Conversations with Brittany Christine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Christine.

Hi Brittany, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.

I owe the beginning of my acting career to music videos, seeing as they were my first big bookings, breaking into the industry. I had always been into music, having taken ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop classes growing up, along with briefly being on the Saghalie Jr High Step Team in Federal Way, and Rose Hill Jr High Dance Team in Redmond, throughout switching middle schools in Washington State where I’m from.

I also sang in my church choir as a teen at Marine View Presbyterian in Dash Point, as well as performed in their bell choir and any seasonal bible plays that came up, but my favorite of all was participating in the West Valley Community Church drive-by nativity scenes at Christmas time, where we had to mime act in costumes to classic holiday music as families drove around the neighborhood, decorated in lights. It was so fun as a kid, we’d be there for hours drinking hot cocoa or apple cider between cars, and living for the honking and flashing of headlights.

So I guess that’s where my love of performing with music came from. Little did I know, fresh to acting on camera, (and only a couple months after booking my first lead role for a sci-fi series) that I would land my first role in an all-female cast for Nickelback’s music video, “Something in your mouth” where I played the “All American girl”, or “Girl Next Door.” The three other female leads were a platinum blonde flown in from the playboy mansion for the, “Playmate Bunny” look, another was a dominatrix covered in tats and leather who flew in from Portland Oregon for the, “BDSM” look, and the final model was Miss Brazil at the time, who they used for the, “Exotic Beach Babe” look.

We were each typecast to represent different female fantasies in the music video. The video played behind the band as the opening act of their world tour for many years, and now and then I’d pop on YouTube or Google to see if I could find myself in other cities or countries dancing behind Chad Krueger live on stage.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

A lot of time passes between the MV’s that I’ve done. It’s for sure a fun niche to have, but I don’t know of any actress or model that gets weekly or daily work for being in them. And that’s coming from someone who toured Internationally as a backup dancer for a Bollywood Artist one year while living down under. I was also in several of her music videos shot between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, but even with a contracted part-time or full-time gig, there were long spaces between steady music-related work for me.

I was stoked to fly back home for it because #1 it’d be a paid trip to see my family again while I was an International student studying abroad, and #2 AIC are icons in Sea-town, so it was the ultimate compliment of you are a Pacific Northwest Actress asked to be in one of their videos. And they specifically wanted a Washingtonian girl, not someone from LA, (who the bigger acting opportunities seemed to always end up going to) so it was not only a thrill but worthy rock and roll bragging rights.

One of the struggles with that was I had been studying stunts at the Stunt Academy in Nerang Queensland at the time of booking, and the role called for being wire rigged and flying through the air in wardrobe made of a paper dress that was suppose to disintegrate off of me. Because of the certifications I was getting for fight choreography, I was covered from head to toe in bruises, as well as being anemic at the time, so it took longer for them to heal. Most modeling and acting clients don’t want a girl with battle wounds scattered everywhere, especially if they’ve hired her to be completely nude for some full frontal or sex scenes, (which was exactly what this music video called for.)

Another struggle we faced was that the production assistant on set accidentally recorded over a whole day of my acting by giving the Director the wrong SIM card to reload with, so rather than add on another day of filming, they had to just reuse, replay, and re-edit some of the footage to make it look like different scenes when it was the same played over again from different angles. It was shot in stop frame animation that slowed the workflow 10-20 fold, which also made the nudity scenes feel more drawn out, (even though they were the same amount of time as the others.)

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

What’s paid my bills for the last 5 years in Hollywood is being a lingerie model for Rihanna’s line Savage X Fenty, (so yes my day job is working for a musician’s brand too) but I am a true creative who loves to immerse myself in all forms of the arts. For the sake of this being a Nashville Magazine, which the whole world knows is the Global capital of music, I chose to focus on that category or genre of shooting for this Interview.

But my previous creative jobs have ranged from writing, directing, producing, acting, editing, makeup, special effects assistant, wardrobe styling, set dressing, props master, project management and project consulting, stunt woman and stunt consulting, character development, script supervisor, casting director, locations scout, all forms of voice-over work, plus fashion, hair, beauty, and catalog, print, runway, & fit modeling.

So when I say I’ve done it all even down to driving a grip truck, I mean I’m a hands-on learner that enjoys trying new things, being on sets, and helping my friends and colleagues create their passion projects or dream stories.

It doesn’t matter to me if I’m in front or behind the camera, it is a joy to be included in part of someone’s vision, and I am always happy to help in any way possible that is mutually beneficial to all parties.

I had a friend tell me once, “But Brittany you are such a great actress, stop doing all this crew and production work to focus on that.” My response was, “But I also want to be a great filmmaker, and the more jobs and titles I’m given in the meantime, the better I’ll understand how and who I’ll need to hire for my own projects.” I can more confidently tell people what I need them to do in their role if I’ve been in their position, and I want other creatives to be able to trust my insight & knowledge when they work with me as well.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

A recent example, the last music video I did was for the band Lunarcode, called, “The Light” I play half of a lesbian couple with a baby in quick montages of clips. It ended up putting me on the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, (which has been a lifelong dream of mine) allowing me to hang with and celebrate Robert De Niro’s birthday, not to mention share a breakfast table with Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater on our last full day at the fest.

Had I not taken the risk of participating in a small featured part, (much less than what I’ve played in previous music videos for bigger bands) I would have never had that opportunity to network with, and make so many connections to much more established filmmakers than me, who genuinely want to know and work with me in the future. So I will always say put yourself out there! You didn’t have it to begin with so what have you got to lose? I only see the possibility of gaining something new 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brittanychristine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanychristineofficially/
• Facebook: https://vimeo.com/actressbrittanychristine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/actressbrittanychristine/
• Youtube: @BrittanyChristine
• Other: IMDb.me/brittanychristine

Image Credits
Michael Doucett