Mutant X Interviews: Victoria Pratt (2001 - 1/06 Mutant X)

[mutantxarchive]

Victoria Pratt Interview from 2001, on SciFi and TV Talk

Sci-Fi Blast from the Past

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, the beautiful and talented Victoria Pratt talks about her first season playing Shalimar Fox on Mutant X. Mutant X’s Shalimar Fox opens the door to the Safehouse and walks inside. “We’re ready to go,” she says, closing the door behind her. The feral beauty then sits on the railing of the walkway and listens as Adam Kane, the group’s leader, and teammate Jesse Kilmartin talk with Charlotte, a new mutant whose mere touch can change one’s moral compass. Because of an incident from the past involving Adam and her father, Charlotte feels she is entitled to a place on the team.
“I’m sorry, Charlotte, but you’re not joining Mutant X,” says Adam.
“Fine. If that’s the way you want it, then that’s the way it has to be,” she answers, getting up from her seat. The young woman brushes Jesse’s hand as she walks by him and heads towards the steps leading to the walkway. Without warning, Jesse begins to hyperventilate. He looks at Adam and says angrily, “Where does it say that you get to make decisions for everyone?”
“Jesse, what’s wrong?” asks Shalimar. She starts to walk down the steps and passes Charlotte, who brushes against her shoulder.
“Was I talking to you?” he asks. Adam tries to speak but Jesse interrupts him. “I’ve had it!”
A wave of dizziness briefly overcomes Shalimar, who blurts out, “And I’ve about had it with your attitude!”
“Stop it both of you!” orders Adam, but he is ignored. A smug Charlotte watches as Jesse whirls around and Shalimar prepares to leap over the railing to attack him.
“That was great!” says Mutant X director Drew Potter. The scene being rehearsed is for an upcoming episode of the series, Altered Ego. As the actors move off the set, the lighting crew comes in to do their work. Since she will not be needed for a while, actress Victoria Pratt, who portrays Shalimar Fox, suggests finding a spot in the “Sanctuary set” for a chat. A year ago, she was fighting to save humankind as the formidable Sarge in the futuristic Science Fiction series Cleopatra 2525. Nowadays the actress is still battling it out with the bad guys on Mutant X and in a role she absolutely adores. However, according to Pratt it was not love at first sight when it came to Shalimar Fox.

“When I read the first script I thought, ‘You know what, maybe this isn’t the right part for me after all.’ The character of Shalimar as originally written was a completely different person,” explains Pratt. “She was very aggressive, mean-spirited and not well-liked. In fact, she was a lot like Sarge only with animal DNA. As much fun as I had playing Sarge you can’t play that same type of character forever. It was only after I met with the writers and they saw that I was a flirt and loved to goof around and laugh that they began to think, ‘Maybe we can take this character in another direction.’

“For example, originally when Shalimar and Emma [Lauren Lee Smith] first meet they immediately dislike each other. All I could think was, ‘That’s so stereotypical. I don’t want to play someone that catty,’ so they changed it. Now the two women have a special relationship as well as a deep connection and I’m pleased about that. I think it’s important for the good guys to get along because there are enough bad guys to dislike,” she jokes. “After all, this isn’t Melrose Place. It’s not a soap opera where we need that sort of internal conflict to make it interesting to watch. So once I’d heard they were re-tooling certain aspects of the program I became interested again, and I’m so glad I did. I love my character now and I’m thrilled to be a part of this show.”

Shalimar Fox’s mentor and Mutant X’s enigmatic founder Adam (John Shea) was once a biogeneticist at the biotech firm Genomex. He resigned after learning that his research was being used to cause genetic mutations in unwitting human beings. The experiments endowed each test subject or “Child of Genomex” with superhuman abilities. Adam has pledged to help these “new mutants” learn how to use their powers and protect them from being exploited or even killed by such ruthless individuals as Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus), Genomex’s security chief. Shalimar was the first recruit to join Adam’s cause.

