Exclusive Interview: Lily Brooks O’Briant Talks Life by Ella

Lily Brooks O’Briant is a rising young talent who has captivated audiences on the stage and screen. She’s brought dynamic characters to life in projects including Matilda: The Musical andThe Big Show Show.

This year, she stars as the title character in Apple TV+’s Life by Ella. The coming-of-age comedy tells the story of a young middle-school girl as she takes a new outlook on life into a world that seems determined to break it down.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Lily Brooks about her journey in the industry, Life by Ella, and more.

PC: You got your start in theater. What has that transition been like for you going from the stage to the screen?
Lily Brooks: I’m so grateful that I started out in theater. I learned so much about acting and performing from my experience in theater. I started on the stage when I was about five years old. My mom took me to see a play at one of our community theaters in Memphis, Tennessee, where I’m originally from. I remember at intermission I turned to my mom and I said, “That’s what I want to do!” I pointed to the stage. So my mom put me in a musical theater camp the next year and I fell in love with it.

From then on, I trained in theater, musical theater, and improv. That training helped me tremendously as an actor. But moving from playing Matilda in the national Broadway tour of Matilda: The Musical to more film and TV like The Big Show Show was definitely a bit of a tough transition.

But I’m really grateful that the first project that I did after Matilda was The Big Show Show because it was a sitcom. It had a live audience every Friday. I was really grateful that I had that transition and still had an audience. There were still many differences. But I still got the energy from the audience. I was really grateful that I had that as my middle step in this transition. Going from The Big Show Show to Life by Ella was a full step over from musical theater.

PC: You’ve had so much success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out to you?
Lily Brooks: There have been so many moments that have shaped me as a person and as an actor. One of the biggest is when I found out that I booked Matilda: The Musical. We were in New York City. I was with my mom and my friends who are also from Memphis. We were walking around. My mom was like, “Let’s go take a photo in front of the Matilda marquee.” I posed in front of it in the Matilda pose with both my hands on my hips. My mom was like, “Lily, you’re Matilda!” I didn’t understand her.

I was like, “Yeah, I am Matilda.” [laughs] Then she was like, “No, you booked the role!” I started to freak out. From that moment on, the Shubert Theater alley has been where my biggest moments have occurred. I found out I booked Matilda there, I found out that I booked The Big Show Show, and a month after I booked Life by Ella, I went back to take a picture there.

Those are the moments that stick out to me the most. Also, the little moments when I’m driving to set and getting to my trailer. Those moments I really cherish because you never know how many of them you’re going to have. I love every minute of doing what I love.

PC: Tell us about Life by Ella, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Lily Brooks: I play Ella in the new Apple TV+ series, Life by Ella, which is now streaming! Life by Ella is the story of an incredible girl named Ella who goes back to school after beating cancer. She’s taking on this brand new perspective on life that going through treatment for cancer has taught her. She has this big seize-the-day mentality. She’s ready to tackle anything that comes her way, even if it’s something she might be scared of.

Ella went through treatment for cancer afraid of everything. Coming out of it, she realized that you can’t be afraid of anything because you never know what might happen. You never know how much time you have left, so you have to live your life to the fullest and not be afraid of what might happen or what people think of you. That’s something that I admire about her.

PC: This series does such a beautiful job balancing comedy with this really deeply emotional story. As an actress, you handled that with so much nuance. How did you create the space for yourself to tackle Ella’s journey in the show?
Lily Brooks: Thank you so much. That’s something that really drew me to this show. The writers did such a beautiful job of making this show truthful to the deep and emotional story while also finding the light in the story. That’s also something that I love about my character. But tackling those deeper moments can definitely be tough at times. But I feel that Apple, Tim [Pollock], and Jeff [Hodsden] did an incredible job of creating such a beautiful on-set environment with so many supportive crew members and actors. I had incredible actors by my side every step of the way. They were supporting me and I was supporting them. That’s something that’s really important as an actor, especially when you’re tackling deeper and more emotional topics.

PC: Ella is such an inspiring character. What has playing her taught you about yourself and your craft?
Lily Brooks: I love this question. I say all the time that Ella has taught me so much about myself as a person. I feel like going through Ella’s journey with her has been such a rewarding process for me. I’ve learned things about myself from how she doesn’t go through life afraid of anything. That’s something that I feel audience members can learn from as well.

Ella has taught me that you’re amazing no matter what anyone says. I feel like sometimes I can get caught up in things that other people say about me or things that I hear online or on social media. But Ella has taught me to ignore that because I am who I am and I can’t let anyone tell me otherwise.

PC: Which was your favorite scene to film? Which was the most difficult?
Lily Brooks: My favorite episode to film was six, which is the episode with Hayley Kiyoko. Hayley Kiyoko is such a sweet soul. She was so kind and honestly such an incredible actor and performer. It was such an honor to work with her. She really was dedicated to telling Ella’s story as much as the cast and crew were.

PC: As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role that you would love to bring to life on the screen or stage?
Lily Brooks: I would absolutely love to play Spider-Gwen in the Spider-Man trilogy. Oh my gosh, that would be incredible. That would be a dream come true. Spider-Gwen is one of my favorite characters. I’m also a big Marvel person. My sister and I started watching all the Marvel movies over quarantine, and I just fell in love with them.

I had the incredible honor of being invited to the She-Hulk premiere a few weeks ago. That was such an amazing experience. I was geeking out because of how much I love Marvel. Being invited to one of the premieres is just a dream come true.

My dream role on the stage is to play Glinda in Wicked.

To keep up with Lily Brooks, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Life by Ella on Apple TV+ today.

Photo Credit: Kevin Scanlon