Andrew heckler biography

In 1996, actor Andrew Heckler was stunned to come across a newspaper article detailing the newly-opened KKK Museum and Redneck Shop in Laurens, South Carolina.

Twenty years later, Heckler’s directorial debut, “Burden,” tells the true story of the KKK Museum and how its founder, Mike Burden (Garrett Hedlund), renounced the Klan with the help of Black Baptist Minister Reverend David Kennedy (Forest Whitaker) who preached a message of fighting hate with love.

The Harvard Crimson spoke with Heckler about how going undercover in the KKK to research for "Burden" motivated his storytelling.

Note: the following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Harvard Crimson: When you were introduced to the story of Mike Burden, Reverend Kennedy, and the KKK Museum, did you know that you wanted to make a film about it?

Andrew Heckler: I read a blurb in a little newspaper and it said, “Klan opens KKK Museum in small southern to