Logan Browning is an actress who stars in both the series *Dear White People* and the Netflix Original film *The Perfection*. She’s got a deep love for The Spice Girls and a knack for interviewing herself.
Logan Browning is an actress who stars in both the series Dear White People and the Netflix Original film The Perfection. She’s got a deep love for The Spice Girls and a knack for interviewing herself.
[Music]
Catherine: This is I Hate Talking About Myself, a podcast where your favorite stars from Netflix series and films face their toughest interviewer ever, themselves. We write the questions, toss them in a bowl, and let our guests do the rest. This time we got actor Logan Browning. She stars in Dear White People and the new Netflix film, The Perfection. She also loves the Spice Girls and kale salad. Me too, Logan. Me too. Did you guys know my first concert ever was the Spice Girls? But enough about me. Here’s Logan:
Logan: Hey, I’m Logan Browning. I play “Sam” on Dear White People and I hate talking about myself.
[Music ends]
What’s the first food you hated, and why? I hated prunes because I was consta as a kid. And my mom made me eat prunes to try to make me regular. And I didn’t like how they tasted. [laughs] That was it.
What piece of art can you not stop thinking about? Last night I was walking past a gallery and there is an artist named Mr. Brainwash. And the image is like, a graffiti newspaper colorful looking image of-, and then there was like, a monkey who is looking up at a neon sign that says ‘Follow Your Dreams.’ It’s 58,000 dollars though. [laughs] I asked.
What piece of pop culture shaped you the most? Bands. Boy bands. Girl bands. Spice Girls, for sure. S Club 7. Spice Girls was my first concert. And I think that I loved it because it was a bunch of women who were friends. And they were fun and they were sexy. And they were like, we sometimes like dudes, but also like, F- you if you’re being mean to my girl. Like, I loved the commentary.
(Clip played)
Female: Girl power is about being individual, being whoever you want to be.
Male: Right.
Female: Wearing your short skirts, your under bras and your make up. Having something to say as well.
Male: Right.
(Clip ends)
Logan: If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be? I want to be a director. So, I would love to know everything about cameras, everything about lighting. Every-, if I could know every possible filmmaker’s stylistic choices and be able to use them without having to go to like, four years of film school, that would be amazing.
What is your relationship with social media right now? [bell dings] That’s a good question. Let me write this down. So, I was really excited. I was really close to a million followers. And I was like, I don’t even know what that means. But I think it’s cool and I think I’m supposed to celebrate it. Or, I think people are going to be mad because I’m not grateful that I have a million followers. So, then I went on this journey of figuring out how I’m going to celebrate it. And I made a video of a bunch of my friends and family saying a million ways to make the world a better place. However, I had no idea that your followers could eventually dip. So, I made it to a million and then slowly I was like, 99-, 99,9 thousand. 99,8 thousand. And I was like, oh, shit. This is not cool, bro. No one told me you could go backwards. Now I feel like, embarrassed because I already got the little million follower video up. And people are like, Logan, you’re so close to a million. 999,000. I’m like, I’ve been there. But now it’s going back up. So, I feel better. But I did realize that I need to not put my worth in my number of followers. Yeah. [laughs] Ugh.
If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be? If I could give my younger self advice it would be to listen to my mom more. I think that my mom has always had really good advice on being a lady and being graceful and gracious. As I’ve gotten to work in the industry more, I think sometimes I’m trying to be cool and I start to like, flex on them a little bit and I lose that essence of who I was raised to be. And I end up making choices that I regret later. And I know that if I had just, kind of, always, always, always stuck to my mom’s suggestions, then I probably would be cool. But, hey. Like, this way, I learned that my mom is always right.
What do you wear to bed? Netflix, this is such a-, oh, my God. [laughs] I actually have a big shirt from Season One of Dear White People. It’s a big blue shirt that says on the front Dear White People. And on the back, it says, “I bet you think this show is about you.” I usually wear a big t-shirt and undergarments. But I do have a few like, silk satiny like, numbers and pajama tops and-, when it’s cold I wear a top and bottom.
