Ken Whittingham interview: A passionate bravemaker pays it forward

Courtesy of Roman Wersh

Director Ken Whittingham has been steadily working in television for almost thirty years, but still feels open to learning new techniques and challenging himself. It’s a character trait that is rare in someone so accomplished, but the way he sees it, there’s always room for improvement.

Part of that growth is what has brought him to the Bravemaker Film Festival on this hot July afternoon. The gathering is nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley and is full of filmmakers and entrepreneurs hungry to hear Whittingham speak about his time in the business. His credits behind the camera include “30 Rock,” “The Office,” “Abbott Elementary” and many others. We recently spoke to him about why he values bringing his knowledge to the next generation as well as his time creating some of your favorite television shows.

Q: Thank you for coming to Redwood City and the Bravemaker Film Festival. What draws you to events like this one?

Ken Whittingham: Helping the youth. I was asked to do it and thought, are you sure you want me to do it? I have a lot of admiration for young filmmakers who start from the ground up. I am humbled to be invited here so whatever I can give back to the process is great. And that’s what it’s been so far, a lot of filmmakers asking questions and wanting their dreams to come true by seeing my knowledge and history in the business. I like to give back at this stage in my career.

Q: Who gave back to you when you were getting started?

Whittingham: Nobody.

Q: Really?

Whittingham: I’m just kidding (laughs). A few people did when I was starting out. There wasn’t as much content or programming when I started, there were only three networks.

Q: ABC…

Whittingham: ABC, CBS and NBC. So there were very few people you could go to but there were some that I was able to learn from like Jay Sandrich, he goes all the way back to Lucille Ball. So there were people who gave me opportunities and gave me time, a break to be a director. I learned how to study and do your homework.

Q: When you give back to the community, and students in general, what are some of the misconceptions they walk through the door thinking are true but are really the opposite?

Whittingham: How much work actually goes into being good because you don’t really want to be good, you want to be great. If you’re in it, take it seriously and don’t worry about the money because the money might not be there for a while. The money might not ever be there. You have to do it for the art, you have to be a true artist.

Q: Being great also keeps you employed, right?

Whittingham: (laughs) Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes people don’t recognize greatness but that’s alright because somebody will. Everybody has an audience.

Q: What does greatness look like to you?

Whittingham: The ability to make people laugh. If you can create laughter, that’s greatness to me.

Q: Speaking of comedy, of all your television credits, “30 Rock” is one of my favorites. You also have “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and many others. What are some of your favorite working environments that you’ve been a part of?

Whittingham: One of my favorite sets that I’ve been a part of was “Scrubs,” “Abbott Elementary” and “Parks and Recreation.”

Q: You know, I have yet to hear a negative thing about showrunners Mike Schur or Bill Lawrence.

Whittingham: They’re both great and some of my favorite people. Especially Bill Lawrence, if you want to run a show like “Scrubs,” that’s how you run a show. We had so much fun on that show I’m surprised we got any work done.

The Bravemaker Film Festival recently concluded its 2024 edition and will return to Redwood City on July 10-13, 2025. More information is available at Bravemaker.com