Brittany Snow

Interview By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

The greatest thing about being a young actor is the greater level of joy that comes from the lack of adult experience that hardens most actors as they get older. Brittany Snow is perhaps the greatest example of a young actor enjoying every bit of what they do.

She cut her teeth on television with early roles on shows like Guiding Light, American Dreams, and Nip/Tuck. It wasn't long before film beckoned Snow with roles in hit movies like John Tucker Must Die, Hairspray, and Prom Night.

Now, the 22 year-old actress prepares to take her next potential step with a role in the independent comedy Finding Amanda. It is as much a break from Brittany's relatively teen-based norm as she can get, as she plays the film's title character, a prostitute of all things.

The first thing the seemingly fresh-faced, effervescent performer discussed for us is what motivated her to play such a seemingly different role.

'I think a number of things really attracted me to the character,' Brittany says, 'I think for the most part I loved that there was a mix of traits in her that I connected with and that I really felt I could relate to. There was also the line of thinking that I had no concept of and things that I didn't relate to. That's why I wanted to learn about and kind of experience and explore.'

'The two were very interesting to me because they were so extreme,' she continues, 'I don't know much about prostitution and I can't say that if I've ever done it, but there were things about her that I think everybody can relate to and that were very human and endearing and qualities that I wanted to see what would happen if I explored more about myself. So I liked all those levels and I liked how many layers there were to her and yet she would still be funny and likable.'

The new film has Brittany working with Peter Tolan, who writes and directs Finding Amanda and whose best known for writing and directing several episodes of the FX series Rescue Me. She shares with us what it was like working with him on this film.

'Peter, I've been a fan of. Just when I met him, I fell in love with wanting to work with him and him as a person, I just thought he's so, so brilliant and talented,' she says, 'Also, the way that he uses humor and also with serious subject matter like this script is kind of genius like how he can do both and make it really relevant and heartfelt and really cool.'

'He told me a story that a headshot came across his desk and he said to somebody like, 'I hope she can act because this should be Amanda,' or something,' Brittany adds, 'I guess it had to do with I look 12 sometimes when I don't wear makeup. I look really young and look like I should be holding a lollipop and I'm all innocent. I wish I didn't, but it's nice and I think he wanted that sort of that shocking quality of this is the girl you wouldn't expect to be a prostitute and that's what's so sad and funny about it in some strange way. So I think that has something to do with it and thankfully, and I'm very grateful for it, that I auditioned and somehow got the part, so it worked out.'

Also starring alongside Brittany is actor Matthew Broderick who plays Amanda's gambling uncle. She shared with us what was like working with him.

'In terms of working with Matthew, what I loved about him, from the very beginning, was how I instantly knew it was going to be great, because his humor and his energy is so different from mine and I appreciate his so much,' she gushes, 'And I knew I wanted to play the character a certain way, so I definitely played that a little bit.'

'I knew my energy was going to be really high and really crazy because I wanted her to be overly happy,' Snow continues, 'I knew he was going to play it in a certain way, so I kind of liked that back and forth banter and chemistry that we had and hopefully, it worked. Matthew's not really bad, either. He'll make it.'

Snow's enthusiasm is clearly in a constant spark as she shared with us what filming was like.

'Horrible, no I'm kidding,' she says, 'It was so, so fun. Oh, my gosh, it was weird how much they had their own sort of dialogue and we were talking about how they would break out into these old movie quotes or start singing musicals. My facial expression was always the same, which was like, I don't know what the heck they're talking about, but they're so funny. They're just so funny and especially together, so it was fun. I found myself challenging to keep up with them with their humor, which was kind of cool.'

Being known primarily for doing comedies, we also asked Brittany whether she felt certain that her comedic performances were funny enough in her estimation.

'No, and that's what's so scary about the whole process, especially comedy,' Snow says, 'And with this type of thing, it was a very independent movie and we did things very fast. Peter talks very fast and we only did one take and the pace of it was always very intimidating because, being actor, you want feedback and you want to think about it and Peter was just like, 'We got to go! We got to go!' We'd only do one take sometimes and it was like (shrieks) freaking out. But it was good because it was a change of pace and it forced me to keep up with the comedy and the tone. There wasn't really enough time to question everything, like 'Oh, my gosh! Is this going to be funny' Should I do it over'', anything like that.'

'We just kept moving which added a lot to my character because I wanted her to be like that,' she adds, 'I wanted her to be like, keep going, keep going, keep happy. Because if you stop, you're going to feel something, you're going to cry, you're going to break down. But if you keep moving, if you're going to keep happy, and everything's fine, you're going to give that illusion that she's going to be fine. So it actually worked out to my best interest that it was very fast and we didn't have a lot of time to think if we were funny or not, which was good because I didn't want the rejection looming to be like, 'Ummm, not so much!''

