‘Succession’ star Braun hot for ‘Antibodies’
For a coronavirus anthem from a most unlikely source, it took a single to make a single.
Stuck in California this spring and pining for prepandemic days, “Succession” star Nicholas Braun was wondering what it would take to land a date as he third-wheeled two couples who hosted him on the West Coast.
“I couldn’t fly back to New York,” Braun, 32, told the Daily News. “I was sort of like: Is it OK for me to go on a date at this time? Can I go on a walking date with someone with masks on?”
And a song lyric kept rolling around his head. So on May 7, he decided to share it on Instagram, not sure where it would take him.
In the end, it turned into the actor’s first song: a charity punk anthem with a raucous, grungy music video called “Antibodies (Do You Have the)” that landed on YouTube and music streaming services on Wednesday.
Dressed in a white tank top, a maroon hat and a mask, Braun looks forlorn as he sings in the music video, which mixes in contributions from fans who sent the actor clips after he shared the song’s chorus on social media.
“Do you have the antibodies?” Braun roars in the song. “Do you want to be with me?”
Braun filmed his parts with a pal in Los Angeles, where he was marooned for more than three months before flying home.
COVID-19 antibodies are thought to offer protection from future infections, and recovered coronavirus patients are encouraged to donate blood to help others wrestling with the virus.
The song plays with the notion that a positive antibody diagnosis could offer a gateway to love for shut-in singles who haven’t sniffed romance in eons.
“In this pandemic, people really have benefited from a partner to go through it with,” Braun said. “If you’re single, naturally you’re like: I want to go through this with somebody.”
Braun said as soon as he floated the idea onto social media in May, videos started flowing in from around the globe. More than 100 clips came in, and he worked with Atlantic Records to produce the song.
Proceeds from the song go to Partners In Health and The COPE Program, two health nonprofits.
A fan of Bon Iver and the band Local Native, Braun decided to inject his tune with a grungier vibe.
“I was hearing all these words, like virus and antibodies and testing and testing kits — all the new vocabulary of 2020,” Braun said. “And it just feels really punk-y.”
He tossed on some eyeliner and headed down to the Los Angeles River to film the music ideo.
The tape taps into memorable images of he pandemic. Shots of ews conferences from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Cuomo flash onto he screen.
The camera zooms in n Cuomo’s nipple, which became an object of public scrutiny after some wondered if the “Love Gov” had his nipple pierced. Cuomo’s office punctured the rumors, saying they were untrue.
“I was kind of fascinated by the nipple-ring conversation,” Braun explained to The News. “So I thought I would just give a shoutout to the nipple ring.” Braun also gave a shoutout to Cuomo in the interview, saying “he’s done a hell of a job.”
In the video, Braun squeezes sanitizer onto his hands and wields an unplugged guitar.
“If you got antibodies, it’s pants off, pants off, pants off, pants off,” he sings.
The nearly four-minute clip has pulled in more than 220,000 views. It landed online on a busy week for Braun, one of several cast members who scored an Emmy nomination for “Succession.”
Back on the Lower East Side, Braun can put his rambling, thirdwheeling days behind him for the moment.
But he received an antibody test in California. It came back negative.