Sophina Brown – Shark

Q) What are the current project that you are working on?

A) Right now, my plate is full with the television series “Shark.” There are pretty long hours and I work almost every day. I don’t have many days off, but I do have weekends off.

Q) Please tell us the premise for the show “Shark” and about your character Raina Troy.

A) The premise of the show is that James Woods’ character (Sebastian Stark) has spent years being a defensive attorney for all of these high profile cases. Whether or not they are innocent is not the point for him. He is just sort of a shady, unethical defense attorney. When the show kicked off, you see him representing someone and getting him off. The guy then turns around and commits a murder. That kind of shocks James’ character so he has to take a break. What happens is that through a strong suggestion from the Mayor, he turns around and becomes a prosecutor for the D.A.’s office for all of the high profile client cases that they get. The D.A. (played by Jeri Ryan) ends up putting him with a team of deputy D.A.’s, that are sort of like her misfits (or so she thinks). That’s where I come in. I play one of the deputy D.A.’s and it turns around that we’re actually more like a dream team than a band of misfits.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) Initially, it was the script. It was the best pilot script that I had read, not only this season, but in entirety. It was just absolutely riveting. My character is very passionate and the heart and soul of the prosecuting team. She’s so strong! She just kind of jumped right at me. I just knew this was who I was supposed to play, like it was written for me. It just seemed like such a perfect fit. It was, basically, the work that made me want to do this project.

Q) What is it like working with James Woods and Jeri Ryan?

A) I can, definitely, say that it is the most fun I’ve ever had on a job. James is extremely professional and he’s brilliant at what he does. He’s a brilliant actor. I would say that, probably, my favorite part of the day is when the director yells, “Cut!” He just has so many vivid and hilarious stories, that I am laughing all day long. Jeri can cut it up, too, with the best of them. They are both, actually, very hysterical people. It just brings levity to the set because the subject matter is so serious. Because so many people in the cast are so funny, we have this element of humor for our show that other shows lack. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Q) Does the cast have chemistry off set as much as they do on screen?

A) Yes, actually, we do a lot of things with one another in our free time. Last week, the four deputy D.A.’s went out to eat when we got done shooting. We went and grabbed some dinner because we enjoy each other as much in our free time as we do when we are at work.

Q) What is your most memorable moment from filming the show?

A) There are definitely memorable moments. When we were doing a press conference, there was a reporter that asked James, “Who can we expect your character have a steamy love scene with first? Do you think it will be Jeri Ryan’s character or Sarah Carter’s character?” James Woods answered the question, but I had to say, “Hey! What about me?” The reporter had just completely removed me from the equation and I am not sure why. Everyone just started cracking up there. I will never live that frankness that I had with that reporter down.

Q) The show is getting a positive buzz. How does this make you feel?

A) It’s great! It’s really great! I have nothing, but high expectations for this show. I think we’re actually going to surprise people. The people who are watching it now and are liking it, I am so grateful for them. The show has a drama format to it, but it is also character driven. I think because we have the best of both worlds, that early on, we’re going to surprise a lot of people. I think that people might get the feeling that we’re predictable, but we’re anything but predictable. I have high hopes and I think the numbers will grow.

Q) What is challenging about your role?

A) I think that part of the challenge of playing Raina is to bring out a real three-dimensional character that is passionate and when backed into the corner is a fighter. She is not compromising and definitely believes in the justice system. She’ll go head to head with James’ character, “the shark” in a heart beat, but I don’t ever want to make her abrasive or too aggressive to the point where people wonder, “Why is she so upset all the time?” I always want it to be rooted in something real and not just have her be the “mad woman.”

Q) Why should viewers take the time to tune in to the show?

A) I think that our show, like I said, is that it has this morality to it and integrity to it. It also has a great sense of humor. I think that James’ character is unpredictable because you just never know what is going to come out of his mouth. I think that character is so captivating, as are all of our characters, but he in particular. You just never quite know what Shark is going to do and what he is going to be up to that week.

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) I spend a lot of time with friends. I am not a partier or a club goer. I like to see as much theater around the area as possible because I still want to check out plays and things of that nature. I like to see California through day trips to Santa Barbara or Laguna Beach to hang out, have nice dinners and socialize with my friends.

Q) What is your latest obsession? A movie? A sport? An activity?

A) I have always been a huge fan of Prince. Anything he does, I am obsessed with. Also, as far as TV goes, I am going to just go ahead and say it…My guilty pleasure is watching “Flavor of Love.” I am not proud of it, but I cannot deny that it brings me shear joy. That’s so bad to say, but I just think that show is hilarious. It’s so wrong, it’s so very wrong, but so very right at the same time.