Lily Brooks O’Briant, Sharing The Floor

Lily Brooks O’Briant is best known for her title role of Ella McCaffrey in the Apple TV+ series Life By Ella which premiered internationally in September 2022. 

Lily began her career as Matilda in the national tour of the Broadway production of Matilda The Musical and continues to hone her Broadway skills recently recording the musical The Perfect Fit opposite Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti and participating in a Broadway staged reading of Sinatra alongside Katherine McPhee. 

Currently, she has a recurring role on the long-running daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She is set to release new music soon with the first single, “Over & Over” will be released March 2023. 

We were lucky enough to get a moment with the young stalwart to see whats ahead for her in her own words! 

Tell us about your history as a performer. How did you get started?

My mom took me to a play when I was 4 years old and after watching it, I told her I wanted to be in a play.  She said sure, and I started theatre when I was 5 years old at our community theatre.  

When I was about 7 ½, I BEGGED for 8 months to do TV/Film.  My mom came up with every excuse imaginable to say no but then she took me to do background work in Atlanta when I turned 8 thinking I would hate it.  I didn’t hate it.  I loved it, and a director from a network show told my mom I needed an agent and shouldn’t be doing background work.  

I signed with an agent and booked a lead role in the movie ‘Shark Lake’ 3 months later.  I was cast as Matilda on the Broadway tour when I turned 9.  After that we lived in NYC and I did over 25 short films and small TV roles.  

I was cast as a series regular on Netflix’s “The Big Show Show” a week after I turned 13 and moved to LA with my mom and siblings.  I absolutely love performing and telling stories, wh

Who were your biggest artistic influences growing up? 

Musically, Taylor Swift.  From an acting perspective, Lauren Graham, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone, Zendaya and so many others.  

You made your Broadway debut as the titular character in Matilda The Musical. What was the audition process like for such an iconic role?

 I auditioned for the role of Matilda for almost a year to the day.  Casting saw me on 13 different days over that year.  

The last 3 days of auditions my mom & I jokingly called ‘Matilda boot camp’.  It was like being on the show Survivor.  Day one was the top 17.  Everyone got a call that night if they were invited for the next day or out.  

Day 2 there were 7 girls and then on day 3 there were 5 girls left.  We found out that last night that I was one of the 3 girls chosen to play the role of Matilda.  It was a lot for little 9-year-old Lily Brooks.  

How does performing on the stage differ from performing on screen?

I started doing theatre and improv when I was 5 years old.  With theatre you rehearse so much, but it is live and you have to be completely ready to adjust if something doesn’t go as planned.  

I learned how to improvise a lot when something crazy happened on Matilda, but you also have to be incredibly prepared and absolutely immersed in what you are doing because you only get one shot.  With film, you can get more takes but there are a lot of really well-known directors who will do two takes and move on.  

My first series regular role was a multi camera sitcom for Netflix called “The Big Show Show”.  I think that it was a really good first series regular role for me because it was TV which I loved but the live audience is something I was used to and loved.  Also – fun fact for sitcoms. 

 During live audience tapings the writers will often change a line if a joke doesn’t hit the way they want.  They have scripts with alternate lines that the actors have never seen before that they will give us to memorize on the spot.  I loved doing single camera drama on “Life By Ella” too.  

It was completely different, and I loved being able to show a deeper range of emotions.  Right now, I am on CBS’s “The Young & the Restless” and my mom and I joke that it is like theatre – but without rehearsal.  On the show, we will block a scene & we may run lines once but then we go to tape and usually get things filmed in one take.  Soap operas film at least an episode per day so most every scene is filmed in only one or two takes.  

You have an impressive list of TV credits to your name, including a recurring role on The Young and the Restless. Does playing the same character over a long period of time change your approach at all? 

I have only played Lucy Romalotti since January, but I have loved seeing how her character has developed since she first came back to reunite with her father.  

I have tried to bring the writer’s vision of Lucy to life and bring the pain and sadness that comes along with a teen having a parent completely walk away.  The last time the Y&R viewers saw Lucy, she was only 2 years old, so I have loved being able to put my take on what the writers see for Lucy.  

Do you have any routines or exercises to help yourself get into character?

