I do remember that I was sitting in the make-up chair before the shoots for a commercial or film or other, and I thought: Sometime soon they are going to make a close-up of me and millions of people can see how many pimples I've got on my cheeks.

That same year Brandis played the young "Stuttering Bill" Denbrough the main character in the 1990 film Stephen King's It based on the epic horror novel. At the age of 17 he landed his best-known role as Lucas Wolenczak a teen prodigy on the NBC series seaQuest DSV. Law Who's the Boss? Murder She Wrote The Wonder Years Full House and Kate & Allie.

Beginning his career as a child model Brandis moved on to acting in commercials and eventually won television and film roles. The character was popular among teenage female viewers and Brandis regularly appeared in teen magazines.