What Andrea Brooks Did Before Becoming A Hallmark Star

Hallmark Channel viewers are pretty familiar with Andrea Brooks and her sunny personality. The actor has played Dr. Faith Carter on "When Calls the Heart" for over 60 episodes and appears in a string of movies for the network including "Romance to the Rescue," "Christmas Cookie Matchup," and "In The Key of Love," among others. Flipping over to the superhero universe, you might have also caught Brooks in her role as Eve Teschmacher on the series "Supergirl," with a crossover to "The Flash." Or maybe you spied her as Tanya on "UNReal."

Brooks always wanted to be an actress, telling Simply Entertaining she knew her calling early on. "I still remember being three years old watching 'Sesame Street' and other shows on television and wanting to be one of those kids! I wanted to be on the TV!" Growing up in Canada, she admits her childhood was a whirlwind of activities that included dancing, playing piano and trumpet, and being in a local theater troupe. 

She was also a competitive figure skater. "I got up at 5:30 to be on the ice at 6 a.m. every morning to figure skate and train," Brooks told her "When Calls the Heart" co-star Paul Greene during an episode of his podcast, The Grass is Greener. In fact, it was her ice skating that eventually kickstarted her career in acting.

"I knew I wanted to perform; I just didn't know how to get there," Andrea Brooks told Paul Greene about her path to becoming a professional actor. When she was 14, her skating club passed around fliers for an open audition for the Disney movie "Ice Princess." The casting crew was looking for girls who could act and skate, and Brooks saw it as her opportunity to break into the entertainment world. After finishing her audition, she was hooked. "I loved it," she explained to Greene. "I loved the camera. I just knew."

The movie people also saw something special, as they moved Brooks through several rounds of auditions. The part eventually went to Hayden Panettiere, but not before Brooks was already on her way to a new career. "By the end of the whole process, I had an agent and I was just kind of in the business," she shared with Simply Entertaining.

Brooks started auditioning in Canada and booked her first official gig doing a commercial for a theme park. She eventually made the leap to Los Angeles and landed a part on an Aaron Spelling pilot that was never picked up. She divided her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles and started earning roles in both locations.

She doesn't do competitive skating anymore, but Andrea Brooks still acts — a lot. Her character Faith debuted in Season 2 of "When Calls the Heart," but the star had initially hoped to start in Season 1 — in a different part. "Originally, I was considered for the role of Elizabeth's sister," she revealed to Starry Mag. Although she didn't land that one, she did hear back from Hallmark. "I happened to hear about a new character for Season 2 and I was automatically interested. When I found out I got the role ... I knew how special this character could be."

When not dressing in corsets and skirts for Hallmark, Brooks took on the role of Eve in "Supergirl," sometimes filming both on the same day. "I would be on the 'Supergirl' set and then the 'When Calls the Heart' set and back to 'Supergirl,'" she explained to Media From the Heart. "There were some days that we split and I'd do a night shoot on 'Supergirl' and then go back to 'When Calls the Heart.' So it got a little crazy sometimes."

No matter how busy she gets, Brooks loves her job with Hallmark. "I adore our cast and crew so much and I still pinch myself when driving in to work every day," she confessed to It's A Wonderful Movie. "I do believe that television has tremendous power to bring families and loved ones together ... I absolutely love being a part of it all!"