Celebrity Interview | Entertainment & Film Industry - Bharatanatyam to Hollywood: Aparna Brielle's Inspiring Journey from Portland to Tinseltown

Greg Staffa 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is a talented actress who can be seen on shows like Grimm, the Librarian, AP Bio and, right now, Foo Bars Season 2, Aparna Brielle. Thanks for joining us today.

Aparna Brielle 0:26

Thank you for having me.

Greg Staffa 0:27

Tell us a little bit about your childhood and upbringing.

Classical Dance and Early Aspirations

Aparna Brielle 0:31

Yeah, I was a classical Indian dancer. I did an art form called Partha Natyam. It's like a 3,000-year-old, 2,000 to 3,000-year-old dance form. So I was a professional dancer for most of my childhood actually, and that's one of the many things that made me really fall in love with performance art. I, however, always wanted to be an actor.

Aparna Brielle 0:54

I tell the story all the time, but I used to think when I was a kid I was obsessed with the magic school bus and I thought you actually get turned into a cartoon in a machine and then you go on adventures with Miss Frizzle. So I was very imaginative and I used to ask my parents can you put me on that TV show? I want to go on those adventures. That's when I started, like they were like no, you have to. You don't get turned into a cartoon. You have to go into a studio. You have to like you know, use your voice and like act.

Aparna Brielle 1:20

I don't know what that was At the time. I was like really small. So I kind of started with this like overall performance art background. I did all kinds of dance forms, I did theater in school and then at some point in high school I realized some people actually do move to LA and make it a career, and I didn't even know that was possible. I'm from Portland, oregon, and people don't really do that there. So I think around high school I started thinking I'm going to go try things out in LA, I'll finish college, I'll do that, and I'm going to go try things out in LA and see what happens. And here we are.

Greg Staffa 1:52

I'm always fascinated when I talk to like a dancer and you had said that you had done various types of dancing, but one of them was a 3000 year old kind of style. What makes someone you know, a young child, go. I want to learn a 3,000-year-old dance style versus what I'm seeing on MTV right now.

Aparna Brielle 2:09

Well, I was really lucky I was raised in being Indian and having parents that had moved here from India and that really wanted me to have an experience growing up here that really allowed me to explore this culture and be of this culture but also very much be in touch with my roots. That was really where it came from. I grew up seeing. I mean, I was very young when I started doing I think I was six when I started doing classical Indian dance, but before that I had seen so many videos of these dancers and I just like looked up to like you're dressed in the most celestial, you've got jewels and everything all over your hair, they've got this intense makeup, this really beautiful costume, and I was just like gagged, for lack of better terms. I was just like blown away by what I was seeing.

Aparna Brielle 2:56

And I would see some of these performers live in Portland from some of the different studios that were in town, and so when I was little, I was just like whoa, they seem so regal and so elegant and the dance that they're doing is so intense. I want to. I think I could do that. I want to show that I could do that. That's where that came from and at the same time I still wanted to do things like ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop. So my parents were really good about giving me exposure to both. But Indian classical dance is really where I thrived the most and and I I felt the most connected to myself in that process.

Greg Staffa 3:28

So now you've said you've always wanted to be an actress and a dancer. When I've talked to various actors and actresses, it seems to be two different classes of people. There's the, the shy people, looking to escape and become someone else,

Acting Motivation and Parental Support

Greg Staffa 3:43

and that allows them to find their own inner voice. It allows them to be outside of themselves. There's another group that likes the attention and likes the performance of it all. Where do you fit in all that?

Aparna Brielle 3:57

I think I fit square in the middle. I've always, especially when I was younger, like a child I was very like out there, outward, expressive of myself, very comfortable with the attention. By the time I got to you know, middle and high school, I really started like truly me getting a chance to explore what theater and performance provides for you as a person. It does give you an outlet to, it's an excuse to put yourself out there, and a lot of people I knew got into it for that reason to express themselves in a new way. And I found that coming out of those really difficult years of like not feeling secure in myself, not knowing who I was acting, ended up being that outlet for me. And so now I'm that person who, on the one hand, I am very private, I like to, I don't like to have attention on me when I'm in my private moments, but on the other hand, if I'm turning it on for a show, I love that attention there. So it's very balanced for me, I suppose.

