George Bowers

Biography

Kevin Bray is an American film and television director, producer, commercial filmmaker, and music video director. Over a career spanning several decades, he has worked across music videos, feature films, television series, and advertising. He is particularly recognized for directing the action films All About the Benjamins and Walking Tall, as well as episodes of popular television shows such as Suits, Insecure, Succession, Black-ish, White Collar, and The Americans.

Early Life and Education

Bray studied at the University of Michigan and later attended the University of Paris, commonly known as the Sorbonne. He subsequently completed his film education at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. His background in filmmaking helped prepare him for a career that would eventually cover music videos, commercials, cinema, and television.

Beginning of His Career

Kevin Bray began his professional career directing music videos and commercials. His work in advertising included campaigns for major brands such as Nike, Puma, Verizon, and the Florida Lottery. He eventually became a highly sought-after music video director, working with prominent performers including Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Lauryn Hill, Brandy, Celine Dion, De La Soul, Savage Garden, and Jessica Simpson.

Bray reportedly directed more than 100 music videos and commercials before moving more extensively into feature filmmaking. His experience in music videos and advertising helped him develop a strong visual style and experience working with performers and large productions.

Transition to Feature Films

Bray made his feature-film directing debut with the action comedy All About the Benjamins in 2002. The film starred Ice Cube and Mike Epps and marked an important step in his transition from music videos to mainstream cinema. He later directed Walking Tall in 2004, starring Dwayne Johnson.

His other film work includes Linewatch (2008), while he also served as a second-unit director on Friday After Next (2002).

Television Career

Television became a major part of Bray's career. He directed episodes for a wide range of acclaimed and commercially successful series. Among his notable credits are Cold Case, Criminal Minds, Heroes, Burn Notice, The Vampire Diaries, White Collar, Person of Interest, Suits, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Empire, The Americans, Insecure, Black-ish, and Succession.

Bray directed numerous episodes of Suits, including its pilot, and also served as a producer on the series. His work on Insecure and Black-ish further demonstrated his ability to move between drama, comedy, and contemporary character-driven television.