Brooke Lewis Is The Scream Queen And So Much More!
Team Credits:
Photographer: Birdie Thompson
Hair & Makeup: Allison Noelle
It is rare when you meet someone who does all the things and with so much passion. Brooke Lewis is one of these people. Not only is she an amazing actress, put together her own show, was a dating coach, wrote a book, but she is very active in a ton of different humanitarian causes! You must read further to learn about this incredible woman!
Where are you based?
Hollywood, California.
How did you get into acting?
I was such an emotional and sensitive child, that I feel I was destined to be an actress. I loved TV and movies as a little girl, used to talk to the TV and characters, pretend I was on the show with them, and improv. I was singing and dancing from a young age, which led me into musical theatre in Philadelphia, which led me into comedy in New York. I got my first “break” in the New York Off-Broadway comedy Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. Then I went on to do TV sitcoms like Quintuplets and Mafiosa, acted in mobster dramas like Pride & Loyalty and Sinatra Club, broke out in the horror genre with films like Kinky Killers, iMurders and Slime City Massacre earning the title of a “Scream Queen”, and finally was fortunate to act in sci-fi films Starship: Rising and The Mourning.
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming film 1/2 New Year?
1/2 New Year is an indie film with heart about a typical group of young people in their 20s who come to Hollywood, not necessarily for the entertainment industry, but to live the life… live their dreams… live that excitement that we all grow up watching in movies, and yet, it is not always that simple… And, it's not always that glamorous or that fun, and we see how these relationships and people are glued together. The best way to sum it up is: friends are the family you choose, and that is the tagline for a reason. So, it's about a group of friends who go through the ups and downs of young life in Hollywood, and they really learn that all you really have is love and friendship. I play Pam DeLuca, the big sister of Reed DeLuca, the star, and sometimes we have family out here that’s far away from our biological family and it’s what we go through, and the support we need, to get from the worst of times to the best of times. It's very ‘80s throwback and I think that’s what I love so much about it.
I had the honor of acting in one of my favorite roles yet, Pam DeLuca, that I was blessed to have written for me, in this dramedy with the most incredible cast and crew, including director Tom Morash, writer and producer Georgia Menides, writer and star Drew McAnany, producer Zachary Block, and actors Shanley Caswell, Rome Flynn, John Ierardi, Afton Jillian, Jermaine Alverez Martin, Ashley Platz, Matt Schulte, Rebecca Vinagro, Bo Youngblood and Jeff Dye, to name a few of this crazy cast! This is an indie film with a lot of heart and released world-wide On Demand through Comedy Dynamics in September.
How did you get the name “Scream Queen”?
In 2007, I starred in, and was one of the executive producers on, Kinky Killers, opposite veteran actors Charles Durning and Michael Pare, that aired on Showtime, and, suddenly, the media was calling me “one of the new ‘it’ Scream Queens”. The next film my team and I were offered was Robbie Bryan’s iMurders, which was a very smart whodunnit mystery thriller. I was offered the role of Agent Lori Romano, opposite horror icon, Tony Todd, alongside a cast of veteran greats, including Billy Dee Williams, William Forsythe, Gabrielle Anwar, Frank Grillo and more. The indie film industry really embraced me as a “Scream Queen” and bestowed the title upon me. It was so “horrific” that I embraced it right back!
What is it that attracts you to horror films?
I was obsessed with vampires as a young girl, and was a huge fan of all the ‘80s horror films when I was a kid. I have always been drawn to the mystery and escapism that horror offers. I also love how the horror genre embraces women of all body types (and curves!) and offers strong roles for women!
With Halloween coming up, is this your favorite time of the year?
Funny, as I am always torn between my two favorite holidays being Halloween and Valentine’s Day! Always have been! I love the fall and I am a September baby, so for me the fall is my “New Year”… it is when my greatest goal setting begins. Plus, Halloween season is so busy for me career-wise that my hubby, family and friends know that I am pretty MIA from September to November LOL! However, I am also a Queen of the “Hopeful Romantic” Club and a total sucker for love and romance, that February and Valentine’s Day are pretty tied with Halloween season. Now, if you ask my alter ego Ms. Vampy… Halloween time is like Christmas to her!
How cool is it that you are a dating coach! Can you tell our readers a little bit about that?
