Liliana Inouye is truly making a name for herself as “one to watch” in the entertainment industry. Liliana can be seen starring as Brandi Colwin in the Apple TV+ highly anticipated original kids and family series, “Amber Brown”.
Based on the beloved best-selling books by Paula Danziger, “Amber Brown” is an unfiltered look at a girl finding her own voice through art and music in the wake of her parent’s divorce. Liliana will star alongside Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy, Cruel Summer) and Carsyn Rose (The Rookie, Cousins for Life), portraying the role of Brandi Colwin, the best friend of Amber Brown. Brandi is a bubbly, eccentric, independent spirit, and takes pride in her quirky personality. She doesn’t bow to peer pressure or care what anyone else thinks. She has a mischievous streak but is also a sensitive and loyal friend.
Check out our interview with Liliana!
What inspired you to become an actress?
Liliana: I’ve always loved performing, ever since I was little. When I was five, I did a commercial where I was like a little ballerina girl dancing around. And after that, I knew I wanted more, so I got into acting classes. I think I just love being able to express myself fully.
“Amber Brown” premieres very soon. For those who don’t know, what is this show about?
Liliana: So “Amber Brown” is based on the book series by Paula Danziger. It’s about a girl who’s just starting middle school, her parents are just getting divorced and her dad moved to Paris. So, she’s going through a lot of tough changes in her life. And then my character, Brandi, moves into the house next door and I think she makes everything a little bit better. Like Brandi and Amber become best friends and they do almost everything together. And I think Brandi helps her get through some of the tough changes.
Are you planning on doing anything special for the premiere?
Liliana: I definitely want to do something special. But all my other cast mates live in LA and I’m here in Vancouver so it’s kind of difficult.
What was it like working with them, especially with Carsyn Rose?
Liliana: It was so much fun working with Carsyn. We bonded right away, like we were staying at the same hotel, so we met before our first day on set. And by the time we were on set, we were giggling like we’ve known each other forever. We had so much fun. We even had a secret handshake that we did before a scene for good luck.
Do you still stay in touch with her?
Liliana: Yeah, we FaceTime, like, once a week and we’re always texting each other.
In the show, Amber uses art and music to kind of help her through things. But I was wondering what you use to help you get through situations?
Liliana: Okay, personally, I find my way through baking. I love to bake cakes and cookies and cupcakes, and other types of desserts, especially late at night. I love being creative with it and adding all sorts of flavors and layers and decorations.
How did you get into baking?
Liliana: Honestly, I don’t know. When I was little, I remember I used to watch all those baking YouTube videos and I knew that was something that I’ve always wanted to do.
What would you say was your favorite part of making “Amber Brown”?
Liliana: My favorite part was definitely the people. I feel so lucky to have gotten to work with some of the most talented and grounded people, like Bonnie Hunt. She was so sweet and so warm. And all of the cast and crew, everybody was so nice and fun to hang out with. And it was really cool to see that you could totally have fun and be a pro and ready to learn, too. It was really cool seeing these adult actors improvise too, because it’s just like they’re so fun to watch and they’re such amazing actresses and actors.
What are you most excited for people to see when they watch the show?
Liliana: I’m most excited for people to see the friendship between Amber and Brandi.. I interpret it as sort of like the Yin and Yang symbol, like they’re so different yet they balance each other out so perfectly. Amber is very introverted and Brandi is very extroverted. Amber helps Brandi think of things in a deeper way and Brandi helps her lighten up and have more fun. I think it’s important for kids to see that. Sometimes change can be hard but you can navigate difficult changes while still having fun when you have a good friend.
That’s such an awesome message. Would you say that you are like Brandi?
Liliana: We’re very similar. We have very similar character traits. I love crystals and Brandi loves crystals. So, we have our similarities and our differences.
Is there anything else that you want people to know about the show?
Liliana: Um, I hope viewers are inspired by the way Brandi is proud of what makes her, her and what makes her different. She doesn’t conform to any like standards of popularity and I think getting to see this in Brandi is very important. So, I really hope Brandi can help kids who feel alone know that they’re cool just the way they are.
