Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Night Night’s Brenna D’Amico

Brenna D’Amico is one of Hollywood’s most exciting young talents. She first burst onto the scene as Jane in Disney’s Descendants and instantly became a fan favorite. Since then, she’s brought dynamic characters to life in projects including Keys, Overnights, Code Black, and Chicken Girls.

This year she showed off her range and versatility in the must-see psychological-thriller Night Night.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Brenna about her leading role in Night Night, how she prepared to step into the mindset of her character, and what she hopes audiences take away after they see the film.

PC: To start, could you tell us about Night Night and your character in the film?
Brenna: I love Night Night, and I think everybody else is going to really like it too. Night Night is about this young woman whom I play, April Davis. She gets into this awful car crash and is unfortunately put into a coma for a few months. As soon as she wakes up, she’s faced with all these weird phenomena happening. She’s trying to figure out if it’s all in her head or if it’s the meds that she’s taking.

PC: What was it about this particular character and script that stood out to you?
Brenna: I love that every time that I turned the page I thought I knew what was going to happen but something different happened. That’s why I love it. That’s what makes this a psychological thriller. It did mess with my head a bit. I was so thrilled and on the edge of my seat while reading it.

PC: You’ve worked on projects of all sizes. What is it about independent filmmaking that excites you as a creative?
Brenna: I love it so much because I feel like there is so much room for collaboration. We can sit down and get really, really, really close because the crew is smaller. That’s the really fortunate part of it: that we can all get into it and dive a little deeper. Niki Koss was so amazing. She was so collaborative and really took the time to ask what we thought and what we wanted to do. I really loved that about her.

PC: This role is a departure from what fans have seen you do in the past. How did that change your preparation? Was there any pressure heading into this project?
Brenna: It’s very different from what I’ve done prior, but I loved it. The preparation was a little different. The creative process was different for me. I definitely had to dive more into raw emotions and build this very, very interesting connection with April in order to figure out why she thought the way she did.

PC: That’s a perfect segue to this next question. There are so many intense moments within the film where your character is coming to terms with her own grief. As an actress, how do you prepare for those scenes?
Brenna: It’s really interesting. There are so many different ways to do it. I always kept a little notebook for her. If I ever felt like I wasn’t fully with her that day, I would read some of the pages in my notebook for her. That really brought me back to her.

PC: There’s such great chemistry between you and the rest of the cast. How did you all build that bond?
Brenna: I’m so glad you said that because that’s one of the things that I want the audience to take away. I hope they see the chemistry that we all have. We’re such good friends to this day. I’m seeing Taylor Gray (who plays my brother in the film) tomorrow. We’re getting facials together. We love it. It was an instant connection. We were like, “This is going to be so much fun.” We were so happy showing up every day just to be together. Sometimes we accidentally stayed up a little too late. I guess being on set for twelve hours wasn’t enough for us. We would stay up talking all night. It made me really happy. This cast is the best.

PC: Your character is at the heart of the story. Which of her relationships was your favorite to explore and why?
Brenna: Oh my gosh. I don’t know if I can pick one. I loved all of them for different reasons. Her relationship with her brother Jax is bittersweet and tragically sad, but it’s filled with so much love.

My relationship with Deric Augustine’s character, Detective Grant Sheppard, was super, super sweet. I don’t want to give too much away.

Also, my relationship with Nick Marini’s character. Audiences have to get ready for that. There’s so much that happens with us. That was fun to explore.

PC: With this being such a departure from your previous roles, did anything surprise you about the experience? What did you learn about yourself and your craft?
Brenna: I think what I learned about myself is that I really, really, really truly love dramas. There’s a burning passion for drama inside of me. I love that I can use it as my escape and also provide escapism for other people at the same time.

PC: What do you hope audiences take away after they see it?
Brenna: I truly hope that they enjoy the amazing entertainment of this movie. Like I was saying earlier, every single page I was like, “Oh, I know what’s going to happen.” But I so didn’t. People are going to be on the edge of their seats. I think what April shows people is that we all have instincts. We have this gut feeling inside of us. I feel like there are so many times where we don’t trust ourselves. We don’t look into it more. We’re like, “Oh, it’s probably nothing.” Trust yourself. Trust your instincts, and trust yourself. That’s one of the messages that I want people to take away from this movie.

PC: Besides Night Night, what’s next for you?
Brenna: I booked a film that I’m filming next year. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age story. I did a couple of horror shorts this summer that should be coming out soon. I’m very excited about it!

To keep up with Brenna, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Night Night today.

Photo Credit: Nathan Tecson