About five years ago, director Brian Klein reached a sweet spot in his film career. “I was at a point in my career where I didn’t have to go on job interviews anymore,” says the award-winning director. “People began coming to me to collaborate.”

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Klein is best known for his work as a television director with more than 25 years of creating epic works for Netflix, Amazon, Prime, BBC and Sky. His credits include 28 seasons as part of the core crew behind “Top Gear,” an iconic car show produced out of the United Kingdom. Starring Jeremy Clarkson, the program has reached more than 350 million viewers around the world. Klein has also worked with stars like James Corden, Jake Whitehall, Alan Carr, as well as brands like Aston Martin.

Thanks to his robust filmography, he felt compelled to create a digital portfolio but, in the process, ran into an all-too-common obstacle, finding an available domain that matched his brand. BrianKlein.com was unavailable but he saw alternative domain endings were up for grabs. “When I saw the .TV domain for the first time, I thought it was amazing,” recalls Klein. “I'm a TV director so the synergy was there. I’ve had people from around the world visit the site. And when people see .TV, they think it obviously means television. The fit for me is unbelievable.”

He says nothing encapsulates his multifaceted career better than his own website, BrianKlein.TV, especially when his career took an unexpected swerve to novel-writing.

In addition to his love for sports cars, Klein had always been fascinated by conspiracy theories ranging from Roswell to the moon landings. As a student at London University, he studied the rise and fall of the Third Reich and was always intrigued by the conspiracies surrounding the deaths of Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun.

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“I always had a gut feeling that Hitler wasn’t the kind of man to take his own life,” he says. “For the purposes of writing … I went with my gut. I couldn’t help wondering, “What if….’”

He admits the premise of his debut novel, The Counterfeit Candidate, was buried in his head for more than 40 years. When the global pandemic forced everyone into lockdown, he found the perfect opportunity to put pen to paper. “I had no idea if I was capable of doing it and trust me, when I say, no one was more surprised than me, that the book finally got written,” he says.

Here Klein recaps his illustrious career, how he launched from film into novels, and how his .TV website has helped keep his brand consistent across no matter where his interests take him.

Why would an accomplished director have to build a professional website in the first place? How has your digital portfolio evolved with your career?

At first it displayed all my television and video work but when COVID happened in March 2020, all the television work stopped. I took that time to start writing a thriller novel, as I had an idea for a book stewing in me for years. It's now become a bestseller in the UK and will soon become part of a trilogy, including The Führer’s Prophecy, which came out last spring and The Last Reich, which is published July 16 2024. I've just signed to Hachette, the second biggest publisher in the world and they're about to launch the series worldwide. I am still a TV director and very busy, but I am now an author as well and my book titles are my latest works, so it is displayed at the very top of the page. A lot of the former actors I’ve worked with in television have helped with promoting the book. Even during Covid I did a small, socially distant book launch and that made national newspapers because of all the talent who appeared.

What is one of your favorite TV projects you’ve worked on?

One of my earlier shows, ‘Top Gear.’ We went from two million viewers in season one to 350 million by season seven. It was incredibly successful, and we won an Emmy for the best unscripted show. Due to the success of ‘Top Gear’ I started getting offered major car commercial spots and continued to grow my projects. I believe in luck in this business. I know there’s the phrase ‘you make your own luck,’ and there’s something to that too. But I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

How does the .TV domain still make sense for your novel?

Funnily enough, now a film company has bought the rights and they're talking to Netflix and Apple about creating it as a film. They won't let me direct it because my background is drama and entertainment, not action. But the .TV extension still makes sense given the latest developments.

Without any spoilers, can you tell us a little about all this action?

The book centers on the premise that Hitler didn’t commit suicide, but escaped to South America in the 1940s. The story then fast forwards to the present. I had this idea that there'd be a bank robbery in Buenos Aires, and thieves would unearth a terrible secret about a major political figure who happens to be the direct descendant of Hitler. His grandson’s team basically have to track down the thieves and it sets off a blood-soaked manhunt. It was an idea whirling around my head for years and I’d share the premise with some people at dinner parties and they all sounded intrigued so during the pandemic, when film productions weren’t happening as much, I used that time to bring the story to life on paper.

How do you balance your original passion for film with your newfound love for novel-writing?

I don’t know where the plot twists and turns come from, but I continue to write. I just keep writing. Don’t get me wrong, I'm still a TV director. I get calls all the way from Russia and the United States, some of whom find me through my website. They’re from major brands who still want to create commercials with me, or comedians who want to work with me for their comedy specials. But I'm now an author, too, which is taking at least 50% of my time–and my website reflects that.

July 10, 2024

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From Top Gear to Thrillers: Brian Klein's Career Evolution | brianklein.tv