Brandy on her role in “The Front Room”: “It scared the hell out of me”

In her latest role, Brandy faces her fears.

The music legend, 45, plays Belinda, a professor and wife who’s expecting her second child after a previous 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 start happening in the house — forcing the couple to make unexpected decisions.

Brandy has starred in horror movies before (“I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”), but “The Front Room” presents a brand 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 drew me to Belinda,” Brandy says. “The role was so different from anything I’d ever done, 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 could happen when I worked with Kathryn Hunter, Andrew Burnap and (directors) Sam and Max Eggers.”

“It was a great environment, a great atmosphere that made me feel safe and free enough to try,” she adds.

Brandy does greater than “try” in the film; she excels in every scene she’s in, portraying fear, anger, confusion, hope and more with authenticity. The “Full Moon” singer’s character is pregnant for many of the film, which Brandy says is a brand new but familiar experience. The actress’ real-life daughter, Sy’rai Iman Smith, is 22, but Brandy remembers what it was prefer to carry her all those years ago.

“That belly (in the movie) made me think about being pregnant when I was 23 and having my first child,” Brandy says. “It was beautiful. I loved being pregnant. It was a beautiful experience. But it just felt like I was pregnant the whole movie, right?”

“When I wasn’t pregnant, my belly didn’t even get any smaller,” Brandy adds with fun.

The actress worked closely with Hunter’s co-star on the film, as Hunter’s Solange is especially interested in Belinda’s pregnancy. Brandy tells Grio that their on-set bond developed organically through the script.

“Well, it all comes down to the writing. I think the writing was brilliant. It helped us figure out what to do and how to do it,” says Brandy. “We were very close to Sam and Max, who kept an eye on us and helped us with everything.”

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

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

“The Front Room” hits theaters on September 6.