“I think we’ve got the viewers curious about Shalimar’s relationship with Adam,” notes Pratt. “Because she was the first member of Mutant X, they have a certain closeness. Shalimar is Adam’s confidant and vice versa. They share a lot of information that they don’t necessarily pass on to the rest of the group. There’s actually been some buzz on the Internet as to whether or not they’re lovers or even if Adam is her father. He feels this tremendous guilt over what happened to Shalimar and the other Children of Genomex, and I don’t think the show’s writers are quite sure where to go with that yet, which is neat. Mutant X has been picked up for 44 episodes, so we can take [that relationship] wherever we want. John and I enjoy doing scenes together and we have a good on-screen chemistry. It’ll be fun to see what happens with our two characters as time goes on.

“Some viewers are also wondering if there’s anything going on between Shalimar and Jesse [Forbes March],” she continues. “In the first episode [The Shock of the New] Adam explains to Emma how possessive and territorial Shalimar can be and how protective she is of those she loves, and that includes Jesse. So that got people thinking, ‘Ooh, maybe it’s her and Jesse.’ From the start, though, I think the writers have tried really hard to make it more of a brother/sister bond with Jesse and Shalimar. However, when you get a bunch of young people together in a beautiful spot you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen,” jokes the actress. “As for Shalimar’s relationship with Brennan Mulwray [Victor Webster], it’s pretty much as it seems. He’s the new guy on the team and my character is happy to have him as a friend and colleague.”

The actress makes a dramatic entrance in the opening teaser of Mutant X’s premiere episode The Shock of the New. Shalimar and Jesse move in to help new mutant Emma deLauro, who is being chased by a group of Genomex’s hired hands. Pratt’s feral alter ego descends from a nearby rooftop and lands on top of an SUV ready to do battle with the enemy. It’s a moment she will remember for a long time to come. “I’m a very athletic person and I think that’s probably one of the reasons why I get to do a lot of my own stunts,” says Pratt. “However, I’ve never done a decelerator fall before. A decelerator is a huge truck with these massive cables. The producers asked me, ‘Are you interested in doing [this stunt]?’ I said, ‘Yes. It’s my character’s introduction. I definitely want it to be me.’ What can I say, I’m weird that way,” she laughs. “Because this machinery is so expensive to rent I wasn’t able to practice beforehand. They did do a trial run with my stunt double, bless her heart. I watched her as she did it and figured, ‘OK, not a problem.’

“We shot the scene at night. I walked onto the set dressed in a tight leather outfit with high heels and a long coat. The stunt guys strapped me into this special harness and these cables pulled me off the ground and four stories up into the air. I looked down and saw this itty-bitty dot, which was the SUV that I was supposed to land on. I asked myself, ‘What were you thinking?’ My parents live only a couple of hours away and they happened to come up to visit me that day, so they were down below watching. All I kept thinking was, ‘Please don’t let me die.’ Luckily, we have what’s probably the best stunt team in Canada, so I knew they’d take good care of me.

“Believe it or not, the landing was as soft as jumping from the sidewalk onto the street. When I landed the first thing I did was take inventory. ‘OK, I’m alive,’ I thought. ‘Oh, wait a sec, I’m not done. I’ve got to kick some ass.’ By the third take I was confident that I wasn’t going to die and could therefore carry on with the remainder of the action. I’ll never forget, though, the feeling of hanging up there with my heart racing, then falling and just hoping fear wasn’t written all over my face.”

Fighting crime and super-villainy doesn’t leave a gal much time for a life, let alone a boyfriend. However, Shalimar does find Mr. Right in the first-season episode Fool for Love. The man in question, Richard Saunders, a researcher at Genomex and, surprisingly enough, also a feral, was played by Canadian actor Yannick Bisson. “Shalimar not only falls in love in this episode but she must also decide whether or not she would like to give up her special powers in order to stay with this man forever,” says Pratt. “The story is very emotional. It has everything in it that I’ve always wanted to do as an actress but up to now hadn’t been given the vehicle in which to do it. I thought Yannick Bisson was terrific. He has a martial arts background and there’s a fight scene we do that’s like ballet except that it’s incredibly sexy. Because our characters are both ferals it’s as if they’re playing with each other rather than trying to actually hurt one another. The episode was such a blast to do and I’m proud of how it turned out. It’s definitely my favourite so far this season.”

There were some critics that panned Mutant X when it first came out. However, the series has proven to be a favourite with Science Fiction fans, who have also responded favorably to Pratt’s portrayal of Shalimar Fox. “I think about the TV shows that influenced me when I was younger,” says the actress. “I used to always watch The Bionic Woman. I loved to pretend that I was bionic. These days, I get letters from little girls telling me, ‘Shalimar is so neat. When I grow up I want to be just like her.’ That makes me feel good,” says Pratt with a smile.

