Missy Peregrym is enjoying huge television success at the moment with the character Andy McNally in new cop show Rookie Blue - following on from Reaper and Heroes.
- Do you have any experience of the police? Do you have a family member or something?
No. I didn't know anything about the police before coming into it which was really nerve-wracking. The only saving grace is that I was a rookie, so I didn't have to know everything. Thank God. You know, I don't think it would be so interesting.
I wouldn’t want to play a character that knew everything and knew where to go. It is much more interesting playing a character that is vulnerable trying to be strong. It makes for better TV. That said, I would like to have gotten a bit better at handcuffing people!
- What does she find attractive about Eric?
Luke is stable. He knows what he wants. He is consistent. He's kind. He's a kind of a workaholic. He does care for Andy. I think it’s a safety thing.
Andy feels safe with Luke, especially when I come from a relationship where my father's an alcoholic and I've had to take care of him. As a teenager Andy was trying to take care of her father and her mother left, so it's a sense of home that Andy’s desperate for.
That's what Andy sees in him. However, Sam, he’s dangerous and I have more of a passion with him than with Luke and its scarier, but it makes you feel more alive. The truth is that Sam is always there whenever Andy is in a situation, that’s because they work together, but it is exactly the same thing emotionally - it’s like you save my life whether we are partners or not, Andy is very grateful for that connection.
- Who would you choose of the characters?
Personally I'd have Sam. Only because it's pretty easy, it's pretty simple to connect with him and there's a communication that happens between Sam and Andy which is unspoken and powerful.
- Are you surprised at the ratings?
Yeah. We all cared so much, and it was out of the blue, I don't think anyone knew what to think and we had a fantastic time slot following Grey’s Anatomy.
I remember laying in bed that morning and I did not want answer my phone, they said we did fantastic with show ratings. I'd said I don't know what that means and asked if we did okay? They said yes we did better than we thought we would.
That didn't mean that we're going to get take up so we waited for the second and the third episode and we ended up carrying our numbers. The whole time we were just praying to God that we could go back for season 2 and was so excited when we heard we're going to, it was the best thing in the world.
- Do you like watching yourself?
No - because I make weird faces. However, I will say Rookie Blue is the one show I was very excited to watch because of the way the other actors played their characters and their scenes.
I genuinely laughed and I genuinely cried, I thought they did such fantastic job and that was the first time that I actually enjoyed a show that I’ve actually been part of which was great
- What would be great for your career?
I'm happy where I am right now. I see people sacrificing things because they think it will make them a bigger star.
Then you have just lost yourself and your private life because people are paying too much attention to you. I'd rather do a job that I love and that am proud of.
- What is your dream role?
I've no idea. I'm really happy where I am right now. A dream role doesn't exist without having fantastic people around you and trusting those you work with. I could create a dream role with this team I work with right now if we continue working because I’m just in a cop backdrop.
Andy is so much more than just a cop. We have everything to explore if we want. I read scripts and I think 'Eh?' I just want to play women, to make a difference and have a lot to offer. I want my work to be inspiring and I want it to matter. Even if it just matters to me, then that's great.
- Are the producers happy with you skydiving?
That was before this. They’re ok with it. It's actually fine. They are more concerned that I don’t ever want to let the stunt person do the stunts.. I’d rather do it myself and be careful not to get hurt.
They let me do it most of the time, but episode one of season two, I totally gave myself whiplash. I didn’t mean to. I had to fall really hard back onto concrete on a thin mat. If you’re going to have a stunt double, they have to turn their faces.
The angles aren’t going to be as good. You’re not going to get the real emotion and I'd rather see the real moment because that's what people connect to. I notice every time there’s a stunt person.
I'm not Jackie Chan, but I am just saying I do like to do stunts. Let me do it -- and just let me do two takes and if you need more than that, then you can put in the stunt double.
- How was the character Andy first described to you?
Strong. When we had the discussion, when we were talking to Ilana (the producer), Tassie (show runner/writer) and David (director of many Rookie Blue episodes), they had an idea of who this character would be.
We really wanted to make her strong but also with a lot of vulnerabilities. We didn't want her to be together. We wanted her to have good intentions but we wanted her to screw up, make mistakes and not be able to have it together as much she would like to.
I wanted her to be as well rounded as possible. Season two shows more sides of every character which is really nice now that we’re established. It's a fine line because I'm still a rookie, but I'm not really at the beginning, and not really prepared either. It's been fun
- How did you find playing a police officer?
