YYZ LIVING
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RACHEL SKARSTEN
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What are some of your favourite Toronto eateries?
Live Food Bar on Dupont—I’m obsessed with their “Big Bowl.” I also love going to Red Tea Box on Queen West to read a book with a cupcake and tea. Come and Get It on Spadina Avenue makes my all time favourite fries.
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What are some of your favourite Toronto shops?
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Young Jong’s Fruit and Flower Market on Avenue Road—always having fresh flowers in my home is a true indulgence. For clothing, Jonathan and Olivia on Ossington Avenue, and Riant on Bathurst Street.
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Which actor or actress would you like to work with?
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Daniel Day Lewis. I admire his dedication to his roles, how he can completely transform himself, and how he’s remained an actor first and a celebrity second.
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If you could have played any role in a movie that’s already been made, whom would you have played?
Which is harder to play: a comedic role or a serious role?
Comedic roles are easier to play in the moment because there’s a certain spontaneity to delivering a joke. You simply can’t over think it. However, those roles are more difficult in the end because to an audience, comedy is such an individual thing. Dramatic roles take a lot more mental and emotional preparation, but tend to be easier to communicate in the end. When done right, we can all relate to pain.
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Who is your biggest inspiration?
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My mother and my grandmother. They both taught me in different ways how important faith, family, a university education, and a dream really are. My grandmother was a true dreamer who walked to the beat of her own drum. She was a free bird, a rare breed.
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What three things can you not live without?
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(1) My Rosebud lip salve, (2) My little brother Jon—it’s always been him and me against the world, and (3) For spring in Toronto, my Dubarry boots. They repel rain and look better the more you wear them.
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Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface. She was beautiful, powerful, and tragic.
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What was it like working on the set of The Vow?
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I got to spend my time snuggling Scott Speedman and gushing to Sam Neil about my obsession with Jurassic Park. So, I’d say it was pretty great.
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If you weren’t acting, what would you be doing?
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Going crazy.
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We know we’ll be seeing you very soon, so what are some of your current projects?
I’m starting production on the third season of Lost Girl, which airs in the U.S. on SyFy and in Canada on Showcase. I’ll also be finishing up shooting Transporter for HBO/Cinemax and I just completed working on a great Canadian film, Two Hands to Mouth, which we’re awaiting a release date for.