Snow says that she was delighted to have the opportunity to play a more adult role this time around. Despite that, however, she also says she has no gripes about having played teen characters.

'I played a prostitute now three times, which, I know, is a stereotype,' Brittany claims, 'I have people look at me and go, 'Prostitute,' it's weird. But I don't know how it's come about that way, but yes, I've definitely played girls who've all kind of been in high school and that's all really important because a lot of really life-altering and challenging things happen in high school and I really like to play those types of characters.'

'But in terms of this, I think it's just a matter of me growing up and becoming a little bit older and wanting to play characters that have some layers to them that I can play with and that I can kind of look into about myself,' she continues, 'And that changes with how I grow up and what I want and what I'm passionate about. But I don't ever rule out anything about a character just because of age. Life happens at any age and if I can play it and if I want to and I'm passionate about the part, then I'm willing to do that.'

Another change of pace Brittany embraced about doing Finding Amanda was doing a movie with a far-from-typical ending.

'I think it's open to interpretation to anybody,' Brittany claims, 'And I kind of like it that it's not wrapped up and tied in a bow because it's not a storybook ending, nor it's a storybook movie because it's based in reality. All that needed to be done to change Amanda was the seed needed to be planted.'

'Something incurred in her when she did change and she did have a realization and people don't change overnight, so I kind of liked that there wasn't some big dramatic ending when you feel she's going to 'change her life' and 'move away',' she adds, 'There's something that's instilled in her now and the audience knows that and that's all that needs to kind of be said, which I think it's true to life, the reality of baby steps and taking it slowly in wanting to change your life.'

The ironic part of doing the film, Brittany claims, is the fact that despite Finding Amanda being set mostly in Vegas, none of it was shot in Sin City.

'It's interesting because Vegas is a huge part of the movie and we didn't film anything in Vegas, nothing actually,' she reveals, 'We were supposed to, but we didn't. We filmed pretty much all in L.A. and Pasadena. I think the interesting thing about Amanda is that she has a connection to Vegas because that's where her home is and she has a connection to what she thinks of her home and it's the perfect home and she has the perfect couch and the perfect car and the perfect boyfriend.'

'It's in this sacred place and it's ironic because it's in Vegas, because she has this holy place that she can't put her shoes on and yet, it's in Vegas, the city of sin,' Snow continues, 'So it's very ironic and symbolic in a lot of ways of what she thinks about everything and how she's so na've in her own world about thinking that is her heaven, when it's really not as it seems. So I think she has that connection for Vegas.'

However, despite the seemingly different role, Brittany maintains that she has tried to steer away from calculating her acting career as much as possible when it comes to getting roles.

'It's weird, because it's not really a conscious choice to veer away from studio movies or make any sort of decision,' she says, 'I genuinely and honestly go for both sometimes, because I'm really picky about the scripts that I do. It's sometimes the characters I find the most compelling and the most interesting that and the ones I want to play are sometimes in independent movies because there is more of a chance there.'

'It's more scripts that people can really take chances on and there's not so many cooks in the kitchen and the things that go into making a movie,' Snow adds, 'But I'm not partial to either one of them. I think they're both really great and different experiences. So it's just really all about the character and the material and I kind of pick and choose based on what I can gain from it and what I can experiment and challenge myself with.'

She claims that what gives her this level of latitude with her career is due to her long, close working relationship with her agent.

'Luckily, thank goodness, I don't have a manager and I've been with my agent since I was 11,' Brittany remarks, 'So we have this very clear thing that we know it's not a money thing. It's never been for me. It's acting. I want to do this till I'm 80 years old and I just like being constantly challenged and pushed and just working. Sometimes you have to do the big movies. I try to not to think of it as a strategy or money thing because that takes the fun out of it.'

This level of genuine dedication to craft is evident as we asked Brittany what she learned from having done Finding Amanda.

'After playing every character, I always walk away feeling a little bit different and that's why I act,' Snow feels, 'It's completely because I like to feel like at the end of the day, I've grown a little bit and changed a little bit. It's not like a conscious thing. It's just that I'm experiencing something that is not my life, but I've made it my life and what does that do to me.'

'It is humbling in a way to see what happens to me when I become somebody else and to see what I do and how I feel about certain situations and the differences between the character and myself,' she adds, 'It's never easy, but at the same time, when you really figure it out and sink your teeth into it, it's almost easy because it is hard, because it's rewarding and you have a high at the end of the day, that it's so great that you want to do those challenging things all over again. That's why I like acting is that feeling.'

Her level optimism even extends as we asked Snow about the possibility of a sequel to Prom Night.

'There could be a 'Prom Night 2' because everyone's dead,' she remarks, 'And there's no really prom to be had, but look for 'Dance Of The Dead'on DVD, coming soon. It's going to be a big hit.'