Life and Work with Sophie Brabenec

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophie Brabenec.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m originally from Melbourne, Australia and have been living in Los Angeles for seven years. From an early age, I was involved with theatre and drama, at school and otherwise, but didn’t have a clear path when leaving high school, nor had I contemplated acting professionally.

In my late teens whilst backpacking in Europe, my travels landed me on the island of Malta; between Italy and North Africa. At that time, Ridley Scott’s film “Gladiator” was shooting there and as grace may have it, combined with a little gift of the gab, I landed a job working with the wardrobe department. This experience was the beginning of my involvement professionally in the entertainment industry. Such an incredibly exciting opportunity, one that opened my eyes and that I loved. For the first time in my life, I felt pumped to go to work; getting up at 3 am and working 15 hours days was an absolute joy.

After my experience in “Gladiator”, I worked in film and commercial production in Australia. One day, I had an experience on set watching an actor in their scene and I remember thinking “I wish I could get up there.” I had so many ideas in that moment of what I would do if that was me in front of the camera. This real gut feeling led me to audition for one of the well known acting schools in my city and I trained there for three years, with a heavy emphasis on theatre, voice, and movement. Once I graduated, I spent a year or so in Melbourne, with hopes of being able to find a way to be in LA. It took four years to bring that dream into reality. The road first led me to London where I had lived previously & with an EU passport, I was easily able to work. It was here that I built up my acting credits and confidence, before finally making the leap to Hollywood!

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been a rollercoaster ride! I have been pursuing an acting career for 12 years in three different continents/countries. Starting from scratch each time has definitely been challenging – simply, the time it takes to lay the necessary foundation in each place; understanding the industry, unions, what casting websites to use, becoming familiar with casting offices, casting directors, acting classes, accents, how the entire machine and all it’s whirring parts operate. No small task!

Making money alongside acting has been tricky at times. Being an artist of any variety definitely means leading a life of uncertainty. Your side hustle needs to be flexible, to avail you for auditions or bookings. I trained to become a massage therapist before studying acting. Having this qualification has been a fantastic way to support myself. If you can study a ‘trade’ or develop a skill that you can do as a freelancer, setting your own rates and schedule, I would highly recommend this.

Comparing myself to others and dealing with rejection, or long spells not booking work has also been really tough. Years ago through a coaching course, I was teamed with a wonderful group of women. We went on to form an accountability group, meeting weekly. Being able to share ideas, action plans, intentions, reflections, victories or struggles, and simply being connected to others riding the same waves was extremely comforting. Over the years we have created multiple film projects together and are still great friends to this day.

If you can find a mentor; someone who is a working actor, someone you look up to, someone who is open to meeting every now and then to chat, bounce ideas, look over your materials – headshots, reel clips, resume, help you self tape, introduce you to people. Try and find this person!

Lastly, be prepared for a long game, a marathon, and keep in shape; mentally, physically, emotionally and with your acting skills – whether you’re booking the gigs or not, keeping your ‘wheel greased’ will help with confidence and remind you of the fun you feel when in action.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As an actor, I have enjoyed a myriad of experiences – working on stage, immersive theatre, short and feature-length films, web-series, VR projects, voice-over, industrials, commercial film, and print. My favorite thing is comedy. Making people laugh has always been my main aim! I have recently taken a bunch of sketch writing classes and am in the process of creating my own work in this realm. I love improvising, language, rhyme, offbeat characters, and playing with accents. I am blessed with a natural quirkiness, a clown’s sensibility, an insatiable curiosity to understand human behaviour, a chameleon ability, and love to sing, song-write, and rap. I also have Czech ancestry which has opened many doors to play Eastern European characters. All of these attributes fill me with pride.

Projects that will always hold great memories include playing a woman with severe OCD in theatre production “Cosi”, performed in London – we had the most incredible rehearsal process and the cast was amazing; mockumentary web-series “Visioneering: Forward Thinkers of the World” that I helped write and produce, I played the starring role of a passive aggressive and self-important guru/healer – a really fun character and great learning curve in the producing; PSA “My Heroes”, a short film about gender fluidity and acceptance that went viral with an overwhelming public response – to have that kind of impact was pretty awesome; “Theatre Macabre”, an immersive theatre production that was incredibly demanding, beautiful and unique – engaging the audience with themes of death, loss and mental illness was totally confronting and raw, and produced unforgettable moments of connection; and “Dreams”, a song and music video that I wrote and created with the combined talents of a bunch of mates – a piece I’ll treasure forever.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
Discover the things about yourself that you love and make you unique, embrace them and work out how to use them to your best advantage. Share yourself with the world without reservation or censorship. Find a mentor. Sit with as many actors/industry folk as you can and be inquisitive and learn from their journey. Ask for meetings. Join an acting class. Immerse yourself as much as possible. Invest time & money – you are starting a business. Get your tool bag nice and plump – by that, I mean go and get great headshots (you don’t need to pay hundreds of dollars either, there are plenty of super talented photographers out there that don’t cost a bomb), pay to shoot some scenes so that you have reel material from the get-go, rather than waiting months or years to get that clip (that may or may not be any good) to use for your reel. Be bold, be fearless, and listen to your gut. Particularly in a town like LA, there are many people ready to exploit you, so ask around about that school, agent workshop, casting director, manager, theatre company, film festival, etc. Do your research!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sophiebrabenec.com
• Instagram: @sophiebrabenec
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/actresssophiebrabenec/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqpbw-zymHA

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.