Greg Staffa 5:09

Now a lot of parents when they have children they want them to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, and so I don't want to say they're not supportive. But when the child says I want to be an actor or an actress, they say that's great, that's cute, but we want you to. How are your parents and did the fact that you seem to be always in kind of the entertainment or the creative industry from such an early age? Was that something?

Aparna Brielle 5:41

that they nurtured, or was there not negative pushback but just parents being parents Totally? I mean, at first they were definitely a little concerned because they came from India and they've only heard stories about Bollywood and the Hollywood casting couch and also just the fact that it is very much. It is a very one in a million industry. It's a very difficult industry to break into. So on the one hand they were very like, okay, if that's what you want to do, that's fine. But they also really instilled the sense in me of being pragmatic and practical and thinking 10 steps ahead and also not being limited as a person to any one thing. Like you can go to college and study whatever you want to study and be an actress, you can. You can find different ways to support yourself and build your own career. Like you can create your own opportunities.

Greg Staffa 6:24

And so they at first they were a little hesitant.

Aparna Brielle 6:26

They were like, okay, we thought you wanted to be six other things last week and uh and. But as soon as I was like, no, I'm willing to pay for my own classes, like I want to go do this, they were like okay, you're serious about this.

Aparna Brielle 6:37

Well, if this is what you want to do, all we ask is that you put 100% into it, because otherwise we'll know that your heart's not really in it. You know you might be into it for other reasons and that was all the encouragement I needed. And they've been so supportive. You know every step like since I was a kid and I said it to them to now they're. They're always like are you still? Is this still something you want to put 100% into?

Greg Staffa 7:10

Great. If so, we're happy for you. That's you know, and it's such a great relationship I have with my parents because of this and so many other reasons. No, not to diminish the hard work and everything that you've put into this, but you had a relatively short time appearing on like one episode here, one episode there, before becoming a serious regular on a lot of shows. I mean, you've had a great opportunity or a great success of being cast in things that you have longevity in, versus just a guest appearance on this or that. At what point did you realize that you had been, that you kind of made it? I know you're always working and you're always. You know it's always a struggle for the next thing, but at what point did you feel that this was the right thing? I now an actress, and at what point did your parents realize that you're an act like sometimes parents, yeah, you're on that show, that's cute but it wasn't until you were on this that they really thought that you made it.

Finding Success with AP Bio

Aparna Brielle 7:57

I think for all of us, that big turning point was AP bio. Before then, when I booked a guest star here there, it still felt like such a oh, I'm in the right place, so I'm, I'm working my way up to that next big thing which, like you said, we're always in that position. We're always looking for the next big, better thing, right. But I remember calling my mom and dad after I filmed Graham, which was like the first ever time I've been on TV and being like this felt like home to me. I'm'm excited to see what that that opportunity will be, that I get to do this all the time. And AP Bio really felt like that for me. And that was also my very first pilot season. It was very like it was.

Aparna Brielle 8:36

And now everything is very different in this industry. Like the pilot seasons are kind of they're a lot different now, because now so much is streaming and so much is oh, it's all episodes. So at the time I had to do this audition, I had to do callbacks, I had to do so many callbacks, I had to do a network test. Then I got AP bio and then we had to wait for the pilot to get picked up, and so once all of those things happened, it felt like for me and for my family I had been tested so many times.

Aparna Brielle 9:03

And then here's your reward it's a full show, you're in it, and the people who are in it really made me feel like, oh, I'm doing something elevated and interesting. I mean, I'm working with Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt and Mike O'Brien and Paula Pell and all these other names that are legends in the comedy world, and so, as a fledgling actor, it was such an incredible experience. Like I feel like there's no better bootcamp than getting to work with actors that are that caliber, you know, and for my family they were very like, oh you're, you're there, you've done it. You know, like I'm paying my bills full-time as an actor now that's amazing.

Greg Staffa 9:39

So going from doing a couple of shows, a single episode. How are you received as a new young actress? Is there? Is it all business? Is there someone that stands out as a mentor that really kind of maybe took you aside and gave you advice or gave you comfort in what you were doing? Is there anyone that stands out?

