‘I was scared to death’

“I wanted to see if I could expand my range and depth as an actress,” Brandy tells theGrio in an exclusive interview about the film.

In her new role, Brandy is all about facing her fears.

The 45-year-old music legend stars as Belinda, a professor and wife expecting her second child after a stillbirth, in the psychological horror film “The Front Room.” When Belinda’s mother-in-law, Solange (Kathryn Hunter), moves in with Belinda and her husband (Andrew Burnap), strange things begin to happen at home, forcing the couple to make unexpected decisions.

Brandy has starred in scary movies before (“I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”), but “The Front Room” is a new challenge for the singer-actress. The “Almost Doesn’t Count” singer tells theGrio in an exclusive interview that she took the role in part because “it scared the hell out of me.”

“That’s one of the things that attracted me to Belinda,” Brandy says. “The role was so different from anything I’d ever done before and I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to see if I could expand my range, my depth as an actress and see what can happen when I work with Kathryn Hunter, Andrew Burnap and (directors) Sam and Max Eggers.”

“It was a great environment, a great atmosphere where I felt safe and free enough to try it,” she adds.

Brandy does more than “try” in the film; she excels in every scene she appears in, portraying fear, anger, confusion, hope and a wide range of emotions with authenticity. The “Full Moon” singer’s character is pregnant for much of the film, an experience Brandy calls new but also familiar. The actress’ real-life daughter, Sy’rai Iman Smith, is 22, but Brandy still remembers what it was like carrying her all those years ago.

“That belly (in the movie) reminded me of being pregnant when I was 23 and had my first baby,” Brandy said. “It was beautiful. I loved being pregnant. It was a beautiful experience. But it just felt like I was pregnant the whole movie, right?”

“My belly didn’t even drop when I wasn’t pregnant,” Brandy adds with a laugh.

The actress worked closely with co-star Hunter on the film, as Hunter’s Solange takes a special interest in Belinda’s pregnancy. Brandy tells theGrio that their connection on set came naturally through the script.

“Well, it’s all in the writing. I think the writing was brilliant. It helped guide us in what to do and how to do it,” Brandy says. “We were very close to Sam and Max, who were watching us and helping us through everything.”

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Brandy adds that she and Hunter “had a special bond when the cameras were off.”

“I got to know her on a different level, and I was able to try things and respond to things that she would naturally do, because I just felt safe doing that with her,” the singer says.

“The Front Room” is in theaters from September 6.