of his many considerate and flexible teachers. “[My teachers] were understanding when I missed school and were supportive,” Brogan said.

Going through the whole process and enjoying the people working around him, Brogan realized why he loves acting and he is determined to find another role to grow his career. For the moment, Brogan is taking a break from big picture movies to act in the WHHS one act festival. Along with acting, Brogan started swimming for the WHHS junior high team.

If you are interested in seeing his film, Dark Waters came out on Nov. 22 and is being shown in various movie theatres around the country.