© Steve Eramo

Excerpt from Mania TV 10/20/01: Victoria Pratt

The Next Evolution of Mutant Kind: MUTANT X brings the concept of super-powered mutants to the real world
By: Rob Allstetter, Date: Saturday, October 20, 2001

One of them shoots electricity out of his hands. Another can change his mass at will. One manipulates and reads emotions. And still another has strange cat-like abilities. No, they're not the X-Men, but rather they're the next best thing the characters of MUTANT X, the latest weekly television series to tackle the syndicated genre market. Not coincidentally, one of the show's producers is Marvel Studios, home of the aforementioned mutant team. And while the characters might sound like the comic book band of super-heroes (so much so, in fact, that 20th Century Fox has filed suit alleging violations against its movie rights), MUTANT X puts a new spin on the concept of super-powered mutants. Instead of being born with their abilities, the characters of MUTANT X are engineered the results of genome splicing some 15 to 20 years earlier. Look at it as stem cell research gone awry. "This is based on potentially real issues," says Marvel's Avi Arad, creator of MUTANT X.
....
MUTANT X features an attractive cast, including Forbes March as the mass-changing Jesse Kilmartin; Victoria Pratt, as Shalimar Fox, a "feral," whose DNA was spliced with that of animals; Lauren Lee Smith, as Emma deLauro, a burgeoning telempath; and Victor Webster as Brennan Mulwray, a street-savvy thief who controls electricity. They're also a very physical cast, handling a number of their own stunts Pratt did a four-story jump in the series' opener and wirework fighting scenes.
....
The equally athletic Pratt is still recognized from her previous work in genre television a two-episode stint as Cyane, Queen of the Amazons, on XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and a starring role on CLEOPATRA 2525 playing Sarge. However, MUTANT X has provided all sorts of new physical challenges for the actress, including extensive wirework and leaps. "I trust our stunt people completely," Pratt says. "It's been a lot of fun, and the show is very exciting."

© Mania TV

Victoria Pratt: SciFi Wire 11/13/01

Pratt Explains Mutant X Success

Victoria Pratt told SCI FI Wire that she's both "pleased and surprised" that Mutant X is a breakout hit. "We'd been plugging away for 13 episodes and then they finally came on the air," Pratt said. "It was like, 'Wow! People can finally watch it now,' and they are watching it, which is great."

Mutant X debuted in October and quickly emerged as the top-rated dramatic hour in first-run syndication. Based on an idea from Marvel Comics boss Avi Arad, the show centers on Mutant X, an organization that seeks to protect a group of genetically engineered humans from themselves and the government. John Shea stars as Adam, the wealthy scientist who heads up Mutant X, while Pratt plays Shalimar Fox, a mutant with feral abilities who serves as Adam's closest ally. Pratt - whose credits include the role of Sarge on Cleopatra 2525 and guest stints on Xena: Warrior Princess and First Wave - thinks she can explain Mutant X's success. "A lot of fans came to us because Xena and Cleo are no longer on the air," she said. "We also have a lot of fans that came to us from La Femme Nikita, because the same production company that did that is doing Mutant X. I also think we got a lot of comic book fans who are watching our show because of the comic book connection. That's a lot of people, and I think everybody's getting something different out of it."

© Scifi.com

Prevue Magazine 2/02: Victoria Pratt

Sexy Victoria Pratt Prowls Mutant X

Victoria Pratt, Mutant X’s Shalimar Fox, is definitely one of television’s sexiest sci-fi/action stars. Shalimar is described in the show’s Writers’ Guide as “fiery, feral and stunning, a sensual beauty utterly in touch with her primal self,” and much the same can be said of Pratt. The fiery blond has helped propel Mutant X to the top-rated syndicated TV series of the fall season and one of the most entertaining sci-fi gems to come around in recent years. PREVUE recently sat down with Pratt to discuss her role as Shalimar.

PREVUE: Now that you have the role, what is different about Shalimar than what was originally on paper?
PRATT: When I read the pilot, Shalimar was a very angry character that didn’t get along with anyone on the team. I thought, “Not another cement-head role.”

