Sam Brilhart
He played in Jenny Januszewski‘s The Boogeyman Dollar Baby film as Lester Billings.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a little bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Sam Brilhart: I’m a comedian and an actor who’s been performing since I was a teenager. I’ve been lucky enough to improvise in Chicago, be a standup comedian in Los Angeles, and even act in Moscow.
SKSM: When did you know you wanted to become an actor?
Sam Brilhart: In high school, I was being recruited to play college football. I learned that I could major in the theatre on a football recruitment trip to Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. I thought it was exciting, and when I went back to school, a friend of mine asked me where I was going to go to college. I told them Wayne State, and they said, “what the heck are you gonna do there?” I told them I was gonna be an actor.
SKSM: How did you become involved in The Boogeyman Dollar Baby film?
Sam Brilhart: Jenny, the director, had taken my headshots years ago when I first moved to the city, then I had a small role in her award-winning 3D film, then we did The Boogeyman.
SKSM: What do you think it is about the story that attracts people so much?
Sam Brilhart: There’s something very universal about it that I feel resonates with people.
SKSM: Did you have to audition for the part or was it written directly for you?
Sam Brilhart: I didn’t have to audition, nor do I think it was directly written for me. I probably got lucky, and I was the only guy in town, and it was adjusted for me.
SKSM: You worked with Jenny Januszewsky on this film, how was that?
Sam Brilhart: It was an honor.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when they made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Sam Brilhart: We shot most of the exteriors in Michigan. I had a flight layover in Chicago when traveling from California to Michigan. I missed my connecting flight and had to take a train the rest of the way. Jenny’s sister picked me up from the train station. I didn’t have my bag, it was on the flight I missed, and nobody had time to get it because we were shooting the following morning. I’ll never forget this. Jenny gets on the phone with the airline and tells them I’m a groom at a wedding. She’s my soon-to-be wife. She can’t have me gone for five hours during all the chaos leading up to the wedding. Could they please deliver my bag even though it’s five miles outside their delivery zone? My bag showed up 90 minutes later.
SKSM: Do you still have any contact with the crew/cast from that time? If so with who?
Sam Brilhart: I still talk to Jenny.
SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?
Sam Brilhart: Stand up comedy.
SKSM: Are you a fan of Stephen King’s work?
Sam Brilhart: I’m not a fan of his writing. Scary things scare me, but I am a fan of his as a human.
SKSM: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Sam Brilhart: I’m not very surprising. What you see is what you get. Although I did perform as a giant chicken doing standup comedy on season 15 of America’s Got Talent. Youtube it!
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?
Sam Brilhart: Thank you.