Aparna Brielle 10:01

Yeah, I'm really fortunate because the projects I've worked on generally there's always been someone from each thing. I will say Glenn and Patton with AP Bio have been really I mean, I've gotten pretty close with them both. They've been there for me, giving me advice with different projects. They've helped me with my own independent projects. That I've gotten pretty close with them both. They've been there for me giving me advice with different projects. They've helped me with my own independent projects that I've done. They've really been guiding forces and celebrated every little success I've had and I feel so fortunate with that and with FUBAR.

Aparna Brielle 10:29

Arnold has been a tremendous source of inspiration, a great mentor to me and

Mentors in the Industry

Aparna Brielle 10:37

to everyone in the cast. Inspiration. A great mentor to me and to everyone in the cast. Like he really has spent the time getting to know us outside of just our roles on set, getting to uh. Like he's so happy to give advice to us and we're so happy to get it because he's a legend. He's done. He's done multiple things to a high level of excellence. You know what I mean. Mean, so it's like he's at that, really like he was the governor. He's like one of the most famous actors in the world and he's so giving with his time and very, very generous with the insights he has to give. So I feel really fortunate.

Greg Staffa 11:11

I haven't interviewed most of the names that you're able to name drop, but I will say Patton Oswalt is one of the nicest, uh people that I've had to to deal with. I had an interaction with him once it was for a red carpet and I accidentally got skipped over for the red carpet and all the actors went back in or went inside for the screening and usually once they do that, they're done. They're not going to come back out for the red carpet and for some reason he learned, or someone told him, that one of the outlets got skipped over and didn't get to interview you and he came back out which I've done you know 40 different red carpets and I've never had a star learn that they missed someone and come back out to do an interview after they had gone in, because once they go in there they're in their own little world, they're relaxed with their, their people and stuff like that. And so, uh, that really stood out to me that he would be like I'm going back out, uh, when he really didn't have to.

Aparna Brielle 12:08

so that's really like really lovely human being. He's so kind, very like everybody always said about said this about him and I and this is what I truly feel that really, really he's genuinely so happy to be doing what he's doing and he recognizes that it takes truly a village it takes everyone, including the people interviewing you, to get you to where you are, and he's so humble about it. So I think that's always something to look up to. No-transcript.

Greg Staffa 12:48

And I love hearing that people that I admire or see something that goes out of their way. Other people have seen that too. It's not just like a one off or it's good to hear that the good people are realized as good people by other people. Absolutely, in your IMDb. Basically, like we talked about earlier, it was single episode, single episode. Single episode series, regular series, regular series, regular. Was there a conscious jump to that? Was there a conscious jump to that? Was something, did something change that you're? You started getting more serious regulators, or was it just a natural progression to you?

Aparna Brielle 13:25

I feel that it was a mix of both. On the one hand, you know, we were always targeting getting those bigger roles, but some of those doors you have to wait for them to open. You know, when I I had gotten AP Bio, for example, after about like a year and a half of being in LA, which is still very swift, I'm very, very lucky and fortunate. But in that first year it was like you know, the doors that would open to me, being someone from Portland who's only had a couple of these little credits, were for guest stars, co-stars, those little parts, and I really wanted to make it a point to be like I appreciate any opportunity I'm getting. So even if it was like two lines or a little guest star or something that I would never be cast in, I would go and I would show, you know, the casting directors like how much I appreciate the opportunity, the time I would really commit to that.

Aparna Brielle 14:16

And so I think you know, when those doors finally opened for me and part of that was my team had pitched me enough I had been building up, you know, my auditions had been getting better and better, my work on TV, like the, the spots that I was doing here and there were getting stronger and stronger. I do feel like that did turn into a natural progression up, although I will say in this industry there's no set path towards getting something other than booking a big thing and then a bigger thing and then a bigger thing. There's no real set path because that can change at any point for any person. So, as much as I'm saying it's somewhat of a natural progression, it's also very, very much chance.

Representation as a Woman of Color

Greg Staffa 14:55

Do you see yourself directing at any point?

Aparna Brielle 14:57

Absolutely.

Aparna Brielle 14:58

I think some of the actresses and individuals I look up to most are multi-hyphenates and I think most creative people, like every creative person I've met out here, is a multi-hyphenate right, and as a woman, as a woman of color in this industry, I find that the best way to get opportunities for yourself and for other people in your position is to create those opportunities for people.

