Around the age of 17, Brandis landed one of his best-known roles, as scientific prodigy Lucas Wolenczak in Steven Spielberg's futuristic science fiction series "seaQuest DSV". The role propelled him into teen idol status. At the height of his popularity, Brandis received approximately 4,000 fan letters a week and had to be escorted onto the set of "seaQuest DSV" by three studio security guards because of the many female fans present. He voiced Mozenrath, an evil young sorcerer and necromancer, in Disney's animated series "Aladdin".