“The Real World: Denver’s” Brooke wasn’t exactly an outdoors woman before coming to Colorado. Photo from MTV.com.

– We already knew a little about “Real World: Denver” cast member Brooke, like the fact that at 24, she’s the oldest of the roommates, or that she’s from Nashville and that her parents (Carolyn and Joe) are both clinical psychologists. But did you know what tested her the most about the experience, or what she did when it was all too much for her to handle?

– I was able to get a hold of Brooke earlier today in advance of her Nov. 24th appearance at Vinyl’s “Real World: Denver” launch party. My questions were fairly similar to the ones I asked fellow cast member Tyrie a couple weeks ago. Here’s how our conversation went:

Thanks for talking to me. First off, do you think it’ll be weird seeing yourself on TV?

Yes and no. I think that, you know, this is not something that I’m used to. I’ve never seen myself on TV before because it’s something that I’ve never been exposed to. But I’m not really all that nervous about it. I think that my experience from the show is going to be completely different in my mind than what the viewers see in the edited-down version. So, as far as watching the show, that wasn’t the essential part of the whole experience.

How do you mean?

The first part is the actual experience, whereas the second part is basically just for entertainment value. You have to really understand and distinguish between the two things. I think a lot of people maybe don’t understand that the edited-down version was not really our complete experience. You couldn’t show 24-hour-a-day footage. That’s something that people need to keep in mind when they watch reality TV shows.

How did you first try out for the show?

It’s funny. I have a very different experience than any other cast member I’ve ever heard of. I actually was found on Myspace.

Really?

It’s a very weird story. I had just moved out to L.A. in February (2006) with the intention of wanting to see what else was out there, and to get out of Nashville for a bit. I’d already been interested in acting and modeling. I figured I should try it now or never. Literally within two weeks of moving out to L.A. I had an e-mail from MTV in my inbox on Myspace. They had been looking at a lot of profiles online and they were interested in me trying out for the show. So I did, and the rest is history.

How long did you wait to find out if you made it?

I got it pretty soon after they contacted me. It was pretty weird — a lot of people almost don’t believe me when it tell them that it came through Myspace. I don’t know how, but I guess that first interview must have really knocked them with some crazy stuff. I did have to go through callbacks and such but it was such a shorter process for me. I only went through a few interviews whereas I think a lot of the other kids had to start their process back in September of 2005.

Did you have any TV experience before this?

No, I’ve done music videos but that’s the extent of it.

Which music videos?

I did Phil Vassar’s “I Take That as a Yes” (YouTube link) and I did Keith Anderson’s “Pickin’ Wildflowers” (Yahoo link). I had a short, little tiny photograph in Maxim magazine but that was nothing really, it was just a really small photograph. But I did a lot of clothing store modeling, print modeling and ads and such. And I did a lot acting throughout high school. Most the stuff I ended up doing after college was modeling stuff. But the acting, not so much.

Is that our Brooke in this still from Phil Vassar’s “I’ll Take That as a Yes?”

What did you think of Denver?

I loved Denver. I thought it was really cool and had a lot of really fun things to do. I was blown away by the nightlife. I had been living in L.A. right before Denver, but Denver has some clubs to rival L.A. I couldn’t believe it. Every single night there was something to do.

Which clubs did you like the best?

I loved Hush a lot, that was place was awesome. Vinyl and Spill were also my favorites. I really liked The Tavern and LoDo’s, just as sports bars, but Hush, Vinyl and Spill were the best.

What about the people here?

The people in Denver were really cool and took it well. I was surprised by that because I know it was probably pretty difficult having this bunch of kids move into their territory, and this camera crew coming into bars with all these rules and crap like that, like turning the music down. I was pretty impressed that everybody was understanding and nice about it, at least to my knowledge.

What was your favorite part about living in the house?

My favorite part was probably the overall excitement of not really knowing these people, and just the weirdness of it. It was kind of an awkward thing at first but then it became really exciting. I thought, “Wow, this is the only time in my life I’m going to have an opportunity to live with completely different people.” I definitely learned to embrace it after awhile.

What was your least favorite part?

The least favorite part was the same thing — it was definitely living with people completely different from myself. Trying to go with that challenge of understanding someone that has completely different views than I do, and a completely different way of living their life and dealing with other people. I grew up in a very… in the South. I think you take a lot from that. You learn to be polite and not hurt people’s feelings and, and you learn to be pretty agreeable. I noticed a lot of people in the house were not like that.

Brooke (center) and unnamed friends.

Who did you bump heads with the most?

I got along well with everyone for the most part.

So there were no allegiances?

No. I felt like I had conflict with every single person in the house at one point or another, but at the same time I felt like each person had something that kind of worked with me better than another person. It was weird. One person might be better at being my “fun” friend to go out and party with, and another person I could sit down and talk about really important issues close to my heart.

What was it like working for Outward Bound? What kind of things did you learn?

I woud have to say that Outward Bound is the part of “The Real World” experience that changed my life the most. It was definitely the biggest challenge for me, and more than probably anyone else in the house. I’m not very athletic or adventurous by nature. I pretty much like the ground. I don’t like high altitudes and stuff like that.

But you learned from it, right?

