Hi, thanks for stopping by!

I’m Sophie Brabenec, an Aussie actress, with Czech, French and Irish descent.

In April 2020 (right at the beginning of the Covid 19 outbreak) I relocated back to my home city of Melbourne, Australia, packing up a much loved life in Los Angeles under the pressures of borders closing and having to make very swift decisions. I had been away, overseas pursuing an acting career for 13 years. Initially 4 years in London and then 9 in LA. I am very happy to be back on home turf, and for all the wild and wonderful adventures overseas. I am also excited to discover and become a part of the industry here in Australia.

I was born and raised in the city of Melbourne by my mum and grandma – both superb story-tellers; passionate, expressive, articulate & deeply invested in the arts and culture. My mum was an actress back in the day, and, in a fun fact, we even trained at the same drama school – The National Theatre – thirty years apart. My childhood holds very fond memories of Sunday afternoons at my Grandma’s, watching ‘the midday movie’, often in black and white, inspired by the likes of Shirley Temple, Dean Martin, Mickey Rooney, Jerry Lewis and Elvis (oh Elvis!). 

 

I also loved jamming out with my keyboard and recorder, creating mix tapes for my family in the back sun room as a kid. Not much has changed here, with a life-long love of singing, songwriting and music. I’ve fancied myself as an ’emcee’ of sorts, the kind that rhymes over a beat, with the stage name – Miss Seboo. I once played in an electro funk band, named Zun, and over the years have recorded both independently and on other people’s tracks. In recent times, I’ve continued with this ‘special skill’, performing with an improv hip hop group, ‘The Ghost Face Kittens’, born out of Second City, Hollywood. 

 

My acting career started not long out of drama school, cast in a small, but noteworthy role as a cagey receptionist in Australian indie feature, ‘The Independent‘, distributed nationally.  Not long after this, pretty green in the world of professional acting, with an EU passport in hand, I decided to see what opportunities might be overseas, so, I relocated to Brixton, London, a vibrant and culturally rich Caribbean influenced suburb and spent four years navigating my way into the world of English stage and film and building up the start of a resume.

 

I had a number of unforgettable experiences during this time, working with Olivier award-winning producer/director Adam Spreadbury-Maher on theatre production ‘Cosi’ as a woman with severe OCD. Extra Extra applauded ‘the quiet intensity of Sophie Brabenec’s Ruth, as stand out’. Then there was ‘Naughty Chekhov’, a series of brilliant Chekhovian farces, in which I played multiple roles and had such a laugh doing. Premier UK publication The Stage gave me a nod, ‘a special commendation for her terribly unlucky in love character Olga’. British/Romanian indie feature ‘D’ora‘ was one of my first leading film roles, playing a mischievous and sassy Russian, named Masha. This film is a story of immigration, sacrifice and an individual’s quest to follow their dreams. It is one close to my heart reminding me of my father’s journey as a Czech refugee. ‘D’ora’ screened at Cannes, BAFTA and select UK cinemas in 2014.

Moving to Los Angeles had always been the main aim, so after four years in London gaining professional experience, I gained an O1 Artist visa, and my dream of living and working in LA had come to be! 

In LA I rediscovered my love for comedy and producing my own work. My first foray into content creation, showcased in an 8-part mockumentary ‘day in the life of ‘ series, ‘Visioneering: Forward Thinkers of the World’ (2018) was a huge undertaking and a project of which I’m very proud. I play the starring role; Spirit of Authenticity in the Ritual Afterlife – a passive aggressive and overly confident guru.

The improv and sketch comedy scene was also a major part of my LA life with ongoing study and involvement over the years at world-class schools  UCB, Second City and Groundlings.

Other LA highlights include, comedy pilot, ‘Green Card for Love‘, a parody of the Bachelor, playing a fiesty and determined Russian, immersive theatre production (extraordinaire!) ‘Theatre Macabre‘ with Saw director, Darren Lynn Bousman, playing an unhinged British princess disguised as a French gypsy, ‘You‘ feature film – based on the Sandy Hook shootings, winner of the Best Director award and nominated for Best Picture at IFS Film Fest (2017), playing a representation of the shooter’s mother, and PSA ‘My Heroes‘, an online piece about acceptance and gender fluidity that went viral and generated mass interest, with me in the role of an open minded and nurturing mother.

I also work commercially, have had recent adventures into the world of VR, and partake in the odd voice over.

For a more up to date and detailed account of projects old and new, please click the ‘News’ page.

Cheers!