Sofia Bryant: Not Dwelling on the Bad Days
⤏ IN CONVERSATION WITH SOLEIL EASTON
⤏ PHOTOS BY TATUM MAGNUS | ASSISTED BY TERRY BARENTSEN
⤏ STYLING BY BRITT THEODORA | ASSISTED BY ALEXANDRA CROWN
⤏ MAKEUP BY RAUL OTERO | HAIR BY GEO BRIAN HENNINGS
Sofia Bryant is a die-hard New Yorker, Deftone’s fanatic, and lover of clay. Her acting career took off in 2020 when she landed the role of Dinna in Netflix’s hit series, “I Am Not Okay With This.” Recently, the 21-year-old actress played Tori in Hannah Mark’s film, “Mark Mary & Some Other People,” and Tasha in Showtime’s, “The Girl In The Woods.” Keep reading for Bryant’s self-care tips, advice for aspiring actresses, and celebrity crush.
SOLEIL EASTON: Along with all the other aspiring artists and writers, my dream is to end up in New York City. What's your go to spot for a girls-night-out or a fun night with friends?
SOFIA BRYANT: Oh my gosh, it's so hard to choose, especially in Brooklyn. I think the beauty of Brooklyn and what really drew me to [this part of the city], even before I lived here, is the smaller, grittier hole in the wall places. There's a really weird performance venue called TV, and it's really cool. There's twinkly lights everywhere, it's just super weird and grungy and literally makes you feel like you're in a cave. I have a bunch of friends in bands who perform there all the time. I just love it, it's like my little local spot and I feel so edgy and cool.
SE: Do you see yourself staying in New York? Or do you want to eventually move elsewhere as your career progresses?
SB: I mean, I'm always open to new experiences. Like I said, I freaking love New York; it is my home. I was pretty much born and raised here. I did live in Finland for a few years of my life when I started school, which is where my mom is from, and as much as I love [Finland] and consider it my home as well, I love New York and I will always come back here. But I'm of course open to experiencing other places and definitely love to travel.
SE: What a fun life you're living! When you're not out on the town, are there any good shows that you've been watching? What are you currently streaming that you're totally obsessed with?
SB: I'm definitely someone who has comfort shows and comfort movies. I love any Twilight Zone, like super, super old Twilight Zone episodes. I've also got those on VHS so it's really easy for me to just go back. [Also anything] Alfred Hitchcock; it was just something I grew up watching with my mom and my dad. It was kind of always just on.
But if we're talking Netflix, one of my comfort shows—I guess it's not the most common comfort show—but I love Peaky Blinders. I am such a huge Peaky Blinders fan, I just freaking love it, it's [definitely] my top [show] right now. I actually haven't watched the last season, because I have this trait when I love something so much I refuse to finish it, because somehow I'm able to convince myself it's still continuing on.
"My drive really comes from wanting to play roles I wish I had seen on screen when I was younger. To open that door and keep it open for others like me. To let them know that there is a place for them in this industry."
SE: Thank you for the recommendation. Let's switch gears a little and talk about your acting career. I have to start with the obvious question of what inspired you to get into the industry? Was there a specific movie or TV show that made you think, 'This is what I want to do'?
SB: I think almost the lack of TV shows. I'm starting to realize now that might be more what's driving me. Definitely like every other American little kid, I grew up on Nickelodeon. [At the time, I thought] "Oh, that's so cool. Kids my age are doing this. It looks really fun." So of course, it's always been appealing. I think what still continues to push me in the industry — especially now as an adult — is honestly the lack of shows I wish I would have had when I was younger, and to see and have that representation at that age would have been awesome. So I feel super honored when I do get to play a role that I know I would have appreciated to see when I was younger.
I have three younger brothers, and when they watch the shows I've done, it's really cool to have them see that, if they would like to do this, they can do it as well. Just having POC on screen is really awesome, especially being a Black woman specifically. I think it pushes me and inspires me to keep going because we really need more of it.
SE: I completely agree, thank you for sharing that. How has this creative journey been so far?
SB: I think this just goes hand in hand. I am driven with every role that I even just read for, I always tried to think well, how is this going to resonate with someone who looks like me or, might resonate with what the character is going through? My drive really comes from wanting to play roles I wish I had seen on screen when I was younger. To open that door and keep it open for others like me. To let them know that there is a place for them in this industry.
