Meet Jackie Brooke: Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jackie Brooke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jackie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
For me, risk taking is an absolutely essential aspect to achieving success. I would consider myself to be a risk taker by nature but it’s definitely something that has evolved and changed within the last few years.

Growing up I was incredibly fortunate. I grew up in Sydney Australia right by the beach, lived in a happy home with parents who loved one another. We had enough money to do the things we enjoyed and I received an incredible education. Essentially, I had every opportunity to continue down quite a safe and predictable path that would have ultimately led me to perceivable “success.” I got in to great university courses that would have likely had a great job and wonderful opportunities.

However for me, this safe route was not what was ever going to make me happy. And my dream has always been to live in LA and work as as an actor. I will forever remember the day I sat my mum down for a coffee to tell her that I was going to drop out of my university course in order to pursue acting full time.

In 2017 when I moved to LA to pursue a career in performance it was pretty much the opposite of what everyone around me wanted me to do. My parents were “supportive” but they also both worked in the television industry in Australia and therefore wanted me to do anything but become an actor because they knew how difficult it would be. It was pretty much the only career path I could embark on that would not be a guarantee (and more than that – incredibly difficult.) But in a way, it has made every small success I’ve had so much more meaningful. When you are truly taking risks and having small wins – be it a great role, being awarded a visa etc… the pay off is so much bigger, because it is something that you love and something that you know you had to work for.

It takes a lot of bravery to take risks because most of the time, if you look intrinsically, the real risk that you are taking is one of failure, which I believe is something most people are scared of. Definitely, along the way there are also sacrifices involved but most of the time the biggest fear is that the risk you are taking and the sacrifices that you did make aren’t going to be paid off and then not only will you feel like a failure but you prove the doubters around you to be right. So I think through my life what I have to continue to remind myself is to enjoy the process of the risks I take. I think rather than being so “results” oriented (something that I have definitely had to work on) if you can enjoy what you’re doing in the moment then almost there’s no such thing as “taking a risk”, because no matter what, it was worth it. So even though a lot of the decisions I have made in my life could be considered “risky”, because they have led me to a life that I take great pride in enjoying it almost seems like I would have “risked” my happiness to have taken the easy route. Even if I haven’t yet achieved all my goals, I’m living a life that I love and that inspires me. And if that’s risky – then bring it on.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think what sets me apart from others is the fact that I’m not afraid to be bold. I think that in my pursuit of acting I have had to be pretty daring. both in my work and in the decisions I’ve had to make along the way.

Moving to a new country is never easy, and staying away from the safety of your hometown, family or friends is also difficult. But particularly during the last few years whilst my Green Card was in process, and I couldn’t travel home and during a global pandemic, it would have been so much easier to go home. I saw so many of my peers heading back to their respective countries and cities but for me, that was just never an option. I haven’t seen my family since 2018, which although breaks my heart and I miss them so much, I know that this is where I need to be right now.

In my work I think what gives me an edge is I don’t think I have any fear. Whether it’s pushing the bar a little bit as far as a conventional audition goes or whether it’s making big choices as far as a character is required. I truly don’t think I am afraid to do or try anything and that is very freeing. I love working on both comedy and drama and don’t feel tied to doing just one thing. I have good training, which I am so grateful for, and so there isn’t much that will come my way as far as a script goes that I don’t know how to approach. And if there is, then I see that as something fun, rather than something daunting.

Right now, the most exciting thing is that finally my Green Card is here and for the first time in my life, it no longer feels like I have these barriers outside of my control that are holding me back. It’s so exciting to feel like every hardship was so worth it and in many ways, it feels like this year is the beginning of everything.

The journey to get here has been anything but easy. There were years that I look back on now that were so dark because there was so much judgement from myself and from others that brought me to such a sad and doubtful place. There is a lot of jealousy and fear in this industry and sometimes it can all become too much. But what I learned from this time is that it’s okay to mess up and it’s okay to lose people even if it makes you sad. Because I had such a beautiful upbringing, my hardships have humbled me and made me much more responsible for my own actions and have shown me who I do and don’t want to be.