PREVUE: Did that surprise you?
PRATT: I think sometimes it is hard to write for women of action, because the writers and producers think that if you are going to be tough, then you are going to be mean. Or, if you are going to be strong then you have to look masculine. I wasn’t interested in that at all. My character on Cleopatra 2525 was sort of the muscle of the group, and to tell you the truth, it gets really boring playing those sort of meathead roles.

PREVUE: How did you manage to get the role turned in a different direction?
PRATT: I had a long talk with the writers and they saw that I had a sense of humor and could bring something else to it, so they wrote Shalimar into a very much softer character that can still kick ass, but she’s funny and she’s goofy. Instead of fighting with everyone on the team she’s now more nurturing and motherly.

PREVUE: That would still seem to fit with the feral nature of Shalimar.
PRATT: The fact that Shalimar’s got animal DNA-she’s part animal-gives her animal instincts. She’s territorial, and she’s like a mother lioness. Those characteristics have come out more rather than just the aloofness of a cat.

PREVUE: Are you happy with the direction that Shalimar eventually developed?
PRATT: I’m really happy with those changes. I couldn’t have done it the other way.

PREVUE: Do you see room for Shalimar to grow?
PRATT: I think she’s a very multi-layered character. Shalimar’s back-story is very similar to my own back-story. I think it’s very funny that they wrote out back-stories before they cast us. Shalimar came from a very small town and was a track star, who didn’t quite fit in. She’s a loving sort of person with this strange gift that she didn’t know what to do with. I think the fact that Shalimar come from humble beginnings and a happy childhood, give a lot of room to explore. She’s got this extraordinary gift and I think you could do anything with that character. It’s kind of exciting to think of where that could go.

PREVUE: How are the physical demands of Mutant X as compared to Cleopatra 2525?
PRATT: On Cleopatra 2525 we had a second unit. The second unit is there to clean up your action and do inserts of hands and things like that. We don’t have a second unit on Mutant X, so we have to get all the action on the day we shoot, because we can’t go back and clean it up later. Because of that, we have to do a lot more. It’s challenging, but it is still fun, because I like to do my own action, and we’ve got a really fine stunt team and fight team.

PREVUE: The action sequences really look great.
PRATT: Our stunt team is really steeped in the Hong Kong style of action. There was a stick fight that Jesse and Shalimar got into, and I’m not the strongest with the sticks, but they coordinated the fight scene so we looked like champs. We work out in the gym and we really coordinate the fights, so that when it comes time to do it, we know what we are doing and not floundering around.

PREVUE: How long are the shooting days?
PRATT: Usually we arrive at 5:30 AM in the morning for hair and make-up and we shoot until 9:00 PM at night, so they are pretty long days.

PREVUE: How did you physically approach the role of Shalimar as compared to how you played Sarge on Cleopatra 2525?
PRATT: To begin with, I started transforming my body. I stopped lifting weights. My character on Cleopatra 2525 was the muscle, and with that costume I had to have big shoulders, big arms and the abs. It was a much more intimidating look I was going for with Sarge. With Shalimar, I wanted to be more cat-like, and by dropping the weights and just doing kickboxing, cardio and circuit training, it allowed me to lean out the look a bit and make her more graceful.

PREVUE: How do you like Shalimar’s look as compared to Sarge?
PRATT: I like Shalimar’s look better, personally, as a woman.

PREVUE: And the make-up?
PRATT: They keep it really natural with very little make-up and carefree tousled hair. The long hair looks great when you are doing fights. Long hair to me looks like energy when you are moving. When you are doing a spin-kick and your hair flies it just looks like energy. They wanted my character to be kinetic.

PREVUE: What about your wardrobe?
PRATT: My wardrobe is really wild too. It’s all leathers with unfinished hems and really organic fabrics. It’s really keeping in the animal colors with lots of tawny, tan and black. Shalimar’s very unadorned, she doesn’t where a lot of jewelry. As an animal, you would think that would feel really restrictive.

PREVUE: How have your fans responded to your new role?
PRATT: I was hearing from fans even before the show even aired, just from the buzz on the Internet. The fans that I brought with me from my Cleopatra 2525 and Xena days have been very happy with my new character.

PREVUE: Can you tell us about working with John (Adam) Shea?
PRATT: He’s a delight! He’s a new dad and his wife and his baby come to visit the set a lot. He’s really a laid back, mellow fellow. He’s a pleasure to work with and hang out with.