I do come from a pretty artistic family, my mom has always been into visual arts which is where I got my start. Hence my comfort activities are drawing and painting and photography. I think it's a jumble of all of that, I've always been around creative people. My friends are very creative, we all push each other and keep each other going.
SE: Going off of that, what specifically do you like to draw, paint or animate?
SB: So when I first started [at age 12], my medium of choice was clay. I've always been super into clay and more specifically stop motion. This is still a huge, huge passion of mine, and also the kind of work that goes into creating a film like Coraline, for example, or any of Tim Burton films. It's the voiceover work that goes on and everything that you have to do to create something like that.
Clay has really always been my medium of choice and just creating weird figures and abstract blobs that somehow ended up having faces. That's kind of blended into my illustrations as well. I really like to incorporate New York graffiti art as well—very bold lines, bold colors, and exaggerating large features.
SE: This all sounds so rad. Oh, my gosh, I would love to see these.
SB: I'm dabbling now in stop motion, but with 2D figures, like drawing. So that's really what I'm focusing on right now. It's something I can do when I want to escape everything else I'm doing in my life. It's really therapeutic, but it's also rewarding. When I create something that I'm proud of, I can turn it into something, or hand it to a friend and see if they would want to collaborate and do something with it—that's always the most fun part, the most rewarding part.
“I kind of did stick out like a sore thumb a lot of times in my friend circles and in my class and just in school in general.”
SE: You clearly are so busy, balancing film and press tours and just like being 21-years-old in The City. Do you have a self care routine when times get a little too chaotic?
SB: Oh my gosh, I love this question. I do, and I actually have a couple. I have one for when I'm feeling super social, and I have one for when I'm feeling like I need to recharge every single battery in the pack right now. My 'super recharge the battery routine' would be coming home, cleaning my space, making hot tea, [taking a] hot shower, skincare routine, hair care routine. Then just plopping into bed and collapsing, sleeping and allowing myself and my brain to relax. It's pretty basic. Once I feel recharged, I'll call up some friends, see if they're busy and would like to hang out. That's honestly the best therapy for me. My friends are awesome, shout out to them. I have such a good support system and I think a huge part of that is that they understand what I do and how it affects my schedule—my schedule is everywhere all the time. They're super understanding and will always make time for me, which is awesome. And I of course have my best, best, best friend, my cat, Bean, who unconditionally loves me.
SE: Sweet. What's one of your favorite skincare products that you're using?
SB: This is my favorite ever, it's literally just African black soap. But like the authentic African black soap you can get at the beauty supply store. It has cured literally every [skin problem] I've had in my life.
SE: Shifting back to your life as an actress. I'm a little late to the game, but I just started watching, I Am Not Okay With This, and I gotta say, I'm already hooked! It's so dark, so funny... So now, I'm officially looking forward to watching your new series The Girl in the Woods. What can I expect from this new TV show?
SB: It's definitely still in that kind of dark realm, it's got dark vibes, it is pretty spooky. I guess one of my favorite things about this show specifically, and I've said this before, is the representation and the inclusivity of the show. What I really like is that the characters in the show are dealing with a lot of very common topics and issues that people go through, teenagers especially — like sexual identity, self identity, gender identity. What I really like is that it's done through this unglamorized lens and you get to see these in between moments, and not just the breakdowns, and the solution. You really get to see the entire process of someone going through a drug addiction or trying to figure out their gender identity.
We make it part of who the characters are. It's part of their identity, but it's not the entire focal point. I feel like a lot of times that's what makes some of these stories, unrealistic, or unrelatable. [The show] is really about these three kids who are banding together to see their town from this portal spitting out literal monsters. You get to see who these characters are along the way in a more natural lens. That's what I mean when I say I wish I had a show like this when I was in middle school or high school.
SE: How would you describe your character, Tasha? Also, did you have a ritual for getting into her character?
