Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Brianne Davis

Acclaimed actress, producer, director, and podcaster Brianne Davis is writing a new chapter in her career. Earlier this year, she became a debut novelist with the release of Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict.

As a recovering sex and love addict for the past eleven years, Brianne has made it her mission to shed a light on the misunderstood disease, which she’s accomplished with Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Brianne about Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Brianne: I was a complete latch-key kid growing up, which meant my sister and I had the house key around our necks. We would get home from school and be by ourselves. We’d make snacks, and I would plop myself in front of the television to be transported to another world. I loved watching all kinds of movies. My favorite films were a little out of my age range, including Romeo & Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Jaws. I always wanted to live inside the world of cinema. It’s not surprising I made a career in make-believe and storytelling as a novelist, actress, director, and producer.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Brianne: Wow, I love that question, but it’s hard to answer. So many people have influenced my career. My long-time agent, Gwenn Pepper, has always supported me, even in my dry spells from booking acting jobs. My husband, Mark Gantt, has taught me to think bigger as a creative. He’s my producing partner in Give & Take Productions, our podcast Secret Life, and the entire Secret Life world we’re creating. He was the one that pushed me to write my first novel, Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict. With his support, I now have the follow-up to Secret Life and two more books after that. Lastly, I look up to Reese Witherspoon and Elizabeth Banks. They’re both powerhouse women in the industry with their own production companies, being mothers and actresses all at the same time, while looking fabulous. I would only be so lucky to have a career like theirs.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout the years. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Brianne: I would say booking the show Six on the History Channel for two years and getting to play the sweet, fearless Lena Graves. Recently, it would definitely be writing the novel, especially since I’m dyslexic and have ADHD. I never thought that I’d be publishing it a year later and hitting the bestseller list on Amazon the first weekend of its release. It’s kind of mind-blowing when I think about it.

Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict

PC: You recently released your debut book. Tell us about Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict and the inspiration behind it.
Brianne: Well, first, I started writing it as a memoir. I wrote the first draft in forty-five days. As I rewrote it a million times, more and more stories from my imagination and other people’s sex and love addiction experiences came into my consciousness. I realized the story was bigger than my experience in Hollywood and recovering from my own sex and love addiction and the eleven years of sobriety. I wanted to bring a more universal look behind the curtains of this deadly disease.

Roxanne, my anti-heroine, was just organically born after that. I love to say anyone can be Roxanne. She struggles with her addiction to people, their love, and approval. Through the journey of her first year in her recovery from sex and love addiction, she comes up with the ten rules she has to live by. I guess the best way to describe the book is a roman à clef novel that’s equal parts chick-lit, memoir, and self-help—kind of like myself!

PC: The book does a fantastic job educating readers on addiction but doing it in a very relatable way. Why was that so important to you? How challenging was it to toe that line?
Brianne: Oh my gosh, thank you so much—that is the whole reason why I decided to write the book. When I was getting sober so long ago, every book I read on sex and love addiction was so academic and clinical. I would want to throw the books against the wall because it was hard for me to even retain a page of the information. Once I decided to publish the book, my whole goal was to make sure the reader, including non-addicts, were both entertained and educated about this very unknown and confusing addiction.

PC: With this being your debut book, did anything surprise you about the writing experience? What was the biggest takeaway?
Brianne: I think the realization that you can be a writer even with a learning disability. Also, you’re not alone—I realized that every author has a team of people helping them. They have publishers, editors, and proofreaders. I had no idea when I started the process. I thought that if I needed those people, I was not a real author or stupid, which was obviously not true, thank God.

PC: You have plans to write two additional books. What did you learn from the experience of putting together Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict that you’ll apply to future projects?
Brianne: My goal is to infuse all of my projects with as much truth and authenticity as I can. I realized that I don’t need to have it all worked out, just like I didn’t have it all worked out with the first book. My God will determine what I need to write and how it all comes together.

I never wanted to be a writer, but something bigger than me had other plans for my storytelling journey. I’m grateful for that direction in my life. The DMs, emails, and reviews I have already received from the book have been worth the blood, sweat, and tears I went through writing it. I look forward to discovering Roxanne’s next journey in book two and the subsequent books.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Brianne: The Great British Baking Show.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Brianne: Jaws! If it’s on TV, I will watch it!

PC: Favorite book?
Brianne: Anything written by Sandra Brown.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Brianne: I would say Newsies or The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Dolly Parton! I know every lyric in both those movies.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Brianne: Noah Cyrus and The Avett Brothers.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Brianne: Dakota Fanning or Shay Mitchell—oh and I would love them to play Roxanne in the Secret Life television version!

To keep up with Brianne, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict today.

Photo Credit: James Depietro