Moving in with your significant other can be a big step.
So we helped actors Jasmin Savoy Brown and Camille Killion get off on the right foot by upping their home decor game. Here, they talk about their love-at-first-sight meeting while working on HBO’s The Leftovers and how they tackle the difficulties of our modern age with kindness, strength and a little bit (okay a lot) of ice cream:
OKAY let’s chat ~romance~ because everyone loves a good love story. How did you and Camille meet? How does it feel to take the step of moving in with each other?
Camille: I was working production on a job Jas was also on. I picked her up at the airport one day and was driving her to her hotel in downtown Austin during traffic hour, so we ended up talking about music and documentaries and life and hit it off pretty quickly. I wasn’t trying to get fired, so I kept my cool and tried not to flirt…but this chick wasn’t letting me off that easy. We texted back and forth a little and she kept dropping hints about wanting to know all the good places to go hiking, so one day I finally asked if she wanted to join my pup and I on a hike that weekend and she said yes. We hiked most of the day and ended up seeing each other again that night. We walked around Pecan Street Festival in DT Austin and then went to see “Trainwreck.” It was the perfect first date. Minus the fact that I had been sick, so I didn’t get to kiss her.
Jasmin: Before Camille was acting, she was a PA, and was assigned to pick me up from the airport during season 2 of THE LEFTOVERS. I never really believed in love at first sight, but the second I saw her, I knew. I’ve described it the same way every single time—the weight of the world fell off my shoulders and I knew I’d forever be okay, because I now had this person in my life. It was magical.
Camille joined the production halfway through shooting, so she believed me when I said I had no idea what to do over the weekend… I had already been in and out of Austin for months and was totally just finding an excuse to hang out with her! I flirted really hard while she drove me to my hotel, but she pretended not to notice, hands on 10 & 2, eyes straight ahead (cheeks bright red). Later that night, I think, I got the cutest, nerdiest text of my life that said something like, “I asked my dog and she said it would be cool if you joined us for a hike this weekend.” WHO IS THIS NERD?! I said yes. We hiked for hours, got beers and saw a movie. After that we snuck around for a few weeks and then I flew back to LA. It was an experience I will never forget. It was wonderful.
Even though it felt like the perfect fling, and despite the distance, neither of us wanted say goodbye. We started “dating” over Skype. We’d stay up all night getting to know each other, which was exhausting and irresponsible but #noregrets. After about a month of this, we met in another city for a romantic weekend away and made it official. A year and a half later, Camille moved to LA. So this space we are currently living in is not our first home together! Although in a way, it feels that way. The energy in our first space wasn’t nearly as warm and joyful as this new one. It’s completely changed our relationship. It’s amazing what a space can do!
Tell me a little bit about what you’re working on now! For the People got renewed for a second season—are you shooting that yet?
Yes! In fact, we are almost done….it’s insane! We only shoot ten episodes so it goes by pretty fast. We’re in the middle of shooting episode 8 which I can’t tell you anything about, but I can promise you will love it. I also have a secret project coming out early next year…!
In the past few years, I think we’ve all learned way more about politics and our government than we probably ever thought we would, but have you felt this more intensely through playing Allison? Has being more aware of our justice system pushed you to be more interested in politics or activism?
Absolutely. I agree with you, my interest would have peaked anyway due to our democracy falling apart, but playing Allison has given me an even deeper interest in our political justice system. In every episode, I learn a little bit about something new that I end up researching and then usually becoming obsessed with. Last season we had an episode on mandatory minimums and since then I have become passionate about prison reform. Especially now that weed is becoming legalized. I am a big supporter of cannabis being legal, however, I am utterly sickened that thousands of black men sit in jail for selling weed while suddenly hundreds of white people are making bank for doing the same thing…why haven’t all of those men incarcerated for doing something that is now legal, and making white people rich, been released from prison? It makes me sick. I wouldn’t have grown so passionate about this if it weren’t for the show.
What do you feel are the greatest benefits of being a person who is in the public eye? What are the greatest challenges?
I think one of the greatest benefits is accountability—if I say I stand for a cause or that I am going to do something, I have to follow through. That’s the case for anyone on social media, celebrity or not—you can’t take anything back. That is also one of the greatest challenges though…there is almost no room for mistakes. Some things are unforgivable, I think we can all agree on that, but some things are forgivable and it feels like we have forgotten that. Especially for teenagers. They’re going to do dumb things. I did dumb things at that age! But fortunately there wasn’t an online record documenting all of it.
Another benefit is platform. Taylor Swift is the perfect example; she recently used her platform for good to urge her fans to vote. Another negative is lack of privacy. For every positive, there is a negative. It’s about learning to balance it all.
I thought what you wrote about Pride on Shondaland was really profound—just speaking to how something as celebratory as Pride can also be a time when painful memories surface just as much as positive ones. What are rituals or practices in your life that you turn to when you feel particularly affected by negativity?
I drink wine. Haha. Really though. I also: exercise, laugh, mediate, punch a punching bag— literally! I go to a boxing gym, but any form of physical activity will do. Cry it out, watch a comedy, stress eat, eat clean, sleep well, stay up late to attend a midnight premiere, journal, take a bath, CBD (or THC!), call a friend, pray, play with my animals, kiss…basically I take it one day at a time and do what feels right on that day.
Are you affected at all emotionally by your home space?
Hahaha…this is a loaded question! We both like a clean, clutter free space. However, we have different ideas about what constitutes as clutter. I like some things that Camille finds “tacky” so those items must remain in my office. The most important thing to me though is clean floors and clean counters. The trash can be piling high and the dishes can all be dirty, but if the floors are swept and mopped and the counters are clean…I am relaxed!
What are your favorite date night activities?
We LOVE going to the movies. That is how we ended our first date, after all. We also love staying in, watching a movie, and ordering Van Leeuwens ice cream! Board games with friends is also fun, as is going to the theatre and trying new restaurants.
As your career progresses, what are some types of characters you’d love to play or types of stories you’d love to tell?
Queer/black/female stories.
And just for fun—what movies, music or TV shows are you obsessed with right now?
I’m obsessed with Insecure. Together we are watching The Office and The L Word! Taking it back a decade.
Photography by Lindsey Byrnes
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