Meet Bria Henderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bria Henderson.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a kid, I was always in the arts in some sort of way. I played clarinet for eight years, I sang in the school and church choir, I praise danced at church, and I was a part of the drama ministry at church as well. I was holy and talented LOL. I clearly loved the arts. But I never saw it as a career, just something I liked to do. Until…one day, I went to go see a play with my best friend and her mother. Her mother or Mama P took us backstage to meet the director and I told her if she could put in a good word for me because I wanted to be a part of the program the following year. The theatre program was an after-school drama club where high schoolers would rehearse a play and put it on for Richmond city over a weekend. So I met the director, Mama P put the word in and the director looked at me and said “Well do you want to go on tonight because one of my actors just called out sick…” I was frozen and in full panic mode. But I said yes…so the play I went to go see, I was in and the rest kind of writes itself…

That same director turned into my drama teacher in high school and I truly believe that’s what inspired me to major in Drama in College. I attended the illustrious Spelman College in ATL. I spent four years doing the main stage shows, acting, writing and performing with my best friend and just being a real theater nerd. I loved every second of it. By the time I was a junior in college, I knew I had to make a big decision about continuing my training in grad school or trying to make it in New York. I chose grad school because I wanted more training and because I was not ready to be a full adult at that time. When in doubt, stay in school LOL.

I attended the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Three years of chaos, discipline, and rigor mixed with all the BS that the world comes with and I was able to build up my toolbox. My class of 6 showcased at the end of our three years and I met my manager and agent and I got selected for the NBC Actor Showcase. It was like my introduction to the industry in LA. A few months later, I moved to LA officially couch surfing and hustling. A year after graduating, I booked Mrs. America with Cate Blanchett, Niecy Nash and Uzo Aduba. Then a year after that, I booked my first series regular role on The Good Doctor and I’m still living out my journey…but in a year, I know I’ll have more to add to this! 🙂

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
NO!! The road is never smooth when following your dreams but it is a chaotic road of beauty, lessons, mess and excitement. Couch surfing for almost a year was a real struggle…I feel like it was a true moment of waiting…that waiting period that we all have to somehow get comfortable dealing with. Waiting and hoping…it’s so easy to lose hope and faith when you don’t see forward movement. But it was a very humbling experience. I didn’t have my own and I was really leaning on God to come down like Whitney in Cinderella…I just wanted to twirl and be on set on some tv show. And yes, eventually that happened but the year of waiting and hoping and crying into a pillow that doesn’t belong to you is a mental game. But like Whitney said, “Impossible things are happening every day.”

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So I’m artist. I act, write, produce and direct. I love performance art, whether it’s on stage or on screen. It’s where I feel alive. I know it’s my purpose and calling. I love making people feel.

I am most proud of the short film I executive produced, wrote and starred in a few years ago. It’s been a dream of mine to start creating my own work and I did it and it only gave me the gas to keep going. The short is called Virginality. The short is about a thirty-year-old virgin who trades in her purity for a dream job promotion that propels her into being penetrated by life.

How do you define success?
Success, to me, means being in the thick of your purpose. There’s no tangible measurement. But when you know, you know.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: briasamone
• Twitter: bria_samone
• Other: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/724056381

Image Credits
Kate Whyte Rob Enchanique