Brooke Smith remembers the “authentic” punk scene

• Brooke Smith was a dependable fixture in the 1980s New York hardcore punk music scene.
• New York City saw a downtown music revolution in the 1980s.
• After I visited the Actors Studio, Silence of the Lambs was released.

Brooke Smith was a dependable fixture in the 1980s New York hardcore punk music scene before she played Dr. Erica Hahn on Grey’s Anatomy and before she placed the lotion in the basket in Silence of the Lambs.

New York City saw a downtown music revolution in the 1980s, which was led by bands like The Bad Brains, The Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Murphy’s Law, and several others. Children who didn’t fit in had something to say or were simply bored went to New York’s Lower East Side to let off steam while a new musical style jackhammered through establishments like CBGBs.

The New York suburb-raised Brooke Smith grabbed her camera and jumped right in. A compilation of Brooke’s profoundly personal photographs, Sunday Matinee depicts a time before digital cameras and cell phones could record every moment.

Brooke Smith: I was naturally drawn to the Rockland County suburbs of New York, where I grew up. When I used to visit the city, I would simply keep moving eastward through downtown because it seemed to be where things were happening. Then I ran into someone who was selling marijuana to everyone there. That was advantageous because it is how I met many people.

I wanted to be in the middle of the action, but I wasn’t ready to be a performer yet since I was quite overweight and wasn’t a very happy person. So having a camera seems like the best option. Then, while remaining present, you may just hide behind it.

How did you get to the decision that you would transition from being a punk kid to an actor while you were acting out this scene? What time did that change occur?

I was surrounded by the industry because my mother worked as a publicist in it. Therapists would probably suggest that because my mother was constantly out with actresses, I wonder what I’ll end up being. But I was performing constantly. Between the ages of 15 and 19, I really got into the scene, so I put acting on hold.

I hardly graduated from high school and only attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York for one year of my academic career. I then just started concentrating heavily on acting after that. After I visited the Actors Studio, Silence of the Lambs was released.

Do you recall these times now that you are well into your job when you meet new people and say, “Yeah, I used to hang out at CBGBs and snap photos?” How do you explain to others that experience?

The aspect of it that I still adore and that, in my opinion, represents a significant portion of who I am, is how genuine everything was. How everyone was creating their art solely for themselves, without any thought of becoming wealthy or famous.

And to be really honest, I’m not sure when that appeared in American culture last. Therefore, even at age 55, I continue to remind myself, “I tell you what. I have writing ability. I’m able to make I own—-. I don’t have to work in someone else’s stuff while being unhappy.”

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