Meet Emily Brinks

We recently connected with Emily Brinks and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Keeping my creativity alive is very important to me as an actor. You never know how much time you’re going to have between productions and you have to take care of yourself as an artist in the meantime. It’s my role models that I’ve been studying my entire life that keep me pushing through both the slow and fast times in this career. Finding anything that I can get my hands on to learn from, whether it’s on Youtube, Masterclass, Interviews, or even just behind the scenes footage is always helpful. I find myself seeing the smallest details and realizing that anything that I can gain are extremely useful in the long run. Sometimes I’ll just be really into a certain actor for a period of time and watch all of their work or as many interviews that I can find from them, and usually that will lead to something else that ends up inspiring me as well. Reading scripts is also one of the best things I can possibly do for myself during slow times. Just trying different writing styles and testing your mind on making it all up in your head as you read is so valuable, since a script is the blueprint for everything. Having friends in the industry is also a great push for me, even if it’s a quick catch up to see what someone else is working on and cheering each other on can feel great. Acting can be sourced from anywhere, so when I feel lost or thinking I need a scene partner to really practice acting at any given moment, that’s far from the truth. It’s all about working to develop and try different methods and see how they feel to you, and you alone.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have been an actor since I was 15 and I’ve been pushing forward ever since. I started with 3 years of conservatory theatre, masterclass training, producing my own shows, and vocal training before I graduated high school. I then went off to get a B.F.A in Performing Arts, but found myself thriving and learning more once I was working on sets and decided to leave school to push through and work hard. There’s never a constant to stick to in this industry, but that’s what makes it great sometimes. Whether it’s doing stunts as a zombie on Fear the Walking Dead or getting killed in Halloween Ends, there are so many different possibilities and I never truly knew what was going to happen. I’ve been very lucky to start out in the Savannah film community and work on some amazing shoots like The Menu, Last Seen Alive, & Devotion among others. It all comes back to the essence of playing pretend, but with the work and experience built on top of it.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
If you’re starting out in this business, it’s important to remember that it is a business. You need to have an appreciation for the craft and the art that you’re making, just as much as keeping your business up to date and seeking new opportunities. It really is all about putting yourself out there even in small ways, because it either leads to something else or gives you something to learn and take with you. I also almost always find that when a job falls through that I was really hoping for, a better one comes along shortly after that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I would have gotten the first job. Everything happens for a reason and it’s really powerful to trust that things are going to work out at the time that they’re supposed to, but also working hard towards making them happen in the first place. Another thing about getting into this industry are the people that you work with. No matter what job they have around you, everyone is so passionate about what they do and it really shines through. Enjoy the people you work with and be there for each other. Whether you can help each other out in your careers or simply just trying to create a friendly environment, it’s important to have each other’s backs. I’ve been so lucky to really feel like I’m surrounded by people who think like me and are just as passionate about what we do.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Today I actually received a job offer to be a personal assistant to Al Pacino. It was very short notice, but I’m very ready to hit the ground running and give it my all. It’s a new adventure to be booking plane tickets just a couple nights before I leave for 6 weeks and I couldn’t be more eager for the experience. It’s definitely a new challenge for me as I’ve never worked as a PA before, but I’ve worked with some amazing assistants that have really set the bar for me with some other incredible actors. I will definitely be taking everything that I have learned from them and channeling it into my time with this experience. This is such an incredible opportunity and I’ll work very hard to make sure they know how grateful I am for this. It’s honestly something I never thought I’d do but I couldn’t be more excited to give it my best shot and see what I can gain from it.

I also just shot my feature film that I was the lead in earlier this summer and we shot the entire film in only 3 days! So that was defiantly a challenge in itself, but it’s a great example of how passionate film makers are in this industry and where they all come from. I was very fortunate to have a great team who wanted to pour their hearts into our work, even with intense schedule limitations. That’s all very common in this industry and you have to face the challenges to get the job done.

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