PREVUE: Does the cast feel like family at this point?
PRATT: We have an easy camaraderie between the whole group which is really nice and really refreshing. We get together a lot outside of work, the entire gang of us.

PREVUE: What can you tell us about Lauren Lee Smith, who plays Emma?
PRATT: She’s a doll! She is very easygoing and very laid back. We have so much fun together! We share a trailer and she’s got one end of it and I’ve got the other. When I come back from L.A., I bring in little treats that you can’t get in Canada and she brings me little presents. We really have a sisterly relationship, not a competitive relationship.

PREVUE: Tribune Entertainment has committed to 44 episodes of Mutant X, how does that make you feel?
PRATT: It’s an amazing luxury. I’m on a series that’s number one, we’re the highest rated show in syndication. I’ve got a character that I enjoy playing, she’s multi-layered and she’s fun, and I’ve got the security of knowing that I’ll be working for quite a long time on the character.

PREVUE: Does the show’s success open more doors for you?
PRATT: It gives me the opportunity to do films that don’t pay very much. The little independent films don’t pay very much because they don’t have any money, but you do them because you love the projects. It’s nice to be able to do it because you don’t need the paycheck.

PREVUE: So, are you ready to be Shalimar for the next five years? By the way, is that how long you are signed on for?
PRATT: (laughing) Honey, I’m not discussing the terms of my contract with you. No really, you’ll be seeing me around for a long time. Whether or not they want to have me on the show for five years, that remains to be seen.

© Prevue Magazine

SciFi Stream 8/18/02: Forbes March, Victoria Pratt, and John Shea

MUTANT X :: Meet the cast

We travelled out to the set of Mutant X, the new action drama about human mutants posessing extraordinary powers as a result of genetic experimentation gone awry, to get the scoop from the inside! Sci-fi veteran John Shea stars in the eagerly anticipated action hour, and he, along with co-stars Victoria Pratt and Forbes March, gives us a guided tour of their brand new lair, "The Sanctuary!"
....
Victoria Pratt: Mutant X, it's gonna be fantastic! It's about a group of mutants led by a charismatic fellow named Adam. The mutants on our show and the mutants that we deal with every episode are products of this experiment. And we've been bred with different kinds of DNA. Mine was animal DNA.
....
Victoria: We are fighting to help other mutants that are children of a company called Genomex to sort of live right and don't be evil. Genomex is a secret part of the government and they were created to do genetic research. And now Genomex is run by a fellow named Eckhart who took his experiments in a bad direction. And now he's trying to collect all of these mutants to sort of work for him and to use their powers for his benefit instead of sort of the benefit of human kind.
....
Victoria: My character is Shalimar Fox and she has animal DNA. She's faster and more agile than a human, and just like a cat can drop X times its height, so can I. And I can leap the same distance. And she has heightened senses of smell and vision and fun things like that. It's just such a fun character to play.
....
Victoria: The other girl on the show, Lauren, her character is Emma. And she is telempathic. So she can move things, create feelings in others and sense people's feelings. Brennan, he can throw off sparks. He has electric energy. And that's kind of a fun power for him.
....
Victoria: I get letters from mothers saying, "Oh, you know, my little girl thinks you're so cool because you're so strong." And I really think that's important to me, for girls to feel empowered. But I mean, whoever can draw strength from, you know, whatever source. If they draw strength from me being an outcast in the show, then that's great too. You know, I think people have to find the strength within themselves.
....
Victoria: I do a lot of my own stunts. Some of the things I'm not insured for!
....
Victoria: In the pilot, there's this great...the entrance of my character. I'm jumping from a building down onto the roof a truck. And I don't know, I think they just assume that I'm game because I've done my own stunts in my other show. And I am, for the most part, pretty game. But they took me up four stories on a decelerator. And I'd never done a decelerator fall before and I hadn't rehearsed it. So I was up there in this harness, just looking down, down, down at this tiny little truck and thinking, "What am I doing? I mean, my stunt double is over there, and she's willing!" But boy, when I saw the finished product. And I saw just like the...I mean, you can tell. You can tell when there's height, and when there's air beneath you. And when you see the fall, it just stopped my heart. It stopped my heart on the day, and it stopped my heart then too. And it was just... Oh, it was incredible.
....
Victoria: I think we're talking about the very, very near future on our show. When you think about what they're doing with genetic research right now. I mean, who's to say there aren't mutants next door, you know what I mean? So I think that it's close, if it's not here already.
....
Victoria: There's lots of fun coming up.
Forbes: Yeah.
Victoria: Lots of fun.