SB: Tasha is definitely a lot like me at a younger age. I would say Tasha might even be me at a younger age than I portrayed her in the show. Just life experience wise, I think it was really cool to tap back into who I was when I was 14 or 15, especially starting my schooling in Finland, where it wasn't super diverse in the early 2000s. I kind of did stick out like a sore thumb a lot of times in my friend circles and in my class and just in school in general. So, Tasha is this super cool, confident girl, but ironically, she's still this sore thumb in her town. I feel like it goes hand in hand with her confidence, I think she can channel her confidence through being so different. But her and Nolan are really these two peas in a pod in our small mining town, and she kind of just wants to get out of there. That is definitely how I felt at times in Finland as well. I was much younger than her, I think I was maybe seven or eight, but I already had this yearning for something more. [Tasha’s] a cool city girl living in this tiny mining town. I hear her and feel her on a lot of her opinions. Being from a city myself, I get her and I could step into her thought process a lot of the time. She's definitely one of the more open minded people in her town.
What I did to prepare for the role was to tap into who I was when I was fifteen and re-explore the insecurities I might have had at that age. That kind of helped me understand what her fears were or why she hesitated doing certain things.
Something really cool we did to prepare for our roles — and this was a huge tool for me — we created a playlist for our characters, what we thought they would listen to. There's never a quiet moment in my house. I always have something playing. So, even when I wasn't reading my lines, or reading my script, or going through things on Zoom with my cast-mates, I could have my playlist on and still be in her shoes and come in the next day and still be in it. I just love making playlists.
SE: What type of bands were dominating that playlist? Or was it a mix of genres?
SB: Definitely a little bit of a mix. I made this playlist catering to me at this age right now. There's definitely some Rob Zombie on there, there's a lot of Deftones on there — I'm a huge Deftones girl. Oh my gosh, Chino Marino, I love you. There's also some Polica on there. It's got a good little range of artists, but it definitely all kind of fits in an alt rock area, definitely some Y2K and 90s in there.
“Those are the best times, when everyone is just on it and there's nothing else you can do but have fun and see where you can go with it.”
SE: Sounds like such a good vibe. What was it like working with the director and the rest of the cast?
SB: What I really liked was with Krysten Ritter, who was our director for the first four episodes. She is such a powerhouse, I love her. She always knew what we have to get done for the day and would help us nail it every time. I think being that prepared gave us so much room to play. There were a lot of times where we had room to just improvise a scene or two and it was so it was so much fun. Those are the best times, when everyone is just on it and there's nothing else you can do but have fun and see where you can go with it, and that was every day on set with Krysten. It was super, super fun. And Jacob Chase [directed] the last four episodes. The coolest part — and we said this as a cast too when we would talk with each other — was seeing how different they are as directors, but how vital and perfect they are for the specific episodes that they directed. The last four episodes, we get really into the thick of the adventures, running from the monsters, and Jacob is so detail oriented and so great at finding the smallest things to kind of push the story forward. It was super fun to come in and have him point something out and be like, 'Oh, that's clever,' while of course still always having room to play and improvise. Also, it was great [to get to spend] the summer in Portland. I love Portland, it was very pleasing, I found lots of records.
SE: Portland is an absolutely adorable place, I love it so much. I've always wanted to ask this to an actress, and I finally get to: once a series or movie comes out that you're in, do you watch it?
SB: That is so funny. I am definitely one of those people who will watch it, but I have to be by myself. I need to watch it for the first time or first, second and third time by myself just to give myself notes. And just to see it for myself through my own eyes without any external opinions from my friends and family, but they're super understanding. It's also fun for me to see it because it always looks different on screen and in post as it does in your head while you're literally in it onset shooting. It's also cool to get that experience by myself.
SE: You also played Tori in Mark, Mary, & Some Other People. Briefly, what was it like working on this film? Especially because it was mostly a female crew, so that's also pretty sick!
SB: I freaking loved it. It was such a fun shoot. I think it was my first project that I did over COVID, because we started shooting actually before COVID started. We had to postpone for a little while and come back to finish it. When we came back, I don't think COVID had been announced yet, it had been announced right as we finished. We were all super [confused] and in this weird space, like what do we do? Can we be around each other? What's going on? Is this real?
But we had such a great supportive cast and crew coming in every day, and having so many awesome women on set, personally [made me feel] so empowered. That was definitely one of those moments where I was like, 'This is something I want to keep doing because I need to see more of this.' I need to see more women coming together to create something awesome. I look back and it still empowers me. It still inspires me to keep going.
