Sophina Brown
Sophina Brown takes a stand as Raina Troy on the hit CBS legal show, Shark opposite James Woods. This leading lady brings intelligence, class, and strength to one of TV's most promising shows. We chatted with Sophina to find out more about this young drama, and the woman behind the character.
The Star Scoop:
What are you working on right now?
Sophina Brown:
The last few months, I've pretty much been just focused on the CBS show Shark. It's a tight schedule, you know as far as hours. Doesn't leave room for much of anything else. I don't know if you're familiar with one hour episodic schedules, but it's about twelve to fifteen hours a day. So that's been what's going on the last few months for me. I did a small part in a movie that's actually coming out in February, so that's going to be exciting as well. I shot that, actually, last year, so...
The Star Scoop:
Tell us also, about the show Shark, why you think it's been successful, and why people should, if they haven't been watching it thus far, tune into it now.
Brown:
It's funny because, nowadays, you never know what people are going to find entertaining, and what they're going to gravitate toward, and latch onto. So far, our show has been really, really, well received, and we've been doing really well in the ratings. As a matter of fact, it's been in the top ten, the last six weeks or so. We started off in the top twenty, so it's been getting better and better and better as far as viewer ship. It's quite a surprise, because everything is so up in the air. I remember CBS had this show that came out this past fall as well, and we just thought it was going to explode when we saw the trailer for it, and it was one of the first shows cancelled, and we were kind of like, how can that be? But thankfully, our show has been doing really well and we're trying to build viewer ship. The scripts are getting better, the characters are getting more developed, it's just getting more and more exciting every week. I think one of the main draws of our show is having James Woods as a leader, and having him on television and being able to see his work every week, I think, is definitely a draw for people, because he's just absolutely amazing on camera. He's just such a good actor.
The Star Scoop:
This show is one where you've got clearly, the most consistent part. What's that been like for you?
Brown:
It's been definitely a learning process, as far as learning about television as a medium because I come from a theater background. You don't really get to see how television works, how the medium itself, what makes it tick and everything [in guest spots]. It's such a collaborative thing. One of the main challenges for me as an actor is giving over the ability. I'm used to being the story teller. On stage, you know, it's like, you are in charge of telling the story, you're performing it, that's when the audience is receiving it, so you have that immediate response. With television, it's been a challenge because you can tell a certain story, and you can do certain things, character development, put whatever it is into a scene, and then you kind of give it over to the post-production, and the editors. So much can change once you've released it. Even adding music underneath the scene can make it unfold in a completely [different] way than you envisioned it. That's been kind of a challenge because sometimes, depending on how it's cut together, it can come across very differently than how you delivered it, which was a very new thing for me, so I'm getting more used to it. You don't have kind of as much ownership as you do when you're doing something on stage. So that's been kind of a challenge. Just also, having something like this which is consistent now, it's been great as far as allowing me to just grow as an actor in general, playing this role, week after week after week. I'm very attached to her, and very attached to the stories and these characters and also my cast mates, the people. That hasn't really happened for me before in television. It's been great though. It's been really, really great.
The Star Scoop:
Shark is another law, courtroom show. How is your show different, and why would people be attracted to that as opposed to something else?
Brown:
I think part of what makes our show stand out is the element of humor. I think that James Woods does such a good job in just really fleshing out this character, Sebastian Stark, and showing so many different layers in this character, you know what I mean? James kind of has built this career on playing bad guys, and [Stark], he definitely has an edge, but he's also hilarious, and you can't help but identify with him. And he brings such a dynamic to this show that I think other shows don't have, you know? It's very unpredictable, you never know what he's going to do, you never know which way he's going to go. I think it's great because our show has strong women on there. I know that other law shows have some strong female characters in the past, but every single one of the women characters on this show, they're strong, and they're passionate, they're fiery. I think it's a great representation of women, every single instance.
The Star Scoop:
Can you tell us about your character and your role in the show specifically?
Brown:
I think that Raina Troy is the heart of the team. I think a lot of times she is the one who brings integrity and the moral consciousness to the table because, you know, she is kind of in direct opposition with Stark, James Woods' character, a lot of the time. She really does want to do the right thing. But at the same time, she respects him, she definitely feels that she can learn from this man, but she just doesn't let him roll over her, roll over her beliefs and her values. She definitely wants to be heard. I really enjoy playing her because she is so passionate, and she is such a strong woman, and I identified with that. But, at the same time, she's a bit aggressive, and I think she's learning now, that she can kind of let that guard down with him, and you're going to see their relationship kind of go in a different direction, and they're not going to be at odds so much anymore, but they're going to start really working together, and I think it's going to be a really interesting team dynamic that they have. They're very different, but very alike at the same time.
The Star Scoop:
What is something about you that people wouldn't be able to know just from watching you perform [or act]?
Brown:
I have a tendency, I think, to play characters who are - I hate to use the word harsh. I keep using the word strong. I know sometimes Raina can come across a bit aggressive and hard-nosed. That is so the opposite of who I am in real life [laughs]. I am a complete dork, like I don't have any problem saying it, I own up to it. Everyone on the show knows. They're like, you're so different from your character. I am such a goofball. I just enjoy laughing. I just seek out scenarios and people who are going to make me laugh, and who I can be completely nuts around, and they have no problem with it. I'm just not as, kind of, pulled together as she is. I'm a little bit to the left [laughs].
The Star Scoop:
Is there anything else about you that we should know?
Brown:
As far as things that I do outside of work, I love theater. I love just reading, performing it, whatever. I have a group that meets every Sunday, and we usually break down a specific play. It's kind of like a play reading group but we do more than just read the plays. This has been going on for some years, and now we're sort of toying with the idea of starting our own company. It's really good work that we're doing in this group, and we want to share it, you know? We're kind of toying around with that idea, and I'm really kind of pushing for that. It's one of my goals, to produce and direct theater, so that's kind of like, in the works, and hopefully sooner than later. Right now we're working on Hamlet. When I started off in this business, I just wanted to do Shakespeare, and I had no intention of doing television, definitely not musical theater, and I kind of got into that, too. My path kind of took some twists and turns that I hadn't really expected, and it's been great, don't get me wrong, [but]. I still love classical theater.