© SciFi.com and Tribune Entertainment

SciFi About.com 9/4/02: Victoria Pratt

Mutants, Action, and Acting with Victoria Pratt, an Interview

It's no coincidence that Victoria Pratt is standing in front of a "High Voltage" sign. Currently a blue belt in Shotokan Karate, Pratt once worked at the Human Performance Lab at York University in Toronto (from which she graduated summa cum laude). Now she plays kickboxing mutant Shalimar Fox on the sci-fi TV show Mutant X. Great looks, physical prowess and the ability to act intelligently while standing in front of a blue screen have helped land Pratt a series of action and sci-fi parts, including Cyane on Xena: Warrior Princess(1995), Jackie Janczyk on John Woo's Once a Thief (1997), and Sarge on Cleopatra 2525. Pratt takes pride in the development of her characters and sees Shalimar not has just some foxy warrior, but as a woman of depth and feeling.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pratt: The audience can see female vulnerability in this action role. If you take my last two roles, Sarge had very little vulnerability. She was like a machine, like...well...a guy. When they came to me with Shalimar, she was Sarge-like. I told them she had to change and be different from Sarge, and we worked together to make a character that was more vulnerable. She's much more sensitive to the rest of her "family" on the show. She doesn't just charge in and take over.

Shalimar reminds me somewhat of Linda Hamilton's role in the Terminator movies.
-Oh, Linda Hamilton is my hero. She was so tough and so strong and so vulnerable at the same time. I think that's what woman action figures are allowed to be: vulnerable, in a way that women are. In the beginning, people think vulnerability will make you weak, but it does the opposite. It shows you're strong enough to care.

Vulnerable? We see that in male action heroes, like Bruce Willis in Die Hard, when he's talking about how he should have been nicer to his wife.
-Yes, but that sort of turns off and on. Shalimar doesn't act tough, then vulnerable, then tough again. She keeps it together. She's got that secret love for Brennan, a deep respect for Adam, a sisterly affection for Lauren. You show your vulnerability through relationships, and those feelings are your soft spot. You need to have a soft spot. And I wanted Shalimar to be "feminine." She wears dresses sometimes and kicks ass in high heels. She cries when she's moved. Sarge wouldn't do that. I think the audience can relate to Shalimar better because of that. In the second season, for instance, there are some scenes when Shalimar freaks out. She sees an old boyfriend, leaps on him, and starts pounding away. The audience reaction to that is great. They're like, "You get him, girl!" With this character, I get so much to work with. It's all about exploring the more unpredictable aspects in the character, not just fighting people.

What makes up the center of your character?
-I think all of the mutants have a conflict within themselves. They want to be normal, and they want to be a part of society in a normal way, but they have these extra gifts and responsibilities that take them out of that world. It's a balance they're all trying to maintain.

But what about Shalimar. What makes her an individual?
-I approach my character with the question: What would an animal think? How would an animal respond? A lot of times, it's quick action and no fear, and sometimes it's irrational fear. You don't always know. Shalimar, for instance, has a totally irrational fear of fire. The instinct is to remove herself from that situation. But then, if I were attacked, I would turn around and attack back. I have to go through it each time, figure out which way to go.

Yes, if it were automatic, it would be boring.
-That's the thing with sci-fi and action roles. You have to play the danger as real. If you don't play the danger for real, you end up with egg on your face. You have to commit. As long as you do that, you're okay. You can't think about how stupid it might look without the special effects or whatever. I think women can't be afraid to look like action heroes. It's not always pretty, but when it's on the screen, it translates well to the audience.

Do you think you and other women in action/sci-fi roles get pressure to look pretty all the time?
-You default to what you know. Most women don't play like guys do: they don't wrestle, fight, get into brawls. They don't know how to express themselves in a physical, active way. When that sort of woman gets thrown into an action role, she doesn't know what to do. But I'm all about it. I competed in track for ten years and have been doing kickboxing forever.

Did you have brothers?
-No.

