Emmy Winner Tammy Blanchard Is Back With Two Powerhouse Turns In Upcoming Indies ‘Test’ & ‘Bruton’ [VIDEO]

Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard is that rare and remarkable thespian who has delivered indelible performances in all three mediums. She’s a character shape-shifter who is currently playing two very different but gritty and authentic women in two absolutely compelling features, Sam McConnell’s outstanding, queer-themed pic, Test, written and starring the gifted Brock Yurich, currently captivating festival audiences throughout the U.S. and Vincent Grashaw’s upcoming biopic of sorts, Bruton, starring a dynamic Theo Rossi and world premiering at the Locarno Film Festival in August. Both are powerhouse turns that deserve to be in the awards conversation later this year.

In Test, Blanchard sears the screen as Joanne, the ferocious mama to Yurich’s bodybuilder character, Eddie.  In the very first scene, she is enthusiastically helping to ready him for a competition by tanning him. while they both sing, “Wash Me in the Blood of the Lamb,” (a moving hymn that Blanchard actually wrote). As the camera pulls back, we see that Eddie is only wearing a sock—which doesn’t faze her at all. The goal is physical perfection. He seeks it for his own personal reasons. She needs him to succeed so they are more financially secure. She also adores her son.

With Bruton, Blanchard takes on the role of Maura Willis, the sole female correctional officer in a Florida prison, who falls for the charismatic titular character, Bryan Bruton, sentenced to ten years for a crime he didn’t intentionally commit. Bruton, with some help from Willis and other inmates, build an underground radio station and then plan an elaborate escape. Maura and Bryan have quite the sizzling bond, thanks to the chem between Blanchard and Rossi. This captivating film is inspired by a true story.

Blanchard’s acting career began on a soap where from 1997 to 2002 she played Drew Jacobs on Guiding Light.

Great success came after she played the teenage Judy Garland in the acclaimed TV film, Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows in 2001. Both she and Judy Davis, who played older Judy, won Primetime Emmy Awards for their amazing work. Blanchard was also Golden Globe nominated.

Other notable TV work: When Angels Come to Town, the 2007 remake of Sybil, opposite Jessica Lange, Law and Order, The Good Wife, The Big C, Madam Secretary, Elementary, Billions, Daytime Divas and Dare Me.

On stage, she made her Broadway debut as Louise in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, opposite Bernadette Peters, receiving her first Tony nomination. In 2011, she copped a second Tony nod as the belter Hedy LaRue in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Daniel Radcliffe. Other theater credits include the 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh with Denzel Washington and the recent off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, for which she garnered a 2020 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical.

Among her many film credits: Stealing Harvard (2002) The Good Shepherd (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), Rabbit Hole (2010), The Music Never Stopped (2011), Moneyball (2011), Union Square (2011), Blue Jasmine (2013), Into the Woods (2014), The Invitation (2015), A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), Rifkin’s Festival (2020) and Pretty Thing (2025).

Besides Test and Bruton, she has four other indies a-comin’ that have already been filmed including Bella Thorne’s gay-themed feature directorial debut, Color Your Hurt, two thrillers, Fernando Lugo’s Inhuman and Nathan Catucci’s Cabbage as well as Melissa Schilling’s Henry, an animal rights movie about a teen boy who befriends a cow (steer) and must defend it against an attack.

Test world premiered at SXSW London and was shown at the Provincetown International Film Festival and Frameline50. The film will screen at OutfestNEXT in Los Angeles on July 24. For tickets visit OUTFESTNEXT.

The film’s festival journey continues with Flicker Rhode Island International Film Festival (August 8), OutSouth Queer Film Festival in Durham, NC (August 15), FilmOut San Diego (August 20), Reel Queer Film Festival in Little Rock, AK (August 27) and Out on Film Atlanta (Sept 24-Oct 4).

Bruton world premieres at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland on August 12, 2026. For tickets visit LOCARNO.

The Contending had a blast chatting with Blanchard about her two fab indies as well as her career to date.