I will always be such a huge advocate for sports and exercise for whenever I am not feeling like myself. Any time I am feeling unmotivated or sad or defeated, moving my body has always been both physical and mental medicine. Before the pandemic, I began playing netball again with the Santa Monica Spirits and being part of a team again and playing team sports was so much fun and broke up my schedule in such a healthy way. I also am obsessed with animals. I have four bunnies and have done a lot of animal volunteer work which was so rewarding. I think that every person needs an animal in their life to some capacity. They are little healers and the most pure, perfect companions. Having little creatures that rely on me also brings so much meaning to my day to day schedule. They help me every day, more than they will ever understand.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think by this point I know more about where to take someone in LA than I do in Sydney!

My absolute favorite restaurant was Jose Andreés’ restaurant, “The Bazaar” at the SLS in Beverly Hills. Except they have just closed it down. But all of his restaurants and concepts are amazing and I believe I’ve heard whispers of a new restaurant of his opening soon in LA. He uses a lot of cool things like liquid nitrogen to put almost a scientific spin on his food and drinks which are all INCREDIBLE.

I am predominantly plant based so I LOVE all of Matthew Kenney’s restaurants. “Double Zero”, his pizza restaurant is out of control and “Plant Food and Wine” on Abbot Kinney is gorgeous. But I even love his deli, where you can walk in and get a vegan lox bagel (which were my absolute favorite before changing my diet)

I also love heading up the coast and renting a camping spot on the beach and just having a relaxing night by the ocean cooking up whatever you want and playing music. What I love about LA is the fact that its both coastal but has such incredible mountain backdrops and here, you get the best of both worlds.

We also are absolutely obsessed with escape rooms and have done almost every single one. But out favorite was on Halloween, partaking in their experienced where the whole hotel was opened up to be a fully live experience. It was terrifying but so much fun.

And this may be a little bit lame but I love Disneyland. We had the annual pass which made things so much fun because when you would go, there was no pressure to get everything done. So you could relax and have a cocktail at California Adventure and just do what you wanted to do that day and not leave totally exhausted. But they were always some of my favorite days off. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been so lucky throughout my life to constantly be surrounded by strong, inspiring women that I could look up to and that encouraged me to push myself while always feeling safe and supported in doing so.

At Queenwood School For Girls, I had so many teachers that were there for me and inspired me in such a profound way. Ms Elizabeth Alexander was my drama teacher and is still such an important figure in my life. She had the perfect balance of pushing me, encouraging me but also humbling me and calling me out when I was resting on my laurels. She was tough but very maternal and I think showed me the kind of woman I would want to grow up to be.

Team sports were always a huge part of my life and my netball coaches; Carla Dziwoki and Kristy Doyle (Egglestone) were such enormous influences for me. They always supported my physical and mental health and demonstrated to me how I wanted to treat other people and also taught me what I can achieve when I work for it.

After acting school I returned to work with Matthew Barry, (casting director – The Notebook, My Sisters Keeper, Alpha Dog, The Other Woman etc). He’s probably the one individual who has seen my work grow from beginning to now as I met him when I was a 16. I still take class and learn from him regularly and is one of the main people that I could credit for making me believe that I can actually pursue this career that I love. Without him, I don’t know if I would be in LA today.

And of course my parents, Andrew and Lisa Brooke. They have been so incredibly supportive (although sometimes begrudgingly) and have given me so much. I don’t think that I thank them enough for all that they have given and sacrificed for me to go after my dreams. I am truly the luckiest to have them both as parents.

Website: www.jackiebrooke.com

Instagram: @jacbrooke

Image Credits
Harvey House Productions, Hayley McCarthy, Daniel Robles, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Courtney Brown