Too bad.
-Yeah, they would be in trouble.

But I was thinking more about what most sci-fi/action female stars have to wear. I mean, some of those outfits! I don't understand how some women can actually act in those things.
-It's part of the job to compensate for outfit. The most important thing is to just be good at what you do. You do a good job playing the character, and people will be taken up with your character, not your clothes.

One of my favorite quotes from a sci-fi actor comes from Brent Spiner, who comments that acting on Star Trek is, "a cross between doing Shakespeare and running around with a towel around your neck, pretending you're Superman." What would be your description of filming Mutant X?
-Smart grown-ups running around at recess.

Do you think the fact that you guys don't take things too seriously helps audience to enjoy the show?
-We take the show very seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously.

Ah, so you read the scripts all the way through?
-I read every script from beginning to end, and I read every draft that I can. I like the show, I like the character, and I want to protect both of those things. We have a new writing team for this season, and while they're great, they might not know things about the character that have been established. I know Shalimar better than anyone else, and I really believe it's the actor's job to protect that knowledge. So when the writers have a problem with their script, we all work together. There's it's a very open line of communication between us and writers

That's quite rare.
-Well, it doesn't help anybody to put out a bad script. If the actor says, "There are too many Ps in this sentence," the writers should help out. And sure, sometimes the script isn't about you, and you may feel like you're sort of just background pushing the story, but that's your job. You don't take the story any less seriously. You're making the story as good as you can and supporting your fellow cast members, knowing they'll do the same for you. I hate hearing about actors who don't like the show. There are so many actors out there who'd give their right arm for what I'm getting to do.

So you feel lucky?
-Absolutely. I love the show. I love working with these people. We all get along so well.

Hmmm. You hear that from a lot of people, but tell me, do you think the audience can tell if a cast isn't getting along well?
-I say, if you watch the show and the characters don't look at each other while they're talking, the actors probably aren't getting along.

Well, there's no shortage of eye-contact on Mutant X. So you think your camaraderie on the set helps the audience enjoy the show?
-Sure, but that's just part of it. I mean, it's a great show, and with Mutant X, we're not on some spaceship and we're not in the future. We're living in present day. We're living in the society we live in now. I mean, look around at what's going on with genetic manipulation. The show's premise may be unlikely, but it's not impossible to believe. It's just on the verge of being possible. We're on the streets, and I think that's what makes it scarier and creepier than high-concept sci-fi like Star Trek.

You wear street clothes, not space-suits.
-Right. In fact, this second season we reworked the wardrobe a lot, trying to blend into the world better. The first season, the clothes were so fantastical no one could relate to them. Now we're a lot more casual.

Speaking of your second season, how how do you want to see Shalimar grow as a character?
-Well, as I said, we just got a new writing team and we love them. They are exploring everyone's personality, and they have all the characters relating to each other in a very real world. When the new head writer handed me my backstory, it was really interesting to see their vision of our characters. I think they're going to bring us to a whole new level.

I know it's important to have all that to work with for your character, but what about the whole sci-fi thing? What skills as an actress do you have to bring to acting in sci-fi? I've always been interested in the trick to acting in front of blue screen. I don't think I could keep a straight face.
-Actually, the hardest thing may be working with the dialogue that is completely unfamiliar. It's so much harder to memorize dialogue that isn't the language you speak every day. I think of people who work in a medical series; it's probably harder for them too. And you're right about the blue screen, but like I said, you have to commit. At least it's a lot easier on Mutant X than Cleopatra. On that show it was all put in afterwards. We felt really stupid in the beginning, then only marginally less stupid as we went on. With Mutant X, there's much more to work with. But still, I just stared down a stuffed animal!

