Brianne Howey

As she sits poolside in the Hollywood Hills, wearing a black American Apparel bathing suit that barely covers the goods, a drop of sweat trickles down Brianne Howey’s flawless skin. But even twirling around on Steve Madden heels, the industrious 25-year-old maintains an air of class that signals she’s not just another bombshell.
Known mostly for stints on various TV series – Twisted, Hart of Dixie, and Revenge – the Southern California native has just landed her first major motion picture role, appearing in Horrible Bosses 2, the sequel to the 2011 comedy hit. And fortunately for her and for men everywhere, she’s a workaholic. Which means we’ll soon be seeing even more of her…though not all of her, unless it’s for the right artistic reasons.

Did growing up near Hollywood make you want to act?
Every Tuesday night, we’d go to my dad’s house and watch a Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie. Maybe that affected me subconsciously, but I didn’t necessarily want to be an actor. I wanted to be a flight attendant, because we travelled and moved around so much when I was little. When I saw View from the Top, Christina Applegate and Gwyneth Paltrow made being a flight attendant seem like the coolest job ever.

You went to an all-girls Catholic high school. Were the other students as wicked as people say?
Any private school is going to have a little bit of that. My school had a lot of cliques, but everyone was wearing the same thing, no-one had any make-up on, and no-one did their hair. But what was cool is that there was no drama. You’d hear stories about other all-girls schools in the area, where girls were hooking up in the bathroom, but I didn’t see it. All the drama was on the weekends.

Were you a goody two-shoes?
Yeah, I was definitely a good girl. I cared a lot about my grades. Looking back, I probably should have chilled out a little, but I’m working on that.

You worked with three comedy bigwigs in Horrible Bosses 2: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. Were you nervous?
It was scary, but you kind of find your groove. Seeing them in action was really inspiring. They are the real deal.

Is it hard not to break character when you’re working with such funny co-stars?
Yes. The first few days, I took it very seriously and I didn’t laugh. But as time goes on, everyone loosens up and ends up silly and goofy.

In Twisted, there was an episode where you kissed Kylie Bunbury. Did you enjoy that scene?
It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it was going to be. Luckily, we clicked right off the bat. We were both like, “OK, this is happening!”

For the full interview grab the January 2015 issue of MAXIM, in stores from December 18 to January 21.

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