Actress Jennifer Brooke experienced bullying whilst at school. Here she talks about how acting helped her though it.
DtL: Hi Jennifer, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into acting?
Jennifer: I always enjoyed acting at school, but I never really pursued it. When things got tough at school, I found a home and hideout in acting. I put all my energy into doing school plays, rehearsals etc and found it to be a place where I could express myself freely without being judged. It was only when I got to the end of school that I considered it as a career. It was always a passion of mine but I didn’t have much self-belief that I could ‘make it’ as an actor. My drama teacher was supportive but didn’t sugar-coat things; he said to me ‘If you can see yourself doing something else, then it’s not for you’. And it turns out I couldn’t, so I went for it, and haven’t looked back since.
DtL: If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
Jennifer: I promise, you’ll have the last laugh.
“When things got a bit tough at school, I found a home and hideout in acting”
DtL: Have you ever experienced bullying? If so can you tell us what happened and how you overcame the experience?
Jennifer: I experienced bullying in a relationship when I was about 13/14 and also a bit later down the line when I was in Sixth Form. Fortunately none of it was ever physical, it was more exclusion and name calling.
Cyber-bullying played a big part in the bullying that me and five other girls received in our Sixth Form college. It worries me how prominent social media is in young people’s lives today and how easy it is for cyber-bullying to take place. It means the people that bully can easily detach themselves from the emotions of the people they target, because they can hide behind a screen. They are not seeing the harmful effect their words are having and that is very dangerous and, dehumanising in some ways.
I think that often people can confuse their lack of understanding of someone, or simply not getting on with someone, as hatred. People are so quick to hate, and hate is a strong word. When you are growing up, it is inevitable that some characters in your life will be more overbearing than others and when young people are going through changes and want less attention drawn to themselves, it is easy to hide behind those stronger characters and not stick up for people that are being bullied. I think that happened a lot in my case; people didn’t want to go against the ‘popular’ group and it all kind of spiralled out of control.
I would be lying if I said that the bullying didn’t affect me from time to time. It definitely impacted my confidence, self-belief and occasionally I still feel awkward in social situations – questioning whether people like me or not etc. But in general it’s made me a stronger person; I know who I am and I like who I am. For every negative thought that occasionally crops up in my head, I have a million positive comebacks. I won’t let it define who I am and I won’t let them win.
“Often people can confuse their lack of understanding of someone, or simply not getting on with someone, as hatred”
DtL: What advice would you give to others who may be experiencing bullying?
Jennifer: As hard as it is, speak up as soon as you can – I know it’s a daunting prospect but there are people that can help you. Just look at Ditch the Label for example! Remember that people that bully are insecure and projecting their feelings onto you – you almost have to feel sorry for them! Keep your head up high, stay true to who you are and surround yourself with good, positive people.
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DtL: What are your most prominent challenges and how do you overcome them?
Jennifer: My chosen profession is a constant waiting game and it comes with a lot of rejection. I think it’s important not to dwell too much on things that are out of your hands, but to focus on what you do have control of. So with that in mind, I try to just enjoy my life, work hard, see my friends, surround myself with good and positive vibes. When I’m not working I can get in a bit of a funk, because I just want to act! To avoid being down, I focus on exercise to get those good endorphins!
“For every negative thought that occasionally crops up in my head, I have a million positive comebacks”
DtL: What has been your proudest moment so far?
Jennifer: I think my proudest moment, was when I was at drama school, in my final year and we did this showcase on a West End stage. To be honest we could of been anywhere, but I was standing with 26 people that had become my family and my best friends, and I just remember this warm feeling in my heart and thinking to myself ‘I’ve got the best people in my life’. Happiness is my currency and in that moment I felt so rich. I know that whatever happens in my life, good or bad, I’ll always have those people.
DtL: What are the best and worst things about working in the entertainment industry?
Jennifer: The best thing is getting to tell other people’s stories, meet new creative people daily, and literally do what I love as a job. I feel so grateful to work in this industry. I wouldn’t say they are the ‘worst things’ as such, but the industry can be superficial at times and lack diversity…but that’s a whole other topic…
“Happiness is my currency”
DtL: What does the future hold for you?
Jennifer: I’ve just finished shooting a new film that will be released in 2017 about Lenny Mclean (the bare knuckle fighter) called ‘My name is Lenny’. I have always wanted to tell real people’s stories and it was amazing getting to work with his family on this film. It has such a stellar cast, brilliant writing and is a dream job for so early on in my career.
I have also just finished filming an episode in a new series for BBC 2 called ‘White Gold’ which is out in 2017 and is written and directed by Damon Beesley (The Inbetweeners). It was just a joy to do – such a hilarious script!
As for the future… you never know with this industry, it’s the name of the game really! I just hope to keep working haha! Hopefully I can get back on stage sometime in the future and keep working on great scripts with interesting characters! Who knows…?!
