You might recognize Brianne Tju from her roles in MTV’s Scream, Disney Channel’s Liv and Maddie and The CW Seed’s Life After First Failure. But her latest role in Light as a Feather, Hulu's new horror/thriller, is the most exciting one to date. Centered around a sleepover game gone horribly wrong, the show is absolutely terrifying. But it’s going to be almost impossible to tear yourself away (unless you’re someone who scares easily).
Brianna sat down with Her Campus to talk about the scariest moments on set of Light as a Feather, her sister Haley Tju, her relationship with the cast (she even shared how they’re all going to be spending the night of the premiere) and more.
Her Campus: Your new show on Hulu, Light as a Feather, is about a popular sleepover game gone wrong. What was it liking filming something so creepy? What drew you to the project?
Brianne Tju: What drew me was my character Alex. She has a really interesting storyline. She’s a very complex character, but in a really realistic way that I think people can relate to. She is the fun party-girl, or that’s how people perceive her, and she feels a pressure to keep that up. She turns to substances that she shouldn’t because she feels like she needs that to get her through and impress her parents and her friends. She has a lot of secrets, and that gets in the way of her life. We get to see all of that unravel and how it affects her as a young teenage girl. Also, the cast is just so amazing and the whole premise of the show is so interesting. And I’m a big fan of horror, so it worked out well.
HC: Where there any moments on set that stand out to you as having been especially scary to film?
BJ: A big symbol for the show is a black butterfly, which is evident throughout the series. We were filming in a mausoleum, and we couldn’t use actual black butterflies because they weren’t in season so they were going to [add them in] with CGI. But we looked up and there was one black butterfly on the ceiling while we were filming and it was so creepy. Apparently, it’s symbolic of mourning—and I guess that makes sense because we were in a mausoleum—but it was really creepy at the time.
There’s something seriously wrong with this game. #LightAsAFeather premieres October 12. pic.twitter.com/WMZGQjz9oQ
— hulu (@hulu) October 3, 2018
HC: Do you believe in ghosts or have you ever had any supernatural experiences?
BJ: I do. I’m very superstitious. I haven’t had anything happen to me but my mom said that in my childhood home weird things used to happen, and she always believed that there was a ghost or a spirit there. But it was friendly so she never saged the house or anything, she kind of just let it be, and it just left.
HC: That’s still so terrifying.
BJ: It’s so terrifying! I’m glad I didn’t know it when I was a kid, but now that it’s gone and nothing weird seems to happen anymore it’s super scary to think about.
HC: Your co-stars have talked about how great it was to be able to work on a show with such an amazing cast. Can you talk a little bit about the relationships you guys formed on set?
BJ: I’m so grateful that this was the cast that we had. They’re amazing, we all got so close and we hang out outside of shooting all the time.
I think what was so great was that on set, sometimes the conditions, like with the weather or the hours, felt like a lot of pressure and it could sometimes be stressful. But because we were surrounded by such a good cast, crew, production, etc., everyone made it such a great experience. I had a lot of scenes with Liana and Haley, and they really made me feel safe and comfortable. I feel like I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I don’t know what casting did but they really nailed it for us.
HC: So what are your plans for premiere day? Are you going to stay in and watch all the episodes?
BJ: The cast is planning a little screening party, probably at Liana’s. I’m hoping that we all dress up in Halloween costumes, or dress up as each other’s characters. It’s October, you know, and I’m a huge Halloween fan. But we’re probably just going to have pizza and hang out, which I love. I think it’s going to be so fun
HC: How did you get into acting? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do, or did you kind of just fall into it?
BJ: I definitely fell into it. I don’t think that it’s something me or my parents ever expected I would do. I always had a big personality growing up, but we never thought about putting me into acting. I was approached when I was young, around 7 years old, by an agent in a mall. And I know, it sounds like a scam, right? But it wasn’t, and so I started out with commercials and eventually I realized that it was something I wanted to do, and my parents were very supportive of it.
HC: What was it like to grow up in the industry? Was it hard to have a “normal” life?
BJ: It’s hard to say. Because I started so young, I don’t really have anything to compare it to. My life is my life and I’m very happy and grateful for everything that I have and all the opportunities I’ve been given. So it’s hard to say that I didn’t have a “normal life” because this is my life. But I didn’t go to high school. I was partially homeschooled and I had a couple classes on campus so, honestly, I do feel like I had a normal life.
HC: That’s great that you were able to have a sense of normalcy in such a crazy industry.
BJ: Absolutely. And my family is very grounding. They don’t let me get away with anything.
HC: Your sister, Haley, is also an actress. Do you two ever feel like you’re in competition with each other?
BJ: I have to say, we don’t. We’re very supportive of each other. She’s my youngest sister—she’s 17 and I’m 22—so there’s an age gap, but it feels like she’s my age or even older than me. We have this mutual respect for each other with auditions, even when we’re auditioning for the same thing. People want to believe that because we’re sisters and we do the same thing that we’re competitive. But I think at the end of the day we want what’s best for each other, so we would never get in each other’s way.
HC: Do you see yourself ever doing something other than acting?
BJ: Beyond acting, I would love to write and produce. Everything I want to do would be in this industry. I can’t imagine myself not being in it. I don’t know if that’s because I started so young, but at the end of the day I love it. It’s what I know and I feel like it’s what I’m good at, so I don’t think I would ever stray too far away from it.
HC: And there’s just so many different avenues you can go down in the industry.
BJ: Absolutely! You never really get bored. Every project you do is [with] a different group of people, it’s a different character and it’s just so exciting every time.
HC: What advice do you have for someone that’s looking to get started in such a notoriously tough industry?
BJ: I would definitely say that you need to be resilient. You have to be so passionate and you have to really love it because it can be so difficult to hear people say 'no' to you so often. If you don’t have the drive for it, you’re going to quit. So if you really want to do it, I think you have to check in with yourself and make sure that you’re ready for all of the road bumps ahead, and make sure it’s really something you love.
