Hannah Khalique-Brown
Known for her roles in The Undeclared War (2022), Muse (2021), and Doctors (2021), Hannah Khalique Brown is a rising star. Her acting captures and captivates us--from the audience to well-known names such as Peter Kosminsky. Her passion for acting dates from when she could walk, revealing to her parents that she wanted to be an ‘artist’ when she grew up. She felt her happiest performing, solidifying the fact that the route of acting was the best route she could have ever taken. With knowledge of both Drama and English we will stay tuned for more of her on the big screen.
Blazer by ESAÚ YORI
Trousers by ESAÚ YORI
Shoes by Ilio Smeraldo
Jewelry by Tabayer
What made you fall in love with acting, it, and why did you choose this career route?
I fell in love with acting way too young for it to be a decision or a choice for a career. It was actually just a pull from a very young age. I don’t really know why, but it’s been there for as long as I can remember. From about 9 or 10 years old, I knew it was what I had to do with my life. It never felt like a choice or a consideration, I just knew I had to do it. There was no other option!
What I love about it now, retrospectively thinking, is it’s the beautiful act of love in its epitome – loving characters, people who watch your work, people you work with and the stories you tell. I never really thought about it when I made that ‘choice’ as a child but acting as the act of love is what keeps the pull alive every day. That along with the fact you can never ever master it. It’s an elusive artform and whenever you think you’ve got a grasp on it, it kicks you on the bum and reminds you that you know nothing. I love that – being an eternal student. It never gets boring.
Was there a specific moment in this journey of yours that stood out the most. If yes, what was it and how did it impact you as an actress moving on?
I think there’s been a few moments in my journey. Some of the early formative moments where I realized that this is where I felt most alive, found most meaning and purpose, and cemented to me that this is what I had to do. These were early performance experiences that just told me this is it.
I guess one of the most validating moments is when I signed with my agent, Fiona, and started auditioning and working. That was really powerful in telling me that this isn’t just something you have inside of you, it is something I could actually do in the world. I always knew that I could but knowing that you could and it actually happening are two different things. It was kind of like the outside world validating what I knew inside of me for the first time. I don’t think it’s good to rely on external validation, but it was a big moment for me to have it just that once, to propel me to keep going forever, no matter what.
During your process of sending over 1000 emails to casting directors was there ever a moment where you wanted to give up? If yes, how did you talk yourself out of this mindset?
Honestly, no! I’ve never wanted to give up, which feels quite weird to say aloud! I think that’s something quite helpful to have, like a delusional faith in yourself. There’s never been enough of a reason to give up. The obsession with it is too strong. Relentless rejection, for instance, isn’t a big enough reason to give up for me. I have always known this is my purpose and I get so much fulfilment out of it, whether other people want to watch, or pay me for it or not, so I feel nothing could ever put me off as it brings me so much joy and meaning. I don’t need to be booking jobs to get that joy or achieve other ideas of “success” for me to get the fulfilment out of acting.
If you do think about giving up, I would recommend asking yourself why you feel rejected or why you’re losing faith in yourself and address those feelings rather than giving up. Address why you need someone else’s validation. It’s really lovely to have that of course, and like I said earlier one of my stand-out moments was finally getting some external validation of what I knew inside, but you have to be happy without that too and you have to be able to find fulfilment and joy in your work, even when no-ones watching or paying you for it.
What advice would you give for new/upcoming actors/actresses in regard to handling rejection or in general?
This follows on from what we were just saying. Rejection is utterly how you perceive it. It doesn’t have to be rejection. People talk about how this industry is filled with rejection and on the surface, it is. There are a lot of no’s, but there are ways not to see it as a rejection and not to be affected by it. You have to find meaning, purpose, and creative fulfilment out of the process of doing your work rather than from other people liking your work or saying ‘yes’ to your work. If you develop an ability to be happy and fulfill creatively from the process, rather than from the result, you can never actually be rejected. So, whether you get the job or not or whether someone likes you or not, isn’t relevant as you already have your own result – doing the work and being fulfilled by it. Another thing is to appreciate the time that people take out to listen or watch your work and share it, and that being enough for you. The privilege is the act of doing work that you’re proud of and sharing it, for me that’s enough.
Left:
Blazer by Sportmax
Shirt by Sportmax
Tie by Sportmax
Trousers by Sportmax
Shoes by PIERRE HARDY
Jewellery by Tabayer
Right:
Skirt by Tory Burch
Wrap shirt by Tory Burch
Belt by Roberto Cavalli
Shoes by Ilio Smeraldo
Jewelry by Tabayer
What is the best advice you have ever received that came from an unexpected source?That’s a great question! A lot of my life advice I’ve taken on has come from Derren Brown, who some people may think is an unexpected source. He’s a British illusionist and magician but he’s also, through his work, written about a whole host of fascinating philosophical and general life topics. From him, I learned a lot about Stoicism, which is an ancient philosophy, which resonates with me. I think the best advice I’ve received from his writing is learning the stoic belief that you can only control your own thoughts and your own actions and you have to let everything else go. But all of his books and podcasts are filled with wisdom. It’s been an unexpected but brilliant source of life advice and information, bit random but I recommend it.
Now let's talk a little bit about your role as Saara Parvin in The Undeclared War. Do you resonate with the character of Saara? Why did you choose to portray her, did something about her stand out to you?
