Early Life and Education
Donald Braswell II, a native of Texas, is the youngest of four children of Donald and Jane Braswell (née Jane House). He grew up near Boerne, Texas, a town just north of San Antonio. His parents were Broadway performers, and he has displayed an interest in theater and music since childhood and aspired to become an actor. As a child, he often performed with his family, and described the theatrical arts as something that felt natural to him. While in high school, he would participate in local theater groups at night without telling anyone; he preferred not to display his "aesthetic side."
Upon graduation from Boerne High School and a summer working at Six Flags, Braswell attended Tyler Junior College from 1981 to 1982 and the University of Texas at San Antonio from 1982 to 1983. His love of acting drove him to New York City during 1983 and 1984 to study at Lee Strasberg and the HB Studios and take private voice lessons from Marni Nixon, who provided the singing voice for people such as Deborah Kerr in the The King and I and Natalie Wood in West Side Story.
Even the pull of Broadway in New York City couldn't compete with the real passion in Braswell's life, Julie Clayburne. He moved back to Boerne to be with her, where he worked at the allegedly haunted Ye Kendall Inn from 1984 to 1986 as a singing waiter and boasted making the best table-side Steak Diane. Having met at age 11 and been in love since 15, Clayburne and Braswell were married on May 25, 1985. She persuaded him to apply to the Juilliard School in New York City. He did it only to humor her; however, he was not only accepted but also awarded the prestigious Enrico Caruso scholarship. His audition was in the spring of 1986, and he enrolled in the fall that year. There he began his professional training as an operatic tenor under the tutelage of Enrico Di Giuseppe. He graduated four years later in 1990.
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