Aparna Brielle 15:25

I really love what Margot Robbie, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman have been doing in creating their bigger production companies, which is a goal of mine down the road, Less like just a small one, but like a proper production company that can elevate some really unique voices and interesting perspectives, Like I, I. I think that could be really cool and I am very interested in directing down the road. I think I still have so much to learn in that world, but I'm very fascinated by it and and I so often will be watching something being like, oh, if I were to do it, how would I do that? And so I definitely have a curiosity and I think, as my you know, behind the scenes work builds up more. I think those opportunities will come for me as well.

Greg Staffa 16:08

You mentioned. You know, as a woman of color, do you feel there's an added pressure, right or wrong, on someone like you as a role model in this industry? I mean, no one ever talks about Tom Cruise being a role model or Tom Hanks being a role model. They're just the actor and they do their performances and we judge them on that. Do you feel like an added burden, as a woman of color and even as a woman, that the standards and everything are higher for you to be a role model and it's something that you embrace, or you just do the best job that you can, put out the best work that you can, and let that judge you?

Aparna Brielle 16:47

I think there's no doubt about it. There's definitely an added pressure for women of color and women and people of color in general, any minority group there's going to be an added pressure because the talent pool is so much smaller and the opportunities are even less. That is starting to change, of course, and I've been very fortunate to work despite that, but I would say there is an added pressure, but with that it's also like an added responsibility. You know you get a role that a lot of people in the world can see and you're representing an entire population of people while you're also your own individual person really important, like I. Really it's really important to me.

Aparna Brielle 17:38

Whenever I'm considering a script or a project of any kind to, it's really important to me to see how the character I'm reading it for is being portrayed. If it's very specifically like this is an Indian person, are there stereotypes? Are those stereotypes subverted? Because I'm a fan of that. I do think that's fun I got to do that with AP bio and if it's not ethnic, like if it's not particular to an ethnicity and they're just open to anyone, is there something in that that might make me look like I'm leaning into my ethnicity too much. As a like I.

Aparna Brielle 18:14

It's such a hard space to be in where you're like. I don't want to. I don't want to feel like people are limiting me based on my ethnicity, but I also want to do a good job of representing my ethnicity, because I really love being Indian. I love my culture, I love my, and we're all so diverse and different Like they are. Every single person has a completely different lifestyle than mine, so it's obviously impossible to make everyone happy, but what can I do to make sure that we're seen as equals at the table?

Greg Staffa 18:41

Sure, and one of the reasons I brought that up is I just had a guest on and he was explaining that he could read a script and tell if it was written by someone like a white guy like me had written it, or a minority.

Greg Staffa 18:55

Because he could tell immediately because the language seemed like written by someone that assumed certain things and all of a sudden, you know, the n-word was being used or this word was being used, and he could tell that this wasn't someone that had lived that life, because they don't walk around talking like that versus someone that had seen too many movies and assume that that's how they all taught. And so I was fascinated to hear that, because that was something, as a white person, I had never thought of. But he could tell by the script how it was written and if it was fairly he was open to doing certain things and being edgy in it. But if it was written by someone that had a bunch of assumptions, it was a turnoff and that was something that I myself had never thought of, and so I found that fascinating the way he explained that.

Aparna Brielle 19:45

Definitely, I think you can definitely tell and, like you said, said like he said, really like, if it's, if it's still interesting and and layered and nuanced, then yeah, it doesn't really matter who wrote it, but you can usually tell when there are those stereotypes being thrown in and other little things that you're like. I'm not really I'm not sure I want to be part of that.

Greg Staffa 20:05

So who are is out now tell us a little bit about what brought want

FUBAR and Playing a Russian Agent

Greg Staffa 20:08

to be a part of that. So FUBAR is out now. Tell us a little bit about what brought you to that role, what's that been like and what's something that you're excited for your fans to see.