You want to play it with the most respect possible for those people who are going to be watching the show. You want to represent them properly but at the same time we’re rookies and we don't know what we're doing.
We just want to make it believable. You want to humanise police officers, you want to feel sorry for them and the sacrifices they make but you don't want to make them look wimpy. Everything walks such a fine line in terms of the way you want to go with the situation.
- Had you met any police women before you started to star in the show?
No. The trainer that came in to teach us how to handcuff and shoot guns and how to enter the situation, she was like Lara Croft.
She had a pink bra in her bag, it was so sexy. She came in with cargo pants and she looked so strong but then you saw that feminism come through. It was very cool.
- How was it carrying a weapon? Did you get used to it?
I guess so. It's very fake, the one that I carry is plastic. When filming really features the gun, they are real. They are heavy and it's never comfortable to point it at somebody. Not when you are holding a real gun.
The emotion that I felt was that I had power I didn't want. Even though you're shooting blanks, you’re pulling the trigger and even though it isn't going to hurt the person you're simulating it pretty well and I hated it.
I hated every second of it. What a horrible position for anybody to be in -- to have to make that decision of who has to live and who has to die. I didn't expect to be affected by that but I think that's what happens when you're doing this job. You have to be vulnerable to make this believable.
- Can you tell us a little bit about preparing to be a police officer, the handcuffs?
I'm terrible at it. I can't handcuff at all. I try to get them to film above that because it’s actually very difficult to do with sleeves that you have to pull up. If I'd been doing this for 10 years then I would probably be very good, but at this point I suck badly.
The one thing that I can do is draw my gun properly and that's it. When you're entering a building, you have to make sure that you're looking in the right direction, especially when you're working with a partner.
We depend on the officers to come and tell us those things on set. If we have a really specific scene like that, they'll guide us on what is appropriate. We're still so new at this and even officers talk about that transition to being a citizen.
You don't grow up being a cop. You grow up being a citizen and you have to grow into being a cop, and your instincts have to change. It's habit of thinking and you have to reroute and rewire your brain to react differently in certain situations.
I think that’s a struggle for everybody when they begin being a cop. That takes five years to do, that's why you’re a rookie for a long time.
- Were you a fan of cop shows? Did you watch a lot of them?
I didn't watch a lot of TV growing up. I didn't have cable because my parents didn't want us to watch TV so it's funny that I'm doing this. I am actually kind of a wimp, I can't handle that stuff. I don't watch the news.
I get really emotional about it and I carry that stuff with me for a long time. I don't think I could be a cop in real life so I was nervous coming into this job. I did know what things were going to be written and I didn't know what I was going to have to face.
- How many seasons are there going to be?
I don't know. We don't have that assurance so we're just going to wait and see what happens with this season.
- Do you like watching yourself?
When I react to something. I can't really watch it. I'm really proud of this show, it's one of the first ones that I was excited to see how it was going to be put together. I was pleasantly surprised by how everybody plays their storylines because I don't see all of them do their stuff.
I'm only really involved in my storyline so it was great to watch them. I genuinely laugh and I genuinely cry, I was affected by our show and I've never had that before which is probably why I’m proud of it too. But no, I don't like watching myself.
- Do you think that this has raised your profile quite a lot then?
I guess it has. I didn't really expect that but we came back to film the second series and people were screaming Rookie Blue in the streets. It's wonderful.
I think that this is something for Canada to be really proud of. It's a big deal for others to make a show like this so I'm happy for that.
- How do you see your future? Is it in Canada, is it in LA?
I have no idea. I stopped playing the game where I think I know where I should settle. I just don't know because the job can always take you somewhere else. I used to really care about getting married and having kids because that's what I’m passionate about and I’d love that but I'm trying to live in the moment.
I'm trying to just be satisfied and happy with now. To be honest in my career, I've never known where I wanted to go with it. I've just always made sure that the projects that I'm involved in are part of something that I really believe in and I'm proud of them.
If I don't work for two or three years because I don't find something that I'm happy about, then I don't. If I decide to quit altogether then I guess that's what I'm doing and I'll decide to work somewhere else. We'll see what happens.
- Do you go to Europe for work?
Yes, I went to Europe for the first season of Rookie Blue before it aired in the States. We went to Cannes, which was so 'ugly!' It was stunning! I was literally there going: 'This is work?'
I felt so bad that they flew me all the way there to work. It was wonderful. I actually got stuck because of the volcano. I had to rent a car and go to Paris with my mother. It was a kind of crazy experience, but I really, really loved it.
Source: Female First
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