Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Brooke Lewis Bellas

In her twenty-plus years in the industry, Brooke Lewis Bellas has built an illustrious career in front of and behind the camera in projects such as Sinatra Club, Breaking Dating, and Ms. Vampy. Each has been a stepping-stone and opportunity for Brooke to learn and grow as an artist and woman. Like the women who inspired her, Brooke is paving the way for the next generation of storytellers and sharing the most important lessons she’s learned. Plus, she chats about her film 1/2 New Year and what it’s like to play a character who was created for her!

Career

PC: You’re an actress, producer, and writer. How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Brooke: As a little girl, I would sit by the television and talk to the characters in the TV shows that I watched as if I were in them. I was a very emotional child and still am an emotional adult. I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older that I’m what spiritualists called empathic. I really feel other people’s emotions. So it made perfect sense that I was inspired to become an actress. The producing and writing followed suit much later. But I knew I needed to do something that tapped into my emotions, and I wanted to create and share something with the world.

PC: How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actress and vice versa?
Brooke: Great question. This is for all your readers who are aspiring actors. I used to get really down on myself early on. I started my career in college and then went straight to New York right out of college and booked Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding off-Broadway equity contract for three years. After that, things started moving quickly for me. At twenty-one, I signed with a very big agent in New York. I was going out for all these TV shows and films at a young age, and when I wasn’t booking them, I would get down on myself. I would say, “I’m not good enough.”

I still do it to this day, but then the producer in me kicks in. From the experience and knowledge that I’ve gained over the years sitting in producer sessions, we watch these beautiful actresses come in, of all ages, and deliver these spectacular performances. They leave and they get a call back or not. You sit with the producers, the director, and people financing the film, and you hear reasons that you would never have imagined for why they can’t have the role.

I remember one big, big film that I produced and acted in. I was in the producer sessions, and this was years ago, but these two actresses came in. They were brunette. They really had a vision for the role. But the writers and director wanted a blonde for the lead role. I was playing the supporting lead, and I’m a brunette. They didn’t want another brunette. These two brunettes came in, and they were the most amazing actresses I’ve ever seen in real life. In the producer sessions, they said, “We want someone a bit younger and a blonde.” You learn that sometimes it has little to do with your ability.

I have a funny story. When I was very young in New York, I was very sensitive. I went in for this big audition, and I appreciated the honesty of New York. I went in for this audition and I thought I nailed it. The director was in the room with the casting director and the producers. In the end, he came out and said, “I want to tell you that you crushed it. You were amazing, but I’m going to be honest with you. You look exactly like my ex-wife, and I can’t cast you.” Isn’t that great? [laughs] Crazy, right? It’s a fun share for the readers because sometimes it has nothing to do with you.

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that moving from the East Coast to Los Angeles felt like you had to start from the ground up again. What did you learn about yourself during that transition? Who or what instilled that perseverance in you?
Brooke: That’s a beautiful question. New York and Los Angeles are polar opposites. Look, Hollywood’s my home, but respectfully, I do believe that they look for more talent in New York versus your appearance. Your appearance and credits matter so much in Los Angeles. I have a theater/indie film background. I was going to Tribeca and Sundance early on. But coming to Los Angeles with very little television put a dent in my career. Like you said, I had to start over. Hollywood really is the television Mecca, so when you’re lacking television credits and they don’t know you in that medium, you have to start over and prove yourself.
 
To answer the second part of your question that was wonderful. I had to study again, and I found a coach out here. All the years I trained in New York, I had to start over with that. I had to build my résumé in television. I’m still not where I want to be, dreamed and aspired to be. It takes years of commitment, tenacity, and sacrifice. The biggest thing—if I had to tell my younger self or any aspiring young actors—is you have to be in it for the long haul. There’s rarely ever overnight success. I’ve been doing this for twenty years. It’s a commitment and a huge sacrifice.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Brooke: Thank you for saying that because sometimes we don’t perceive ourselves as successful because we always want to go to the next level. There have been a couple of moments that stand out. I’m blessed. As we’re talking, I’m standing in my home looking at my wall at TV Guide. Your older readers will know what that is. [laughs] I was in TV Guide back in 2004 when I acted on Fox’s Quintuplets. I played Gina Grazano from Staten Island. It was such a magical moment. It’s one of those moments where I remember my agent saying, “Okay. I’m trying to get you seen for this role to audition at Fox, and they have so many young actresses. They’re seeing so-and-so. I’m going to keep pushing for you to get in.” A couple of weeks later, he calls and says, “They’re not finding what they’re looking for.” So he got me in, and it was one of those inspiring moments where it was meant to be, and it was the perfect role. This is what I’ve learned and want to share with young actors: when you find the perfect role and it speaks to you, if it’s meant to be yours, it will be yours.

They auditioned me. They kept me all day—callback, callback, producer session—and then they called my agent. They told me I booked it. I’m sitting on the Fox lot. They had no time because they were so behind schedule finding actors for the role. They whisked me away. I remember what I was wearing, to this day. It’s crazy. They whisked me away in a car on the Fox lot and took me right to set. It was truly magical. It was something that felt so good and so right.

I’ve had a few moments like that. That was a really positive one. On a negative or sad note, an experience that I think about that breaks my heart is right out of college. I auditioned and had a callback for a movie called 54 based on Studio 54. We’re talking New York A-list. We’re talking Mike Myers, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, all of them. This is before Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Phillippe were even known actors. They were just starting out. We were all in that boat together. I got cast as Mark Ruffalo’s girlfriend, Rico’s girl, in 54. It was two huge scenes with Ruffalo and Ryan Phillippe, who are now superstars.

