BRITTANY FURLAN LEE

10 Questions with Brittany Furlan Lee – Actress, Comedian, Rockstar Wifey

Recently I had the pleasure of getting to know Brittany. If you have not seen her on any of her social media or listened to her podcast “Worst Firsts,” do yourself a favor and download a few episodes. Brittany turns her “let’s laugh before we die” mantra into some incredibly engaging content with down to earth real talk. @brittanyfurlan 

You are a do-er! And I love all your creative outlets. Your podcast, the “unsolicited advice videos” and, of course, who could forget all the super funny antidotal moments you and Tommy Lee share with us on TikTok. How do you get into a creative flow? 

I honestly get inspired when I live my life and see funny little moments happen here and there. It helps me put things together in a creative, fun way. I’ve always been a creative person. Whether it be painting, drawing, acting, design, or making videos, I have to be creative. It’s the only way I thrive.

You are juggling many hats during this crazy time, what is the most challenging for you right now, is it being present for your personal life or do you find it’s harder to focus on work projects?

It’s surprising to me how busy I’ve still been in the quarantine. Many people say that they feel that nothing is going on, but I keep getting auditions, making videos, and creating content, and I guess it’s because I make a lot of my own material that I’ve been able to keep myself busy. I enjoy staying at home, so this has been quite a delight for me. I suppose the most challenging thing is when everything goes back to normal, how will I get myself out of the house. I’ve become quite accustomed to this home life. 

I love the fact you share (jokingly but also seriously) your vulnerability, fears, and anxiety with your followers on Tik Tok. Are you just going off on instinct to what your viewers might identify with, or do you try to pick moments of inspiration based on relevance to a moment in time?

I struggle horribly with anxiety and panic disorder every day. For some reason lately, it’s been much worse than usual. I think the frustrating thing is that many people feel that they can’t share this sort of thing on social media because they believe all people want to see is the “good stuff.” But I find people are more comforted, at least I am when people are vulnerable and honest about their feelings and life. Life isn’t just the highlights, to appreciate the highlights, we need to acknowledge the low lights. 

Not taking ourselves too seriously daily is so important, what advice would you give aspiring young artists looking to create a multifaceted platform such as you have done.

I just, and this is going to sound morbid, but I think about how we’re all going to be dead one day, and no one will remember anyone in about 500 years, so who cares? Just have fun! As long as you’re not hurting anyone who cares if you’re goofy and you’re silly. I don’t care if people judge me. I’m just having a good time. Nothing matters in the end. 

How do you handle the negative? On top of this pandemic/COVID 2020 new landscape, it is also an election year with so many hot topics, are you feeling more or less pressure to speak up?

I’ve always gotten hate. I’ve gotten hate since I was a young girl in junior high with big boobs. I’m used to it. It used to affect me, but now I can blow it off because I realize that only hurt people, hurt people. Whenever someone says something negative to me, instead of being offended, I look at it like they’re projecting something about themselves that they’re unhappy with. Completely healthy/happy people don’t go around leaving mean comments on other people’s posts. 

In terms of Covid, and the election, I try not to get political. I do, however, think that people should wear masks and get this over with. The more we comply, the sooner this will be done. I heard they’re creating a vaccine for the coronavirus. I’m not sure that I would get it, who knows what that’s going to do to us in about ten years. Things are bizarre right now. There’s a definite shift happening. 

What are you doing to disconnect and rejuvenate when you’re not working or creating?

I try to meditate as much as I possibly can. I try to do deep breathing. I am a very anxious person, and while it’s helped me in being quick on my feet, sometimes my mind is too much, and I have to unload. Sometimes I will sleep for 18 hours straight. Whatever I have to do to recharge my body. My body is really good about telling me when it needs rest. My advice to any other creative out there is to make sure that you take time to recharge. We burn a quick flame, and we burn out quickly, so we need to make sure that we can rest and rejuvenate. 

What’s next for Brittany fans? 

I did a show with Bella Thorne called Paradise City. I’m not sure where it’s going to land, but it’s entertaining. Directed by Ash Avildsen. I also have a series on my Instagram page called “unsolicited advice”, where I play a sort of deranged version of myself and answer peoples’ strange questions. That has been fun. I hope to get renewed for another season with Instagram on that. And then you can always catch my podcast every week, Worst Firsts, where I talk to people about the worst things that ever happened to them. I have all sorts of strange guests on there, from comedians to doctors, to morticians, to mediums. It’s fascinating. 

Sometimes it’s funny, but sometimes it’s depressing, just like me 😉 

Everyone I talk to loves you and Tommy. I agree you guys seriously are the cutest. If there would be one pearl of wisdom, you could share about relationships in general, what would it be?

I just got really lucky. Most guys in LA are terrible and seeing you while they’re seeing a million other girls. Tommy is a hopeless romantic and a one-woman guy. When he is in love with you, he’s in love with only you, and I never could’ve imagined finding someone with such a genuine love as I have. My advice to anyone would be to find someone that you can truly be friends with because at the end of the day looks fade, everything else fades, but as long as you are best friends, things will always work out. He is my best friend and my lover. 

Who has been one of your favorite podcast interviews, and why?

One of my favorite podcast interviews would be with Shifty from the band Crazytown. He told me the most insane story about him trying to escape a rehab facility on the middle of an island in Antigua. It’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard and could be a movie. It’s the most entertaining podcast interview I think I’ve done yet. If you haven’t listened to it, do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s truly riveting.

If you were hosting a dinner party, who would be your dream guest, and why? 

That’s a complicated question. I admire so many people I want to have dinner with. I always get afraid to meet my heroes because I’ve been let down before. But I guess if I had a dinner party, my dream guest would be the Dali Lama. I’d want to ask him so many questions about life and achieving peace with oneself.