Exclusive Interview

with Brittany Mcvicker

Conducted by Jacqueline Rappa

Get to know breakout star Brittany Mcvicker in our exclusive Q&A on the blog! From her bold new role in the psychological thriller Kill Trip to her moving advocacy work honoring her late mother, Brittany shares how her journey, on and off screen, is just beginning.

Q: What drew you to this emotionally intense role in Kill Trip?

A: I could not put the script down. This was the first time I ever picked one up, and I literally did not know where it was going at any point. In the last five pages, I gasped. I was clutching my pearls, thinking, Oh my God, wait, what is this? This is what happened?

Q: You’ve said this role marks a turning point in your career. How has it changed your relationship with acting or even with yourself?

A: It was very technically creative. There’s a lot of talking into the camera, which was very different. Usually, you’re trained not to look at the camera—don’t do it. And it really pushed me as a creative and as an actor. I’ve done a lot of thrillers, but I’ve never done something quite this stylized. While a lot of it leans more art house, it’s still very fun, like I Know What You Did Last Summer. Everyone was so great, and it makes you want to level up a bit more.

Q: Do you feel like you're using a different side of yourself when you’re in thrillers?

A: Oh, definitely. It’s so therapeutic. I do a lot of dramas and thrillers, and many of them are coming out this year and next year, which I’m very excited about. But that kind of work definitely pulls out a part of you that you’ve really suppressed. So when you go home, you’re especially emotionally exhausted.

You can prep a lot for these things, but you really don’t know what you’re getting into until you’re there. With Kill Trip, all of us girls got along so well, and we discovered new things about our characters as we filmed. It was really interesting to explore that vulnerability and put it all on the line, because that’s not me in my day-to-day life. In real life, I just want to have a good time, and I love that acting can bring out that emotional side of me.

Q: How did you prepare for your period drama role in Dogwood alongside Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts?

A: I felt like I was going back to school. I did so much research on that time, around 1880, and it was really interesting. For women, one of the only jobs available was working at the saloon, and it was actually a major economic decision for them. They were thriving businesswomen, and they were also very involved in politics. I had no idea about any of this, and I think that’s one of the coolest things about this industry—whenever you study for a character, you get to learn so much.

Q: How did experiencing a loss at a young age shape your perspective and sense of purpose, and how does it show up in your life and work today?

A: Losing a parent that young really shaped me. It made me ask myself, What can I do with my life to give it meaning or purpose? This all can’t be for nothing. A therapist recommended I try acting again, since I’d done theater growing up, and it turned out to be incredibly therapeutic. Through acting, I was able to partner with the Vasculitis Foundation, which is the disease my mom had. It used to be considered really rare, but now more and more people are being diagnosed, and nobody really knows why or how it develops. There’s still so much misinformation around it. 

So it’s just really amazing to be able to use my platform to spread awareness. Because if vasculitis is caught early enough, people can have a much longer life.

Q: How does it feel to build a platform for awareness as a way of honoring your mom?

A: It’s the highest honor ever. She was the best woman ever, and everyone said that. To be able to figure out how to carry on her legacy makes me so emotional. It was a really heavy loss. I love hearing people's stories about everything that they’re going through.

Q: Is there anything you're leaving behind, whether it's in your personal or career journey? And are there parts of yourself that you’re reclaiming?

A: There’s always something like negativity. You kind of have to cleanse yourself of all that. I like to manifest and pray, and try to figure out where to be guided in the next step. Day to day, it might change—maybe it’s yoga, maybe it’s meditation, or journaling. 

I just did The Artist’s Way—that’s something I picked up and loved. From The Artist’s Way, I started doing ‘Morning Pages.’ Every morning, the first thing you do is fill three pages with whatever comes to mind. You don’t think, you just jot it down. I know sometimes with girls, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to write this down about what he did,’ and your friends are sick and tired of hearing about it. But the concept is, if you keep doing that every morning, you’re going to get tired of it, and all that negativity or concern is going to go away. So I highly recommend it.

Q: Looking back, is there a favorite role or project you’ve done up to this point?

A: I did a music film with the Goo Goo Dolls. It was about domestic violence, and it was a really interesting shoot—with stunts and everything—and I met so many incredible people through that. It’s hard to pick, but I think that might be one of my favorites.