It’s interesting because Saara and I are dissimilar in many different ways, yet I also really resonated with her in many ways. I think some of things that stood out to me was her brilliance, she’s incredibly intelligent. I would call her a genius or a prodigy. She also has this incredible ambition and drive, which resonated with me as I’m ambitious and expect a lot of myself. That’s what resonated with me the most. It was amazing to see such a brilliant young woman at the center of the story. I chose to portray her mostly because I just fell utterly head over heels in love with her. I found myself forming quite a strong and spiritual connection with her from early on and that’s kind of outside of reasoning. So, I chalk it down to being able to understand her and resonating with her on many things, despite us being different from each other
Left:
Trousers by Missoni
Jacket by Missoni
Top by Galvan London
Shoes by Sportmax
Jewelry by Tabayer
Right:
Blazer by ESAÚ YORI
Trousers by ESAÚ YORI
Shoes by Ilio Smeraldo
Jewelry by Tabayer
We read that to prepare for Saara Parvin you decided to teach yourself how to code. Would you be interested in pursuing this as a ‘side hustle’ or would you say that this is just a onetime thing/hobby? Do you have a newfound respect for the industry of computer science?
That’s a great question! I actually really loved coding but I realized that anyone could do it if they put in some time and effort. It’s really satisfying. I don’t think I’d want to convert it into a side hustle and I don’t think I have enough passion for it in order to dedicate the time needed to make a side career out of it. My time is going to be taken by trying to make myself the best actor I can possibly be – which takes up already most of my life.
I think there’s also pressure in our culture to try to make or build something that you can sell or make money from, but I think it’s nice, as you said, to just have a hobby. People underestimate the value of doing something because you love it and not making money out of it. I won’t be doing it as a side hustle but I’ll definitely carry on with it for fun, as I found it really fulfilling. I have a massive newfound respect for the computer science industry on a ridiculous scale, from learning everything I did about the industry and the cyber world.
How did you manage to balance auditions with university? Do you have any advice on time management?
I’m honestly not the best person to ask. I’m not great with time management. – I often prioritize acting over other things, which is something I’m working on. When it comes to my work, I just go for it, I can’t stop. I just love it. I work incredibly hard with acting and with prep and sometimes other things that I’m supposed to be doing like admin or actual real-life responsibilities I really let fall behind. Again, I’m working on it as you need balance in your life. When your job is your passion it’s hard to find that but it’s really important to have a life outside of work.
I didn’t balance auditions with university very well, I just skipped class and went to auditions and then made up for it by writing my essays at nighttime. So, I wouldn’t recommend doing that. It worked for me as I knew the direction I was heading, and I don’t know if I would have had as much luck as I did if I had been stricter with myself, but I probably shouldn’t say that.
A fun fact we found is your love for magic. Do you have any specific favorite tricks? Do you notice a parallel between magic and acting?
Oh, I love this question! So, as you now know, I love Derren Brown. I love that you noticed my love for magic. I hope he hears about this. I just love it. I have a childlike wonderment at the world, and magic is something that reflects the magic of the world of and human existence. I think there’s massive parallels between magic and acting, I’ve never actually thought about that before but that’s so interesting.
Acting is magic. My coach Laurence Mitchell often uses the phrase ‘falling under the spell’ of your character and their circumstances and it’s so true. You have to open yourself up to fall under the ‘spell’ of what you’re believing in and by doing that, other people do too, and that’s utter magic.
I also think magic can be a real escape for some people and bring them back to that childhood wonder at the world. It is similar to theatre too in that people often go to escape, same with TV and film. Similar to acting, magic is storytelling too. It takes you on a journey and then it subverts your expectations by the ending, and makes you question how you got there. I love this, I’ve never thought of this before so my brain is now excitingly forming a connection between my two favorite things.
I don’t have any favorite tricks but just I love being baffled and bewildered. I especially love how amazing human dexterity can be, what effortlessness discipline can create, and how knowing a fellow human has tricked you is even more magical than the idea of a supernatural force creating the illusion.
Of all the roles you have done, do you have a favorite or a character that you hold more dearly to heart?
I think Saara because it’s the biggest role I’ve played to date, and it’s the role I have done the most work on; the most challenging and most artistically fulfilling work. It’s probably one of the most profound forms of love I’ve experience with a character and we had a really deep connection. It was the most demanding work I’ve ever done and also the most rewarding. I’ll love Saara, forever.
Do you have a dream role/character that you would like to play as? Is there a dream project that you would like to feature in?
I honestly don’t have any specific roles or characters. I think mostly because I’m not a ‘writer’ in the traditional sense, so I love the idea of committing myself to someone else’s writing, vision, and story. Maybe someday I’ll write myself, but for now I like the idea of being presented with someone else’s creation and bringing what I can do to it. I’m more excited about people I can work with and there’s so many actors, filmmakers and directors that I want to work with. One thing I love about the industry is working with other people, and for me so much of the joy is through collaboration. In terms of specific roles, I would quite like to do some more Shakespeare and Chekov on stage but mostly working with other people is what really draws me. I’m open to anything but the most important thing to me is that I’m challenged. I don’t mind what role or character it is, as long as I’m challenged.
Social Media.
Instagram: @hannahkhaliquebrown
Twitter: @hannahkhbr
CREW CREDITS:
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz + @mikeruiz.one
Photographer: Ian Hippolyte
Talent: Hannah Khalique-Brown
Stylist: Olga Timofejeva at The Only Agency
Make-up: Maria Comparetto at The Only Agency
Hair: Diego Miranda
Fashion Stylist Assistant: Rohey Humphrey
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Associate Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Charlice Cuaresma, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