Hannah [Marks], [the director of the film], is such a hard worker. I believe she started as an actress too. It's one of those moments where you're like, 'That's really cool, I can do this too.' Odessa [A'zion] and Haley [Law] are my boys. I freaking love them. They are hilarious. Odessa and I especially were always together, on and off set. We were always somewhere doing something, eating burgers somewhere. It was one of those projects that was just like, 'It feels wrong, that we're having this much fun, what's the catch?' Tori was a super fun character. I got to dabble in some drumming, which is really cool. It's been a goal of mine for a while, and I had just started taking classes actually right before I booked the role. I'm really proud of it. I've actually gotten my courage together and I'm going to go out and watch it with my friends.
SE: What do you hope audiences will take away from Mark, Mary, & Some Other People?
SB: For the nerds [myself included] who love to look at how the film was made and the people behind it, I hope it is as inspiring to them as it was for me. Just having that many women on set, creating and finishing this project with not a huge crew and not a huge cast, I hope it is inspiring and I hope that people continue to create more films like this. I definitely am holding myself to that as well as I continue [on in my career]. I hope to create something like that myself someday. I hope that it empowers women, especially in this industry, who are looking to create whatever it is — TV [shows], films, cartoons — that they can do it, and it's possible, and there's a place for them.
SE: Let me throw in a fun one. Do you have a celebrity crush right now?
SB: [Butch in the Rowdy Ruff Boys] has probably been my celebrity crush forever, as well as Danny Phantom. Those two will forever be in my heart.
SE: Time to ask the cliche question: how does it feel to have achieved all this success at your age? And what are some aspects you're looking to improve?
SB: It definitely feels rewarding and sometimes surreal, because I did start pretty young. It's cool to look back and see all that I've achieved. I’ve done awesome projects within the time that I've been [in the industry]. I would love to improve on not getting so overwhelmed, not getting in my own way about perfecting things. It will sometimes keep me from doing things within the time I need to do it.
It really boils down to just being in my own head about something and trying to not overthink it. I had to make this decision a couple of times over the summer, when we were shooting Girl In The Woods, to just wing it sometimes and let myself go of all the preparation I've done, and have fun with it. There were a couple of takes where I would remind myself, 'okay, I know my lines, I know my blocking, I'm not going to overwhelm and psych myself out. I'm just going to go and do it. Pretty often those are my personal favorite takes. So, I guess what I'd love to improve on is not psyching myself out so much and stop getting in my own way by getting so easily overwhelmed. It's a practice and it's something I am going to have to work on in time.
SE: You're definitely not alone. I struggle with trying to achieve perfection in almost everything I do. It becomes exhausting after a while. What advice would you give to Little Sofia, just starting out in the industry?
SB: I feel like it goes hand in hand, to not overthink things. For anyone in this industry, specifically, not to measure your self worth on your external achievements. Of course, it is awesome, and you should 100% percent reward yourself when you achieve a new goal or accomplish something that you've been working on, but also remember that you still have to value yourself even when you're not achieving something, or you haven't reached a new goal. Everything is a process and it's not [a race, it's a marathon.] Don't rely on achieving things to appreciate yourself. I think you should appreciate yourself at any stage in life, because it's all part of the journey. Every day, it's just another day in the life. Your life is . . . the whole deal. Not dwelling too much on the bad days and rewarding yourself for small things, and maybe for nothing at all. maybe just for getting up and drinking some water, it can be hard! Don't beat yourself up too much. In this industry especially, you're going to hear no a lot. That's like 90% of auditions. Anyone will tell you, you have to be ready to hear no 90 times, and that 10% of times where you hear yes, revel in it, be happy, be joyous, but then get ready to keep working and move forward and not dwell on the 90% of [no's]. It's just how it works. It's important to appreciate and value yourself, even in that 90% of time, because that's when you really succeed. When you can hold your head up regardless. Easier said than done!
⤏ SOLEIL EASTON (SHE/HER) IS A LOS ANGELES-BASED WRITER, HOPELESS ROMANTIC, AND LOVER OF WORDS. SHE ENJOYS REPORTING ON GRASSROOTS ISSUES, HOT-SPOTS AND UNIQUE EATS, AND PEOPLE WHOSE STORIES MAY OTHERWISE GO UNNOTICED.