What rabbit hole did you dive down most recently? Oh, I go down a lot of rabbit holes. Okay. The one I went down most recently? Oh. [laughs] It was-, [laughs]. It was Ariana Grande’s tattoo that she got done wrong. [laughing] That was the last rabbit hole. I thought it was so funny because she got it done wrong and then she like, went to Twitter and was like, ‘I knew that I got it done wrong. Duh.’ And then she’s like, just kidding. I like barbeque grills. And then she deleted it. And then she got it like, done again with the right characters. I was just like, girl, you better go on and say that you didn’t know. I thought that was so funny. I love her sense of humor about it. And bless her heart, she’s been through a lot. But that was the most recent one. Yeah.
If you could have one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? That’s such a first-date question. My go-to meal is a kale salad with salmon which is lame. But I just feel like I would survive because I’d have my greens and my fiber and my protein. That’s lame. But, yeah. Maybe that with cranberries. Dried cranberries.
What’s the most memorable prank you’ve pulled off or had been pulled on you? I don’t know if I would call it a prank as much of a surprise. And this is also somber. I feel like 70 percent of my things are somber, but…
[Music begins]
My dad was sick in the hospital. He had cancer. And I was filming in LA for, kind of, the duration of him being ill. And so, it was really frustrating for me because I couldn’t-, I couldn’t leave. Like, you can’t just leave when you’re filming. It’s just not how it works. And you, kind of, beat yourself up in your mind. Like, yes, I can leave. Then you’re like, no, I kind of can’t. So, anyway, I asked my production at the time if they could switch the schedule around so that I could get off early on a Friday because it was going to be Easter weekend and we were getting Monday off. And so, they did it for me. It was really sweet. And I flew home without telling my mom. And I flew into Atlanta. Took the longest taxi to the hospital. Figured out what room he was in and everything. And was sitting in the room and surprised my mom. My mom was the first one to walk in. And she was like, screaming and crying. And then my dad was coming from a surgery. So then, he comes in. And he did a double take. He could-, they like, couldn’t believe that I was there. And they were just so… They were crying. They were just so happy because… I mean, they needed help. And I remember my mom got to go home and go to sleep finally. Because she was like, she had been staying in the hospital and sleeping on the bench next to my dad. And so, that night I stayed on the bench with my-, next to my dad. And then he got checked out the next morning. And so, we got to spend Easter weekend at home. I will always remember that because my dad ended up passing. And I can-, I can only imagine if I had not taken opportunities like that to go home and to make sure that-, you know what I mean? Like, you have to work. You have to make money. But family is first. And you’ve got to find that balance. So, I’m really grateful that I found that balance.
Oh, I like this one.
[Music ends]
Tell us five reasons we should watch your Netflix show or a film. Number one, we have two seasons already out. We’re-, based on whenever you hear this, maybe three. Which, I think, is lovely because when I watch a Netflix show, I kind of want to be able to stick with the characters for awhile instead of waiting a year for another epis-, a season to come out. Two, you should watch the show because it is a microcosm of our world and it gives you an opportunity to see that no one is a monolith. Specifically, these young African American students. But when you watch it and you realize that all of these people who happen to be black have different perspectives and different personalities, you start to equate that to every other possible category that you can think of. Three, you should watch the show because I think it is amazing political and social commentary without like, stuffing things down your throat. It uses satire to get those things across.
(Clip of Dear White People begins)
Male: People substitute.
Male: This is what happens when a country refuses to address history with slavery.
Male: We need to do here what they did in Germany.
Many: What?
Male: I meant the educating kids about the nation’s horrible past part. Not the concentration camp part.
Female: Oh, okay. Because I was about to say, what?
(Clip of Dear White People ends)
Logan: Four, the cast is so hot. Five, you should watch Dear White People because we need more people like you to watch Dear White People and tell other people to watch Dear White People so that everyone can realize that the show’s title, Dear White People, is not some crazy anti-white title. It’s actually really inclusive.
[Music]
Catherine: Okay. Well, I could listen to Logan Browning all day. And we love you guys. So, as a special gift, we have decided to put out all our episodes at once. Thank you for subscribing. But also like, you’re welcome for making the pod.
I Hate Talking About Myself is produced by Pineapple Street Media and Netflix. Our music is by Hansdel Soo and it’s hosted by me, Catherine Cohen. And please, from now on, refer to me as Kitty Spice. Now, go look at yourself in the mirror. Get your own fishbowl and ask yourself the tough questions.
[Music continues and ends]
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