Non-MX Interviews: Lauren Lee Smith (7/13 Revive photoshoot)
Excerpt from Revive 7/13: Lauren Lee Smith | YouTube
Listening in on Lauren Lee Smith: CTV's The Listener Actress Dishes on Being a Model, Actor, and Vagabond and What It Is about Her That Shocks People the Most
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Our cover girl Lauren Lee Smith from CTV's The Listener was a trouper for her poolside shoot....which happened the morning after it snowed in southern Ontario! Despite the frigid temps, Smith donned a bikini and heated up the whole set! Catch Smith's cover story in the summer issue of Revive Magazine on stands July! What she says may be shocking to some of her fans.
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Nobody can say Lauren Lee Smith doesn't know how to act after watching her brave the shoot for Revive. After a few days of Ontario sunshine and temperatures reaching over 25°C, Mother Nature decided to play a trick by dropping a few inches of snow on the ground the night before her poolside photo shoot. Always the professional, Smith was eager to move ahead and brave the brisk temperature. 'Despite the very chilly weather, it was a lot of fun. The sun was still shining so it will look like a summer day. Everyone kept me very warm in between shooting. I used to model when I was younger, and it's always the same thing. You're modelling swimwear in winter and you're modelling winter wear in the summer," giggles Smith. "You just have to grin and bear it!"
Today, fans know Lauren Lee Smith as bold and brave Sgt. Michelle McCluskey on CTV's The Listener. Hardworking and dedicated to her career, Smith became a household name in the U.S. after being cast on the Showtime series, The L Word, which was filmed in her hometown of Vancouver. Seamlessly transitioning into film, Smith co-starred in Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential, The Last Kiss directed by Tony Goldwyn, and Sandra Nettleback's Helen for which Smith won a Leo Award. Her most notable performance was the leading role in the independent award-winning film Lie With Me, directed by Clement Virgo, where she played a very outgoing and sexual woman. Although Smith noted that all of her previous roles were special in one way or another, she says Lie With Me, the Last Kiss, and Helen were some of the most emotional and challenging experiences. "I grew from each of those roles," she says. "They were very different and probably three of the hardest projects that I have ever worked in, but at the same time the most satisfying."
Unconventional Beginnings
Born in Vancouver, Smith's upbringing was far from traditional. Between the ages of three and 15, her family lived a life of vagabonds travelling around the world while her entrepreneur step-father dabbled in a variety of opportunities. "They wanted us to see the world so they took jobs all over the place. We packed up and followed along for several years. We got to live in a lot of cool places. We lived in Costa Rica, The South of France, and southern California," she says. "Spending time in Nice, France was pretty incredible. I was 14 when we moved there and it was pretty spectacular to be that age and be in Nice."
While most actresses venture to Los Angeles to seek fame, Smith took the unconventional route to pursue her career. After graduation, she left Los Angeles to move to Vancouver to pursue modelling and kickstart her acting career. While she had an agent in Vancouver a few years prior, constantly relocating wasn't easy for the aspiring actress. The move to Vancouver provided the stability required to focus on her craft. Eventually her family followed her and resides in Vancouver to this day. "For me it was the right thing to do," she says. "First of all, we were living there without a Green Card. As a teenager, I couldn't even get driver's license or take on another job even if I wanted to. I did some modelling in Los Angeles, but I knew that I wanted to focus mostly on acting. Being in L.A., I went to theatre school and studied Shakespeare, but I knew I wanted to start in Canada and get my feet wet. It's what made the most sense."
Work for the Willing
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"It's been go, go, go for the last year and a half. I'm hoping to take a month or two off. It's really busy right now. It's hard not to work when there is work because you never know," Smith admits. While projects come and go, her joy of acting makes saying "no" a difficult thing for Smith to do. "I love what I do so much, I love getting the opportunity to play so many different kinds of characters. If it's something I haven't done before and something new I'm always excited to jump at the chance. But I am feeling a little tired after the last season. A little break wouldn't be so bad."
During this anticipated break, Smith will be thankful to relax at home, do yoga and paint while spending time with her friends and two dogs in Toronto. She says one of her favourite city haunts to go during her off-time is Toronto's Eigl Park. "It's close to my home, is a place of tranquility and has a great dog park," she says.
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Listening for Season Four
Although Smith has made Sgt. Michelle McCluskey her own, she admits her character is everything she isn't. "Michelle is a very confident woman," she says. "She has the qualities that I very much admire. She has insane confidence, very smart, and she's putting herself out there in this very male-driven career and so far, she has held her own. What I really like about the character is that she's never compromised herself. She never pretends to be one of the guys. A lot of times, you see these tough female characters emulating the dudes and being one of these tough chicks. The character to me never was that way. She uses her femininity, her intelligence, and the knowledge of the cases rather than pinning herself up against the guys. So I really like that about the character. At the same time, it's really fun to be that tough chick that gets to kick the guy's asses!" laughs Smith.
Smith says this season fans will see a new spin for career-driven McCuskey as she struggles between her home life and her job. "Michelle has always been career-driven. You will see a lot of her internal struggles of trying to figure out if she wants to start a family and what work would mean if she took on the role as mother," says Smith, adding it's a situation she too, may find herself in. "I'm going to be 33 in June, so I have to start thinking if it's something I want," she says. "In this job, it's hard to imagine raising a child. I know several women who do it and my hats off to them. I have a hard enough time getting through it by myself."
Health Matters
Despite the face this admission may lose her a fan or two, Smith says her amazingly fit body comes with little or no effort on her part. "My mom has an amazing body. My whole family are these little stick people. We actually have to constantly eat otherwise we look way too thin. I sound like such an ass to say that but it's true! I like eating cheeseburgers just as much as I enjoy eating salad. It's how I was raised. I never had to do any crazy diets or any of that stuff which I'm very grateful for. I do think about what I put in my body especially when I'm working," admits Smith. "I use food as fuel. Other than that, I think sleep is more important. In my downtime, I like to be active. I like to run, do yoga, and obviously having to big dogs, you have to walk a lot."
Looking Forward
Given her unconventional ways, it should come as no surprise that what Smith has planned for the near future would shock some. Her next venture? Getting over stage fright even though she started off in theatre at 17. "Standing in front of a large crowd is absolutely terrifying to me. People are actually stunned when I admit that to them and ask who I can be an actor. It's weird because I can shut out the camera and disassociate myself with it," Smith laughs. "I have not mastered the art of standing out on stage again. It's something I'm continually working toward and would love to give it a shot again in the next few years."
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