I break down every scene and really look at not just what my character is thinking and feeling but I also like to focus on what the other characters are thinking and feeling.  I try to put myself completely in each scene and believe that immersing myself brings more authenticity to the story.  I believe that an actor’s reactions are just as and maybe even more important than their lines much of the time. 

You’re perhaps best known for your starring role in the Apple+ series Life By Ella. What sets Ella apart from all of the characters you’ve played before? 

Ella had battled cancer and had beaten it.  That trauma and battle changed her.  She looked at life as a pure gift not to be wasted.  She didn’t have time to focus on things that she didn’t see as unimportant and was very focused on making each moment count because you don’t know how many moments you will have.  

I see a lot of determination in Ella, but Mandy Wight from “The Big Show Show” and Matilda in “Matilda the Musical” were also very determined.  My current role, Lucy, doesn’t quite have that determination yet, but I think she could grow into having that same level of determination to fight a bully like Matilda, seize the day like Ella or be a leader like Mandy.  

Do you feel that you have to relate to a character in some way to play them?

I think life experiences always help bring authenticity to a character and for better and worse I have experienced some of the things that some of my characters have experienced – Loss, pain, betrayal, sadness, success, joy, and happiness. 

On “Life by Ella”, I wanted to make sure I represented as accurately as possible what it is often like for teen cancer survivors.  I haven’t battled cancer, but I have watched several friends fight cancer and they were kind enough to talk with me to help me understand how it felt during cancer treatment and also after.  

You recently put out your first single, “Over & Over.” Is a music career something you always intended to pursue? 

I have been singing since before I can remember, I got my first guitar when I was 4 years old, but I just started recording my own original songs this past October.  I wouldn’t say I intended to pursue a career in music – I think songwriting sort of found me.  

I experienced my first breakup/heartbreak last fall and found that songwriting helped me process my emotions.  I absolutely love telling stories whether it is through acting, writing, directing or through songwriting.  

How does making music differ from acting in terms of what it allows you to express? 

I think there are emotions and authenticity that you can put into songwriting and music that speak to the listener a little differently than watching an actor in a scene.  The listener is just focused on hearing and imagining how they relate to the song.  I think music can mean different things to different people, probably more than a viewer watching a TV show or film.  

Who are the singers that have inspired you the most? 

Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Lizzie McAlpine, Joshua Bassett, Gracie Abrams and so many more.  I also grew up a musical theatre kid and played Matilda on the National Broadway tour of “Matilda the Musical” so even musicals like “Hamilton”, “Matilda”, and “Six” have influenced me.  

Tell us about the organization you created: Team Young Hollywood. 

I grew up in Memphis TN and have been a supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since I was 5 years old when I was in a St. Jude Trike-a-thon.  I ran in the kids St. Jude Marathon when I was 6 and have continued to be a passionate supporter of St. Jude since.  

I had a few family friends who were treated at St. Jude for Childhood/Teen cancer and am honored to serve as a youth ambassador for St. Jude Children’s research hospital. Once I became an actress and my platform began to grow, I immediately knew that I wanted to do something meaningful with that platform.

I created Team Young Hollywood where Teens from the Acting and Broadway community came together to raise awareness and fundraise for St. Jude! Over the past 3 years, we have raised over $50,000 for St. Jude. 

I am also performing this May at a celebrity golf tournament that was founded by the actor who played my father in “Life By Ella”, Kevin Rahm.  Last year the tournament raised 1.4 million dollars. 

What has been your greatest professional achievement?

 I am extremely lucky that I have been able to act and sing professionally since I was 8 years old.  Playing the role of Matilda was a huge achievement for me.  I had worked so hard to earn the role.  Landing my first series regular role in “The Big Show Show” and also my first title role in “Life by Ella” were also huge accomplishments for me.  

What about a professional setback? What did you learn from it? 

Recently, I have lost several roles I really really wanted to play because even though I am legal 18 (I passed the CA high school proficiency test when I was 15), the roles have gone to 18-year-old actors.  It has been heartbreaking.  When I landed my first series regular role on “The Big Show Show” my mom and I went back to see how many times I had been told no.  We went through all of my audition emails and found that I had been told no over 400 times.  Rejection is a huge part of this business, and it can be really tough, but if you love acting, you have to keep trying.  

What advice do you have for aspiring performers? 

Don’t give up.  If acting is something you absolutely love – keep trying; keep learning; and keep telling stories that are important to tell.