Aparna Brielle 20:16

Well, FUBAR, I read, for it was still an untitled Arnold Schwarzenegger project and, to be honest, I was like I'm going to read for it, what the hell. But why would I get that? I'm not established on that level, you know. It's just like the automatic imposter syndrome that so many people have. So I read for it, I sent the tape in and I kind of just forgot about it, and then within a couple of days, I was told the showrunner wanted to to, you know, FaceTime with me and have a little chat, and I guess he had been a big fan of AP bio, which I had no idea. He was like yeah, my daughter and I have watched every episode. It's our bonding thing and I've been a big fan of yours for a while and I actually wrote this character with you in mind. But I didn't think you'd be available because I thought AP Bio was coming back, which was incredibly flattering to hear. Very, very, it just took me by surprise and I still had to fight for the role, though he was like we here's.

Aparna Brielle 21:11

The thing with your character that we haven't put in the breakdowns is that your character is a Russian double agent, so we're going to be having you play this sort of like you know, meek, mellow Clark Kent type. You know, before the glasses come off and he's Superman, so that it really is like a twist of the knife. You know, before the glasses come off and he's Superman, so that it really is like a twist of the knife. You know for the audience, and so we want to have I'm going to have you do some tapes for your you know callback to send to Netflix that that show, both sides of that coin, which was really cool. I mean, I've never had a session like that with the showrunner, where he's like he's the one directing it and being like okay, now do this now try that.

Greg Staffa 21:49

And from.

Aparna Brielle 21:49

There it was like you know, netflix ended up offering me the role and it was very much a whirlwind. Within a couple of months I was flying off to Toronto to to go film this thing. It's been such a blast. It's such a cool, fun show. Every day is truly so much fun and you can tell because it's four in the morning and people are there and they're excited to be there. None of us are morning people. So, and for this season I'm really excited, for I mean, the audience kind of knows at the end of at the end of season one, that okay, tina's a Russian double agent. The cat's out of the bag. This season I think we're gonna start seeing like actual glimpses into the spycraft she has building up, into like her bigger purpose in all of this and where things will will land for her. So I'm really excited for people to see tina in a completely different way, being just as much a badass spy as the rest of them, but maybe not necessarily on the right team.

Greg Staffa 22:46

That's now you've had a very successful career in a short amount of time, I mean, and I don't mean to downplay any of your hard work, but you've had a successful career very fast to be serious regulars on these shows. These aren't just little shows, these are very popular shows. What advice would you have to young women, even young boys, looking at becoming actors and actresses? What's the biggest advice that you would give to them?

Career Advice and Personal Reflections

Aparna Brielle 23:15

Gosh, I have so much advice I could give to people, but the biggest one that stands out to me was actually something I heard John Bernthal say when I was, like you know, eight or nine years ago. I heard him say it somewhere where he said don't worry about what rooms you get into, Worry about what you're doing in those rooms, and everything else will pan out Like trust that you have that ability to do something cool and interesting in that room. Focus on that.

Aparna Brielle 23:39

It's so easy to be hard on ourselves and feel like we're not good enough or like everyone around us is doing great and we're not. It's so easy to fall in that spell and, believe me, everyone at every level, even if you're Oscar nominated everyone is going through that same mentality and it's so easy to get caught up in all the things that aren't happening. So focus on the things that are happening, the things that make you unique, the things you get rejected for those things. Make those your armor and use that to like stand out and just own who you are. That's all I can really advise. I think the more you that you are, the more successful you'll be in this business.

Greg Staffa 24:17

Finally, so much of you is based on what you've done. We say Aparna, she was in Grimm, Aparna from AP Bio, Aparna from this and that. But when you wake up in the morning and you go into the bathroom and splash a little water on your face and look in the mirror for the first time in the morning, who is it that you see?

Aparna Brielle 24:38

I see a Parna who is a person who has a wonderful group of friends and family that she loves deeply, that has, that gets to live in a beautiful city, los Angeles, that is privileged to get to play for her job. But that's not the first thing I'm thinking. I'm just thinking of all the blessings that I have in life, even when life gets really tough.

Aparna Brielle 25:05

I actually do have a ritual of, like you know, I'll go to the bathroom and I'll start getting my day, and as I start my day, I think about all those things that I'm grateful for and the things that keep me human. It's, it's. I'm just another human being. That's what I'm thinking of first thing in the morning, and I'm so grateful to be one so.

Greg Staffa 25:21

Well, Aparna, thank you for coming on. Fubar is out right now and invite people to check.