To be honest, and it feels great to declare this to the world… I am 100% focused on my acting career again! I met my husband four years ago and took off of everything for a year to plan and produce my dream wedding and marriage soiree, so now I am back to me and super committed to my passion career of acting. That said, if I may proudly share a part of my career bio that was a part of my life and support career for many years: Brooke Lewis is an award-winning Actress, Board Certified Life Coach and Dating and Relationship Expert. She has done writing, speaking and TV segments in media such as CBS2 KCAL9 Los Angeles, San Diego Living CW6, CBS 8 Las Vegas Now, Fox 5 Vegas, AM Buffalo, FOX 29 Philadelphia, John Kerwin Live, AfterBuzz TV, Pop Trigger TV, Brandi Glanville Unfiltered, Huffington Post, Hollywood Life, hers Magazine, She Knows, Your Tango, Dirty And Thirty, Girls Life, Her Campus, Woman's Day, Female First and Meet Mindful. She is also known as the sassy Co-host on the dating talk show Breaking Dating. In August 2016, her book Coaching From A Professed Hot Mess was published and hit #1 New Release in both Etiquette and Guides & Advice on Amazon. This book was also the winner of the Beverly Hills Book Awards 2016 Self-help Motivational Book. She has empowered women and men around the world, giving them knowledge they can use in their everyday lives and giving them the confidence they need to go after life, love and their dreams. Her motto is...BE FEARLESS!
What are your thoughts on online dating?
I learned through many years of experience that online dating can be a wonderful, additional outlet to meet people for dating or a relationship. However, my greatest advice and thoughts on online and digital dating is... Do not make it a second or third job. This is not a job. Love and dating is a part of joy and life and should be embraced as such, and should be an additional resource that may introduce you to your soulmate or twin flame, whom you may never have met in a face-to-face fashion. Do not put all of your time and energy into digital dating. Allow it to work for you. Be in action, open your heart to love, invite it in from the Universe, then allow love to find you!
What are your thoughts on the fact that more and more populations are essentially giving up on dating (huge problem in Japan)?
This is a brilliant question and something that I feel is very thought-provoking for anyone, let alone a dating and relationship expert. It’s no surprise to me that so many populations and cultures are essentially giving up on dating altogether, because it has become a huge challenge as our world has become so overpopulated and as the digital world has taken precedence over face-to-face interaction, interpersonal true intimacy, and communication in real life. I think dating has become so emotionally detached and disconnected, so digital, so much like shopping online, like when I use Ebay and there are so many selections and choices and sometimes, unfortunately, the more choices we have, the more difficult it gets, and, sadly, the more we go for quantity over quality. Everyone gets fixated on the bigger better deal (BBD) and so the true, authentic intimacy of real relationships and love, which takes time, commitment and work, goes right out the window. So it really makes me sad, as a hopeful romantic, like I said, that there is love and there is companionship for everyone, but it takes work to find it and so, like many other things in the state of the world right now, people are choosing to not work as hard, yet relationships and love require hard work. I wish we could get back to the basics of that.
What is your go to advice for anyone looking for a relationship?
My go-to advice for anyone looking for a relationship is: be open. Open your heart. Remove the absolutes from the conversation. Remove the “what looks good on paper”, because it’s wonderful to set relationship goals and dating goals and your preferences and choices, as you have a right to have them when you’re looking for a partner or a companion in life, but at the same time, it’s not always what it looks like. It’s not always what it’s like on paper. When we open our hearts to allow the Universe to bring a partner who may be perfect to us, it makes it that much more magical and that much more honest and that is what we need to get back to. And remember what I said in the last question: relationships take work, so commit to making a relationship work. Love will be there if you look for your companion and best friend.
JeJune loves how much of a philanthropist you are. You have been very active with breast cancer awareness. Why is this such a hot topic for you?
Thank you for recognizing and acknowledging that I have a true philanthropist heart. It is something that I am very proud of and makes me… Me. I believe it’s so important to give back and I’d like to use what little celebrity I have to make sure that I am always helping others, so one of my greatest philanthropic efforts is breast cancer awareness. I have lost quite a lot of people in my personal life, and professional life, to breast cancer. One was one of the very first talent managers who repped me when I first moved to Hollywood when I was young. She battled breast cancer and it did take her life. Another was one of my best friends and she recently, one year ago, passed, after a several-year battle with breast cancer. I have three people in my life fighting back to breast cancer now, and so many people in my life have faced this challenge. So for me, it is something that has touched my own personal life, heart, and soul. I am so much about empowering women and supporting women. This disease is no longer just affecting women, but men, as well. However, it is primarily something women have battled over the years. It is something that has spoken to me personally, and I really feel strongly about standing behind this mission and fighting this battle for women in this world.
Can you tell us a bit about the Breaking the Chains Foundation? Why are they important to you?
I am such a proud Celebrity Ambassador for the Breaking the Chains Foundation and getting behind our fearless leader, Deborah Hopkins, to support another great cause. For someone like me, who has been an actress since I was young, who has battled weight issues since I was young, who has gone up and down ten pounds, and because I am naturally short, curvy, and ethnic, ten pounds is a world of difference, and when you are on camera, you are consistently challenged with people who are judging you. So, for me, the Breaking the Chains Foundation has been such an inspiration, as it is a cause and mission that supports people with eating disorders, body image issues, self-esteem issues, and body shaming. I have been affected by all of it personally and professionally, and to support young people who are so challenged with their body image and self-esteem, and to be able to cultivate your inner strengths and healing through art, and that is what the Breaking the Chains Foundation is all about… Being able to heal and create self-love through the arts, whether it be dance, painting, acting, etc… To me, that is all encompassing of what is so profound and special about this foundation.
