Brianne Howey interview
How would you describe Scarlet? She seems quite friendly really, although with a little bit of bitchiness under the surface?
Yeah, I think Tommy ... well, Scarlet is very 'Type A'. Very ambitious, very put-together, very career focused. She takes her work very seriously. So when someone comes in who she feels doesn't take the work quite as seriously, like Tommy because he's a hand model, it frustrates her and they have a bit of friction. They're just very different personalities, so living together too, I think brings that annoyance out of her. There's a lot of tension between the two of us.
Do you think she likes Tommy a bit more than she lets on?
Probably, yes. Because he really does mean so well; but at the same time he reads her diary, and he's humping a picture of her, and soiling her bath sponge... and constantly embarrassing her in front of her friends, so she is still frustrated by him. He was probably her number one candidate of someone to never have to live with!
What's Scarlet's relationship like with Anna and Enrique?
That's much easier for the three of them, because they all have modelling in common. And I think Scarlet doesn't take Tommy seriously because he's only a hand model. She thinks she's worked really hard to get to this, in this spot, and now she's like "well you're in the same spot and you're a hand model, not a real model". So, in her mind at least, she definitely gets on better with the other two.
I also think she thinks of Enrique like her own sweet little boy that she has to explain things to. And Anna ... ha ha, I don't know, they're funny, their relationship. There's an episode where they have to come together and they do become far friendlier, better friends, in that episode. Anna steals a handbag and Scarlet's trying to be the moral compass, telling her it's not right. Scarlet's very pragmatic.
Tommy's really the odd one out of the four housemates, isn't he? Have you had any experiences of difficult or odd-one-out housemates yourself?
I lived with my best girl-friends for all of college. We lived in New York, and I was definitely - this is probably very Scarlet of me - I was the one who always took care of paying the cable, paying the rent, making sure everything was done on time. Making sure the girls all wrote their cheques on time and that everything was done correctly. Because if I didn't bring it up then nobody would, so I sort of owned that burden, which is very characteristic of Scarlet.
In New York too, it's all small living spaces, so you always get on each other's nerves a little bit - but no, nothing quite like Tommy, nothing of that calibre!
Tommy is a really good way in to ... probably the dreams of most straight men!
Ha ha, yeah, I should think so! You should have seen him when we shot the promo trailer. It's Tommy's fantasy, and for the first time in his life Scarlet and Anna are really nice to him. Really sweet and loving and adore him. So we're walking up to him, just adoring and sexy and we're like, craving him - and behind us there's 30 beautiful, sexy models also coming down this runway. And we're all chanting his name over and over, like "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!" - and he was in heaven. I've never seen David like that before!
But I think people will respond to the show. I think it's really relatable, especially David. I think he's the perfect 'everyman', which helps.
What've your cast mates been like to work with? Tommy's obviously got what the others see as terrible habits and hygiene - what about them in real life?
Ha ha. Yes, well, David does not fart, or burp, or masturbate around us. So in that sense we don't actually have to deal with many of his Tommy characteristics! We don't have to talk about masturbating too much... None of his crusty tissues! But otherwise we are all pretty much our characters I think! Our car rides could sound like the script, just the four of us talking.
You're pretty close to Scarlet then? Quite similar, but without the excess...?
Yeah, I'm probably pretty close! I think I take work really seriously, I just want to do well. I'm definitely a Type A, I'm a worrier. Scarlet and I have that in common - although she's an extreme, a much more extreme version. Because it's a sitcom!
Have you appeared in any sitcoms in the past?
Not really, this is my first big regular starring role. I've guest starred in a couple, but not like this - this is exciting!
You've worked on a few other comedies, notably appearing in Horrible Bosses 2, but how has this experience compared?
What's cool about this is having the audience. That changes everything, makes it a whole other animal. It adds a whole other element to how the night goes. The audience is a whole other character in a way, because you're listening to them just as much as you're listening to your fellow castmates. You have to see what they're responding to, what they're not responding to, if we can plough through or need to hold for a little bit...
You sound like you've really enjoyed that experience then? Presumably you'd like to do more?
Yeah! Yeah, it's fun. Definitely. David and I were talking about it the other day because we have so many pre-recorded scenes we were getting a bit bummed, because we'd rather do it live. It's just fun.
And you'd love to come back for a second series...?
Yes! Absolutely. We're hoping!
How's your experience been, working in the UK?
This - well, the pilot (July 2014) - was my first time here, shooting and working. Which is really cool. It feels like you're away at an adult camp! You're far away from home with your friends, and we all came here to make something together. It becomes very sentimental.
We were actually discussing that, potentially, if we got to continue and do more episodes, they'd actually shoot in Miami or LA. But actually I'd rather just stay here! I'm okay with that. I love London.