I read that you were trying to get into forestry before becoming an actress. What made
you change your mind?
I really didn’t need to change my mind - I had one semester left to get
my bachelor in science for forestry and I wanted to get away for the summer to do something artistic. I was trying to expand
the other side of my brain. I took an acting class, and it was put on by two of the top casting directors in Vancouver. The
next week they both called me over for auditions - I ended up booking one of the roles - I had no idea what I was doing. (Laughs)
Then the next week I got an agent - after that I got a recurring role - it just took off before I knew what was going on.
What did you want to do with forestry?
I was looking to go into
horticulture - which is regenerating the forest. I was kind of disheartened when I went into it because it was more about
economics than it was about nature.
So you also write songs?
Yeah,
I do. Well, not so much anymore, but a film I just finished called "The Black Eyed Dog" I got to write and perform
my own song. So that was exciting. And it was actually not intended to be that way... It was supposed to be a Joni Mitchell
song. Then ten minutes before we were supposed to do the scene the director comes to me and said that they didn’t get
the rights to the song... and asked if I could do anything. So I whipped up a song in ten minutes.
Is
that another road you’d like to travel some day? Some sort of music career?
I think it’s
cool to incorporate the two of them. I might do that again. I could write music for the films that I’m in to incorporate
the two. I don’t know if I’d ever do it just for the sake of writing an album, but definitely for a film.
Let’s talk about The Collector... I heard it was cancelled...
Yeah,
it was. It was a bummer. It’s exciting to go on and do new things, but it was a shame.
I
heard rumors that it’s being released in the US... are they still planning that?
Yeah, it is.
They sold it to a distributor, and they’re in the process of figuring out who’s going to buy it, and what network
it’s going to be on.
I saw it for the first time last week since we don’t get it down here, but I was very surprised with it... I thought
it was great.
Yeah, it’s really a neat idea. It was a new concept every week. So it’s cool
that it’s going to get it’s second life down there.
Maybe it will help resurrect
it... you never know.
Yeah, exactly. It’s kind of a shame because we never got to wrap it up
- so I have a sneaky suspicion that they’ll do something for the fans.
What
was your fondest memory while working on the show?
My fondest memory always goes to Chris. He’s
like a brother to me, and it was always fun to go on the set and gross each other out. (Laughs) Whether it be him farting
or me burping - he made it a lot of fun. One of my fondest times was when we did an episode called The Junkie. My character
was going back to heroin - it actually made me physically sick... it’s not really a fond memory (laughs)... it was just
a good episode for me... to get that involved in it.
So you worked on Stargate this
week?
I’m working on it at the end of the month.
Is
it a recurring role?
It is, yeah.
What’s your character
about?
My character’s name is Charlotte Mayfield. I don’t watch the show religiously...
so it’s hard to know all of the details. I know that the people that really know Stargate are going to bust me when
I say something wrong... (laughs) But Baal... he’s a really big bad guy... she’s part of his posse. I think this
is really a big episode. It’s when we find that there’s another one of his kind. So that’s probably a big
deal to the Stargate fans. I’ll probably know more when I read the script. (Laughs)
You’ve
got a couple things coming up... tell me about the new movies coming out.
One is called "The Ties
That Bind".
Is that the one on Lifetime?
Yep. That ones
actually kinda cool. It’s about a couple who buy a beautiful home - there’s a pool house in the back that they
decide to rent that out to someone to help with the mortgage.... which would be me. And naturally I end up being a complete
psycho who ends up ruining their lives. (Laughs) Kind of like "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle". And the other one
that I have coming out is called "A Stranger Game". That’s with Mimi Rogers... and it’s on Lifetime
as well. They’re pumping them out. (Laughs)
I don’t watch many Lifetime
movies, but I’ll make sure to check these out.
(Laughs) Thanks. I have a small role in that one,
I play the love interest. But the most exciting one that I have coming out is "Black Eyed Dog" - that’s a
theatrical release. And it will be making the film festival circuit.
And you’re
the main character in that one?
Starring me! And that’s the one that I sing the song in. It actually
closes out the film. I’m really proud of it.
When’s it coming out?
It’s going to do the festivals first. I think they’re trying for the fall, but the producers want it around
December so it can hit all the festivals. So it’s to be determined. It’s one of the best written films that I’ve
ever seen. I was really lucky. And I also got a recurring role on an ABC show called Kyle XY.
Would you like to continue working with TV or stay in films?
I wouldn’t limit
myself to anything because The Collector was such a great experience, and being a character for that long... and to have that
opportunity to develop it over so many years... really is a great experience. I’d be happy to do either.
What do you do to try to stick out when you audition?
I try to be myself because there’s
nobody else like me. I don’t know what else to do besides that. (Laughs) Just keep it real, man.
But there’s
a technique that I developed, when I first started acting I couldn’t really figure out how to be real in a room because
it’s such an unreal circumstance. I was really uncomfortable at first. I took an acting class and the teacher gave me
an idea that before you audition - wether I have to laugh, cry, or whatever... I would go in there and I’d almost be
crying... I’d work myself up so that I’d have tears about ready to come. So that no matter what I had to do next,
you’re a step away from laughing or screaming because it’s all the same emotion. I found when I did that - I was
able to be more myself.
Now what are some things you’d like to improve on?
That’s a good question. Maybe containing my emotion a little more. That’s something I’m working on right
now... and hopefully I’ll be able to control it a little better.
Is there anything
you wish you did differently to get to where you are now?
You know, I used to wish that I started earlier.
Either act in high school... something like that. But I don’t. I wouldn’t change a thing - it’s so much
more enriching knowing that I’ve done other things and that I’ve seen the other side of the world. It doesn’t
have anything to do with acting, but I think it makes me a little more grounded at times. But I wouldn’t change a thing.
It’s great - I love it.
