Interview: Brooke Newton: Gravitating to Fame

By by R.J. Carter
The-Trades.com

When Brooke Newton wasn’t busy showing horses on her father’s Arabian horse farm, she was making a name for herself shooting a large number of commercials and films in the Florida area.

The Ocala native was all set to move to Los Angeles after high school graduation to put her acting and dancing skills to work, when a call from her aunt about a dance audition led to Brooke accepting a position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneer Cheerleaders. It was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

Two years later, with her cheerleading days behind her, Brooke finally made the move to Los Angeles. The ever-persistent achiever, Brooke has been working consistently ever since.

Your Hollywood resume begins as many do, with parts like “sorority girl,” “teen” and “leggy blonde,” as well as the requisite shoestring-budget horror film. Were you prepared for that when you made the move to Los Angeles to pursue acting?

Yes, I was. I actually started acting on the east coast, in Florida, so when I came out here I kind of knew what I had in store for me, and what I actually had to do. So I feel like I skipped the newcomers out here — I knew the “next step” of how to go about it. A lot of people come out here and just figure out what they have to do and learn as they go.

Your love of film and dance springs from experiences shared with yoru parents. Tell us about the impact they had on your choices.

My father and my mother have always been supportive of me, in whatever I’d want to do. They actually got me into the industry. My stepdad would drive me around to all my auditions in North Carolina and Louisiana, because I lived in Florida. And my dad’s always been an overachiever — he’s always had crazy goals and would go for them, and lived life from day to day to the fullest, so he always taught me to go for whatever I want and believe in myself.

You were inspired to pursue acting by watching films with your dad, particularly science fiction and fantasy classics like “Star Wars” and “Labyrinth” — which aren’t necessarily types of films one would associate with pretty cheerleaders. Are you a particular fan of these genres?

Yeah, you know my main goal in acting is… I like it when I go watch a movie and I can just forget about everything, and it just takes you into another world. “Star Wars” is amazing! I love sci-fi, I’ve been into science my whole entire life. Everything interests me — the universe, scientific theories — and I guess those types of films, they make your mind go creative over what the possibilities could be out there.

You also do quite a bit with the martial arts; you’re a red belt in Tae Kwon Do, you’ve spent two years studying Capawaya, and more recently Krav Maga. What started you down the self-defense path?

I started Tae Kwon Do when I was really little. My whole family got involved, we all started taking classes, and I stuck with it. I love it. It’s goes hand-in-hand with dance, so I would always dance and do martial arts. They’re kind of similar; a dancer could be a good martial artist with all the flexibility and the kicks you have to do. Martial arts is a form that I really enjoy, and it gives you confidence.

Do you find that this training makes you more marketable as an actress? A sort of, “Hey, I can do my own stunts if needed,” kind of thing?

Yeah, I hope so! I hope that one day I can do an action film or something like that.

Maybe a big science fiction action film?

Sounds great to me!

A nice addition to your resume comes this week when you’ll be co-starring on the hit series, CSI (Thursday, April 23, 9ET on CBS). Tell us a little bit about your character.

I play the girlfriend of Henry Thomas — who played Elliot in “E.T.” — and it was great to work with him. We have a hard life, and our characters are very desperate from a certain situation — I don’t want to reveal the plot. We end up robbing some houses to try to make enough money to get away and start our own life together. It’s not one of the nicest roles I’ve ever played.

What other projects are on your horizon?

I’m up for three films right now. They’re trying to find financing, and I think they’ll start in a couple of months from now. One is a sci-fi action film, so I really hope that goes thorugh. The other one is kind of a teeny bopper film about a couple of kids who go on a ski trip, and it’s kind of a slasher film — it’s actually based on a true story. And then today I’m auditioning for the next Miley Cyrus film for Disney.

You’ll also be seen on FOX’s new comedy, Glee. It’s a musical show, so did you get an opportunity to dance or sing in that one?

No I didn’t. It is a possible recurring role, though, so I hope to get a chance to come back and show my dance abilities.

That was a great project to work with. Both with CSI and Glee, the directors were amazing, and the actors were great to work with. The interesting thing about Glee is all the actors are new, they’re from New York with a theater background, so it’s kind of a new experience for them — there’s no cattiness on the set, and everyone is really nice and working to make a good project.

You’re a classically trained ballroom dancer. Would you ever consider competing on Dancing with the Stars if approached?

Oh, I would love to! I would do it in a heartbeat! To get to dance again like that would be amazing.