Lily Brooks O’Briant Interview by Alyssa Winn Photographer: Nash Rockett, @nashrockett
Lily Brooks O’Briant started out her career in theatre. After working in musicals such as Matilda, she has taken her theatre skills to television. Now she can be seen playing Mandy in “The Big Show Show” on Netflix alongside WWE wrestler The Big Show and TV veteran Allison Munn.
“The Big Show Show” recently dropped on Netflix amidst the world quarantining for COVID-19. Tell us about the moment your binge-worthy show went live! We were SO excited and I think I hosted three different Netflix watch parties that day. We had planned to be in Tampa for WWE’s Wrestlemania to meet fans and do press interviews, but all of that changed. I was pretty disappointed at first, but I think that with everyone in quarantine, “The Big Show Show” gave families something to laugh about together. The only thing I wish I could change was not getting to enjoy the moment with my “Big Show Show” family. We really do love each other like family and I miss them! We are all looking forward to getting back together, hopefully soon. To celebrate the show launching, I sent the cast cookies decorated with “The Big Show Show” logo and even one ‘Big Show’ cookie from The Painted Cookie in Southaven, Mississippi, near where I grew up in Memphis. I wish we could have been together in person, but we all text, Facetime, and have had zoom calls to stay in touch during quarantine. You play Mandy on the show who is Type A and an overachiever. What do you and Mandy have in common and how do you differ? My character, Mandy, is the middle child in the Wight family (The Big Show’s name is Paul Wight, but most people call him ‘Show’ or ‘Big Show’). Mandy is determined, smart, super optimistic, quirky, a little anxious, VERY driven, and too adult for her tween everyday world. Mandy’s idols are RBG and Amy Poehler’s character on “Parks & Rec”, Leslie Knope. Mandy wants to change the world and make a positive difference, but she doesn’t know how to do it just yet. She has her life planned in 5 year increments. In the first episode, she is having a full-on identity crisis because even though she loves her older half-sister, Lola, who is moving in with the family for the 67