We were all coming up. Booking it was huge. They were sitting me down, telling me that I was going to be the next Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. It was another New York little guidette, sassy, totally great role for me to play. My agent was like, “Your career is about to explode.” The next thing you know, I’m on set filming. I have my own trailer and I’m hanging out with Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Phillippe, who were both wonderful—personally and professionally. All of a sudden I’m there for a couple of days. I’m supposed to be shooting, but everything keeps getting pushed behind. They send me home. They bring me back two days later. Next thing I know, they went over budget. They had to cut out the last five scenes of the film, and two of them were mine!

To this day, I get my residual checks. Every time I talk to the acting higher powers and I’m like, “Give me a sign that I’m on my path and I’m doing everything I can to be where I’m supposed to be,” I’ll get a residual check from 54. That tells me in my crazy head that I’m on the right path and sometimes things happen. Things in this business change, and it’s okay. It happens to everyone. That was supposed to be my big break, but it’s okay because I’ve had many little breaks since, and some bigger ones, and I’ve been really lucky because I never quit.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Brooke: Two of my forever idols are Elizabeth Taylor and Mae West. They’re my little voices of toughness when I get down because they were two visionaries. They were two women who claimed their power. They were two women in the industry who fought back when it was a major boys’ club. Now it’s a minor boys’ club. I love men, but I’m very much about female empowerment and fighting systems when I need to. They inspired me because they’re both not traditional. I feel like I have a lot in common with women of the past. I sometimes feel like I’m living in the wrong generation. I’m such an old soul. I look at these older actresses and they’re so inspiring because it’s what I want Hollywood to be now. It makes me sad, but those were the people who fought a hard fight.

Now in present day, I look at actresses like Viola Davis, who’s another actress who’s overcome obstacles and made it. I’m really inspired by the underdogs. And Fran Drescher—I have her book on my shelf. I keep it by my side because she’s such an inspiration for me. If you read her book, she shares everything she went through as an actress coming from Queens, New York. She was told, “You’re too ethnic. You have an annoying voice. You’ll never make it.” Well, she laughed her way to the bank. The underdogs and those who fought the good fight and pushed through inspire me.

1/2 New Year

PC: Tell us about your film 1/2 New Year, your character, and what drew you to the project.
Brooke: 1/2 New Year is out now on demand everywhere. It’s also made its way to Amazon Prime. So everyone can watch it now. It’s on Vudu, etc. It’s such a sweet indie film. It’s very heartfelt and will tug at your heartstrings in both a dramatic and comedic way. It’s a piece that Drew McAnany, who is my onscreen and offscreen little brother in real life—who’s also a Philly native—came to me and wrote a role for me. He partnered with Georgia Menides, and the two of them wrote and produced it. They brought on Zach Block and Tom Morash, our wonderful director.

It’s a piece that reminds me of when I started out back in the day with old heartfelt indie films. You don’t need a crazy huge budget to create quality content. Drew came to me and said, “Look, I’m creating a break for myself, and I’m going to star in this film, and I want you to play Pam DeLuca, my big sister from South Philly. We came to LA to live and pursue our dreams and find a new family within our friends.” I was over the moon.

So I fell instantly in love with this role. When someone writes something for you and creates a character around your strengths, there’s nothing better as an actor in this business. I was so blessed to have that opportunity. They brought on this incredible team, and it took a long time to make. That’s what happens when you are trying to raise money independently. That’s what they did to bring this to fruition, and it’s incredible. Look at the cast: Bo Youngblood, Shanley Caswell, Jeff Dye, Rome Flynn from How to Get Away with Murder—the list goes on and on.

PC: Is there a different sense of pressure knowing that this character was created with you in mind?
Brooke: I love that question, and I’ll tell you why. I have had several friends and business associates write roles for me. That’s a great question because it’s a different level of stress. So again, I say this humbly, I’ve had several direct offers in my career where I haven’t had to audition because they’ve either been written for me or have been direct-offered to me as a known indie film actress. There is something wonderful about that because I get a lot of anxiety with auditions. After twenty years in this business, I still get anxiety walking into an audition. I’m not great at cold readings. I need time to prepare and to learn the character, the scene, and the space she’s in. It’s never easy for me.

To answer your question, it’s a different type of anxiety and stress. It’s a whole other level when you know the person believes in you or the team believes in you. You are not trying to prove yourself in a different way. You don’t want to let your friends down or your associates down. It becomes more personal, and that’s hard for me. There are two different levels of stress. One is more professional, and one is more personal.

PC: You’ve got tons of new projects coming out. Are there any that you can chat about at this time?
Brooke: Yes, absolutely. Let me shout out another director I love: Staci Layne Wilson, who directed me in our award-winning Psycho Therapy film. We got together. She cast me in The Second Age of Aquarius that she and Darren Gordon Smith from Repo! wrote together, and it’s a comedy with a touch of sci-fi. It’s got some hologram in it. I don’t want to give away too much, but what an incredible piece.

I was an executive producer, and I got to play a supporting role. I love my role as Tawny Stevens. She’s an ’80s rocker mom stuck in the ’80s back in Jersey. I’m telling you, these are the roles I love! These fun, sassy characters. She’s a big-haired, leather jacket, leopard pants, crazy ’80s colorful makeup that Allison Noelle did for me. She’s got a Jersey accent. It’s hilarious and such a fun role I got to play.

And another project that you’ll be the first to hear about is with another wonderful director: Joshua Butler. He and I shot a proof of concept in October for a bigger TV and film piece that we’re working on. We are now, right now, filming virtually the rest of this and cutting it into a podcast web series called Red Rooms.

To keep up with Brooke, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: Birdie Thompson // Hair & Makeup: Allison Noelle