Sophina Brown

I: First of all, can you introduce yourself?
S: Hi, I’m Sophina Brown and I play Raina Troy on the CBS drama “Shark”.

I: So, how did your acting career get started?
S: I actually knew I wanted to be an actress from a pretty early age. I was always in school productions and things of that nature, and I actually went to a performing arts high school for half of the day between 7th and 12th grade. I basically took acting classes half the day. So, then I went on to the theater program at University of Michigan, and after I graduated I moved to New York.

I: Are you a lot like your character on Shark?
S: No, not at all. Most of the time when people meet me they say, “Oh, we thought you were going to be so much meaner!” I would probably say I’m the exact opposite. I’m not that hard on people in my life. I’m very goofy, actually.

I: What are your favorite and least favorite parts about acting?
S: My favorite part about acting is just being able to affect people. It’s not like we’re out here curing cancer or anything, but at the same time, taking part in any sort of art form, the biggest advantage of that is just affecting people and touching their lives through what you love to do. Through my theater and films, I know I leave differently from when I came in. Somehow I was changed by what I just experienced. So I think that’s the best thing is that as an actress you’re able to do that. In theater, you’re actually able to do it, in my opinion, to a different degree. There’s no filter, it’s just you and the audience and you’re having that experience together. It’s something that can never be duplicated. Every single night there’s something different. And there’s no filter- post production, editing, soundtrack being added, or anything like that. It’s exactly how it’s being presented- from you, straight to the audience. So that’s my favorite part about acting.

I would say my least favorite thing is probably when that doesn’t happen. It becomes formulaic and predictable and you feel like you’re part of a big machine, like you’re not really being expressive or creative in anyway. You’re kind of just collecting a paycheck. It can be like that sometimes, and we’ve all had jobs like that, where at the end of the day it’s just dollars and cents. We all have to pay rent, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you should always hope for more. You should hope that you can get the best of both worlds.

I: If you could travel to anywhere in the world where would you go?
S: Right now, I would have to say Germany for a couple of different reasons. My mom is actually German and she still has a lot of relatives over there. I’ve met them once, when I was a very little girl. But that’s half of my heritage, so I would really love to get over there. And one of my best friends lives in Munich, so I would love to see her and she just had a baby. I’m not really well traveled, though, so there are a ton of places that I would love to go.

I: Who is the coolest “celebrity” type you’ve ever met?
S: Spike Lee directed the pilot of Shark, he’s basically the King of Cool.

I: Do you have any role models, and if so who are they?
S: Right now, I would have to say my biggest role model as far as the industry goes is Falisha Rischard (not sure about the spelling). The work that she’s done in the last 5, 10 years has just been extraordinary. She is such an amazing actress, she’s such a chameleon. I just got a chance to see her in New York on Broadway, and it was just transformational, the work she did on stage. She just blew everyone away! I was so impressed with her work, it was completely different than anything else I’d ever seen her in prior. I just look at her and I’m like, “That’s what I want to do. Exactly how she affects me every time I see her, that’s the kind of actress that I want to be.” Just her quality of work and her work ethic. I remember I was watching her and someone else on stage was talking, but I was just totally captivated with her by how she was just drinking her water. I knew that she had given thought to being that character, and how she was drinking the water, and her work, is just very detailed and specific. I just applaud her, she’s so amazing.

Sophina and Scott Bakula in Richard Rodgers' "No Strings"

I: If you had to describe yourself in 3 words, what would those words be?
S: I would have to say Woman of God. Because that’s the most important thing in my life, my faith is everything to me and it allowed me to be here and do what I love to do. Everything that I do is to glorify God- he’s the front and center of everything I do. Even all my relationships, professional and personal. I hope that that’s how others would describe me as well.

I: Portrait Magazine is an online magazine. Do you have any favorite websites that you go to a lot?
S: I try really hard not to overdo it on the internet because it’s so addicting. But I am a YouTube junkie! I am obsessed with any type of video with babies in it. I love Charlie Bit Me! I could watch it over and over. And I have. It’s so funny! And I actually go to CNN.com, especially lately, a lot. A lot of times at work we can’t watch the news or necessarily get the paper. I have a tendancy to just look online on my BlackBerry on cnn.com and keep updated on the election. I get my news that way. So there’s my intellectual answer and guilty pleasure answer!