You are a part of Volunteer LA Mission Feed the Homeless. Can you tell us a little about the organization?
I always feel like my heart breaks when I see, especially in Los Angeles County, families of homeless people. I see women with their children sleeping in tents, and it is something that breaks my heart and rips my guts out on a daily basis, because the issue is so enormous in Los Angeles. So, for me, when I first got invited, I was so inspired to help out at the Los Angeles Mission in Downtown LA. We do the Feed the Homeless for the Holidays on Skid Row, and to know that in some small way I am helping a problem that is running rampant in the city of Los Angeles, just to know that I am helping in some small way to give someone a delicious meal on a holiday at The LA Mission, I feel like it’s my mission to partake in something for the greater good and that’s so important, especially right now.
Hunger is a shocking large problem in our world that is so plentiful. How did this become a hot topic for you?
I couldn’t agree more. I think the word plentiful is so huge for this issue right now. The problem of hunger, again, because of the overpopulation in this world and many countries… has you seeing starving children everywhere. And, for me, I joke and say, “I am a humble C-list celebrity,” but I have had my own struggles and challenges. There have been times where I, myself, have questioned over the years. I having gone through the ebbs and flows as an actor, as most do when you’re not in the top 5%. And there have been times when I, and my friends, have struggled financially. As a single woman who struggled, myself, at times, in a challenging business, I have wondered what it would be like if I wasn’t able to put food on my table. What would it be like if I were put out on the street or I did not have food to eat? So again, it’s something that I think, if you are aware as an individual in this country, is so important to recognize. So, for me, my heart opens up again and aches for people who don’t have food on their table and don’t know how they’re going to survive. In any small way, if I can give back, I am honored to do so.
What changes do you feel need to be made to fight hunger in the world?
This is a profound question without a simple, or realistic, answer, but I am so worried at this time, in this climate in our world, especially in the United States right now. It appears to me that it is becoming more and more about the “haves and the have-nots”. It’s becoming the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer”, and this is a huge problem. If we could, as a mass society, bind together to ration everything, including clothing, housing, and food, I think the world, and humanity, could be sustained just a bit better, and become a bit of a more fair and rational place, and right now, we know it’s not. I think that we all have to become more mindful about sharing and giving back, and if everyone would just give even a little bit, the world would be a better place.
Why do you think homelessness is such a large problem in LA?
The simple, quick answer is the weather… and, again, the city is extremely overpopulated! I think more people gravitate to Los Angeles than anywhere else in the United States, because of the stable weather and climate, and it is easier to live in a tent or on the street when you have sunshine, as opposed to rain, throughout most of the year, and, so, that truly is a very logical and simple answer. I also think that because Los Angeles and Southern California is such a liberal society and community, we open up to help and embrace others more than some other cities, communities, cultures and societies do. I think that is also why a lot of people gravitate toward Los Angeles. I think it’s a very big tourist city, and I think that it’s a lot easier to have people give hand-outs here, than it is in a lot of other, more conservative, places.
Hunger is a huge issue, but almost more so is malnutrition. Large populations get food that fills their bellies, but not all the nutrients they need. How can we work towards making sure everyone has balanced diets as well?
I couldn’t agree more. Malnutrition is such an issue and, again, I feel like if people would bind together as a community and society, in whatever country they live in, and give back philanthropically, and commit to whatever cause inspires them, the world would be a better place. Hunger and malnutrition will never end with the world being as overpopulated as it is, but I do think we can find resources. There are a lot of charities and philanthropies that exist that people can find and join, and I wish they would reach out and work harder to help and give back, because there are organizations all over the world that provide water, and natural nutrients to people who are struggling and are suffering from malnutrition. If everyone would just give back, and it doesn’t have to be monetarily, just in some way, and donate to the challenged citizens of this world, then it would be a healthier place for us all mentally and physically, and maybe there would be a few less people starving on the streets.
What is your motto in life?
Be You… And, Be Fearless!
When Faced With Fear, Dig Deep Inside, Find Your Inner Vamp, And Vamp It Out!
To learn more about Brooke Lewis, please follow her on the below platforms: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506989/
http://www.brookelewis.com/
https://beyouandbefearlesslifecoach.com/
http://www.msvampy.net/
Instagram: brookelewisla
Team Credits:
Photographer: Birdie Thompson
Hair & Makeup: Allison Noelle