It was very hard to do at times but I think that what ended up happening, ultimately, was that I tried to keep an open mind. As hard as it was — and there were days when I was like, “I can’t do this” — but after awhile I was like, “I have to do this. I owe it to myself and my roommates and my boss to do this.” So making myself do it, I just jumped right in and really learned a lot. I’m really really thankful that I was able to make myself just do it. I would not have taken anything from it had I not participated.

What kind of stuff did you do?

They were doing things like rappelling and climbing around. Things like that are not my idea of a good time. I like being pampered, I like warm beds and warm showers. I mean, who doesn’t? I think I was the most that way, more that anyone else.

Brooke looking decidedly mischevious.

So you had more of a learning curve than the other cast members…

I’m sure that’s true. If they do play it out (on TV) exactly how I felt about it, I’ll definitely win the award for most improved.

Do you plan to come back to Denver?

I definitely plan to come back and visit as often as I can. I made two really good friends there, Mindy and Jeremy. They were pretty much the people I went to when I couldn’t take it anymore at the house. And they were really cool to me because I’d just go up to them and be like, “I can’t take it anymore! These people are driving me nuts!� (laughs) So we’d go somewhere the cameras wouldn’t go and just relax and try to have fun. After awhile I really appreciated that.

Where did you go?

We went to a country bar one time, the Grizzly Rose, and that was a lot of fun. We all went country line dancing. I think they did that for me because I was from Nashville.

Are you big country music or line dancing fan?

Not really. I love country music but it’s not something… I’ve never been a diehard country music or line dancing fan. I like all sorts of music, not just country. I actually didn’t start getting into country until I started going to college. In high school I was more into hardcore metal and alt-rock, then I stared getting into pop and lastly, country.

Hardcore metal?

Yeah, believe it or not.

So what are your plans for the future?

I definitely have a long-term goal. I want to try to move away from the entertainment industry and maybe try to go into more of a writing career as a journalist or something to that effect. I love to write, and I’ve loved journaling since I was eight years old. I’m very talented at it, in my opinion. It’s definitely my gift. If I had a career in writing I’d be a very happy person. I just don’t know in what way. I’m going to pursue it and just keep my options open and see what’s out there, and what becomes available.

What kind of journalism?

Ideally I’d love to have my own column and write for a magazine or newspaper. Everyone thinks I want to be an actress. But I’m like, “No, if I wanted that I wouldn’t have been on a reality TV show.” Once you do a show like that your serious actress potential goes out the window.

Brooke (right) and unnamed friends.

That’s an interesting point, because a lot of people try out for reality TV shows to kickstart an acting career, not realizing how it makes them look.

I never thought in a million years I’d ever be interesting enough to be cast in a reality TV show. It was probably a better way for me to go this route than to pursue the serious acting stuff. That takes year and years and I probably wouldn’t have gotten into anything until I was in my mid-30s. This was a perfect opportunity for myself because I don’t just love playing other characters, I love being myself and expressing my ideas. So being a reality TV show person is great springboard for that, much more than being an actress.

Just to switch gears a little bit: What did you think about the people around Denver that heckled you guys?

I kind of knew that came with the territory. I knew there were going to be fans of ours and people that didn’t like us very much. You just have to learn not to take it personally. For the most part everyone was very kind to me. I know a lot of my roommates said people would harass them and say nasty things. There were a few times when we’d be out and walk into a bar and we’d have cuss words and things like that thrown at us.

Were you with them the night someone threw beer bottles at them at J.R.’s? That night has sort of become legendary.

Yeah , I think somebody only threw one bottle. I know one hit Jason (the camera man) in the head, but I heard later it was an accident. My friend goes to J.R.’s all the time, and his friend was the one that “threw” it, but she said it just slipped and was an accident.

I’ve been doing this blog since the week after you guys got into town and started filming. Did you ever read it over the summer?

Yeah I did.

What did you think of it? Or of the media coverage in general of the show?

I thought that there were good and bad things about it just in general. For the most part you guys did a great job covering a lot of the things that happened, and I thought that for the most part it was accurate.

Brooke (second from right) and friends out on the town.

But…

Some of the opinions I’ve read on your website — I feel some of them were a little bit misinformed. I read something recently about how the “Real World” is fake and people pressure you to say things, and that it’s scripted. I think that it’s important for your readers to understand that’s absolutely not true. The show is not fake whatsoever. What you see is exactly what happened. I would say that was my one complaint, other than that it’s very well done.

How “real� would you say the show is?

It’s incredibly real. I would not have done it otherwise. I’m not interested in being on something that tricks people or that is false. That’s really not something I could be a part of. I definitely would have never have signed on to do something that was at all fake.

Cool. Well… that’s about all I had. Anything else you want to add?

Just that, from what I’ve heard, this is going to be really good season. And I’m not just saying that because I’m biased. (laughs) I really do believe that its going to be a pretty awesome season. I just hope that everyone will tune in because there will be lots of drama and craziness but also lots of learning — if it’s edited the way I’m hoping, especially during our Outward Bound trips.

Ah yes, if it’s the edited the way you hope. Well, I really appreciate your time and we’ll see you here in Denver next Friday.

Am I ever going to meet you?

Actually, I’m going back to Ohio for Thanksgiving all next week, but one of these days if you’re ever back again I’ll find you at show-watching party.

OK, well thanks again.

You bet, thank you too.

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