St. Louis-area native Nicholas Brooks worked his way to the TV screen. Brooks will guest star on the new CBS show The Defenders, with Jerry O’Connell and Jim Belushi. He will play a Sammie Davis Jr. impersonator and debut his acting skills on October 27.
Brooks has been playing the character of Davis for about eight years at the Las Vegas show The Rat Pack. The show plays six nights a week at the Sahara Hotel.
Brooks also goes on tour nationally and internationally playing Davis. He does a show called Nicholas and Sammie: Together Again. The two-act show features Brooks impersonating Davis and then coming back out and performing as himself.
“I not only look different, I sound different,” Brooks said.
A vocalist and performer, Brooks has done a few television jingles before stepping up to his screen acting debut.
“I want to take this as far as it can go,” Brooks said.
Brooks was born in East St. Louis but moved north with his family to a Chicago suburb, Batavia, when he was a child. He graduated from Northern Illinois University and believes his college experience helped him get to where he is today.
“Being around great, wonderful, real people prepared me for the wilds of Las Vegas,” Brooks said.
“Those valuable lessons that you learn in your independence really equip you for the craziness of show business.”
Brooks majored in business administration and minored in voice, a good mix for working in the entertainment industry.
“My business background has helped me financially, with money management and marketing myself. I have to market myself like a product,” Brooks said.
Brooks wants to continue acting in television shows and even do television soaps, challenging himself to learn the lines and act in numerous scenes.
“I deeply desire more of that type of experience. I would love to do Broadway or a TV series – much more acting,” Brooks said.
While this is not easy for any actor, he said it is even more difficult for a minority actor.
“We still have a long way to go in the amount of positive roles for ethnic performers,” Brooks said. “It is very much harder.”
Brooks advised others that the best way to get into this business is through prayer, hard work and being very driven.
“This is a business where you’re going to hear ‘no’ and ‘not interested’ a lot,” Brooks said.
“You have to have faith to keep going. You have to continuously reinvent yourself, be ambitious and driven – that is the key.”
Brooks remains humble and dedicated to his craft and feels fortunate that his hard work has paid off thus far.
“I feel fortunate to have had incredible opportunities in this very tough business,” Brooks said.
With friends,family and followers still in the St. Louis area, Brooks comes to visit, but also wants to perform wherever he can.
“This is a gambling business in finding work, pay, surviving,” Brooks said.
“ In this business, it’s a huge gamble and you do it for the love of performing. I’m hungry for it.”
For more information, visit nicholasbroooks.com.