© About.com

Excerpt from FHM 10/02: Victoria Pratt on Steadicam

Out of This World: The Mutant X Star Shows There Is Intelligent Life in the Universe
By John Chase; Photography by Carlo Dalla Chiesa

Call it arrested development or a deviant fetish, but there's something appealing about a bright-eyed, good-natured girl who can, without a second thought, stomp your ass firmly into the ground. Having just been clocked in the head by actress Victoria Pratt for making an offhand remark about some of her fans, FHM wisely refrains from blurting out more offensive comments. When not provoked, Victoria is all smiles, warm and bubbly, and the picture of friendliness as she talks about her acting career. The 31-year-old Ontario native isn't even supposed to be doing any of this action-hero stuff on TV. Though she hates to admit it, she graduated summa cum laude from York University in Toronto with a degree in kinesiology (that's the study of body mechanics). She then took a job as a scientist in the school's human performance lab. "I don't want anybody to think I'm smart," she says. "That would be the end of my career as we know it!" When Victoria later co-authored a fitness book with a professor, it drew the attention of the publisher of MuscleMag, who convinced her to try fitness modeling. That led to acting classes, and two day after hiring an agent, Victoria landed her first role in director John Woo's short-lived TV series Once a Thief. Since then, she's acted in recurring roles on several of the major fantasy shows, including Xena: Warrior Princess and Cleopatra 2525. She now stars as Shalimar Fox -- a cat-like genetic wonder with both animal and human DNA -- on the syndicated show Mutant X. But in the end, it was the topic of "cyber-dork fans" on which FHM connected with the lovely Victoria. Or more specifically, her hand connected with our face.

From the feel of the sting, it seems as if the fighting you do on TV must be real.
I've studied Shotokan karate, Kyokushinkai--I have a blue belt--and kickboxing.
....
Mutant X has lots of action. Do you perform your own stunts?
I do a lot of my own stunts, which is why I get cuts and bruises everywhere. I had to jump off a roof last week for the show, and I landed really poorly. On Cleopatra 2525, I once got kicked unconscious by a stuntman. It seemed as if I were getting hurt on that show every week. I got kicked in the head and -- boom! -- I was out for the count. I suffered a concussion.

What the hell kind of name is Shalimar Fox anyway? It sounds like a low-budget Bond-girl name.
I know. It actually comes from the Marvel comic. I'm really disappointed they didn't somehow fit "vagina" into my name.

© FHM

Excerpt from Ask Men 2003: Victoria Pratt

...go!
Vancouver proved to be lucky for Victoria, as it was there that she found out that a part in a Marvel series was being written specially for her. The role was that of Shalimar Fox, a tough girl with both human and animal DNA, and the show was called Mutant X. So far, it's proving to be the reliable job she has always deserved.

© Ask Men

Excerpt from Stuff Magazine 2/20/03: Victoria Pratt | Pics on Maxim

Victoria’s Secrets
Stuff, 2/20/2003 By Bill Schulz

Actress-athlete Victoria Pratt could kick your ass. And you’d probably like that, wouldn’t you, sicko? Shhh. Don’t tell her, but we’d like that, too! ;-) Considering Victoria Pratt plays a human with animal DNA in the series Mutant X, you might say this Pratt has claws. Well, you might say that, but we wouldn’t be caught dead writing such an abominable pun. Anyway, this Ontario native and fitness buff was snagged from her various workout gigs to star in the 1997 John Woo series, Once a Thief. Her able abs were further utilized for the role of Sarge in the equally sci-fi-but sadly, short-lived-series Cleopatra 2525. We recently spoke with this gym cat and found her to be as engaging as her accompanying photo spread. For another good interview, look no further than the October issue of O: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, which features a Q&A with legendary producer Quincy Jones and the aforementioned talk-show icon. We liked it so much that we recycled one of Ope’s questions and used it on Vicky. Try to spot it! (The answer is at the bottom of the page.)
....
STUFF: That said, our readers aren’t big on our girls being married. So let’s pretend you’re not. Wanna go out on a date?
VICTORIA: It depends. What are you wearing?

Fresh! Tell me about mannish female bodybuilders you’ve encountered.
If you start putting male hormones into your body, you’re going to have changes. I remember the first professional female bodybuilding show I attended-I couldn’t believe what I saw. Many had bad boils on the skin, thicker jaws and really low voices.

Any telltale Adam’s apples? Our senior editor Mark Remy has a really unsightly one. But he’s a guy and junk.
No, no. You only see telltale Adam’s apples in West Hollywood.

That’s where Mark’s from! What about male bodybuilders? Were they all you dated when you were single?
You only need one. I’m not putting my toes into that pool again.

Your new series is titled Mutant X. Is it about malformed members of the nation of Islam?
No. It’s about mutants that have been genetically altered with various things.

Sounds familiar…
You have to talk to Marvel comics about that. I’m not allowed to talk about it, because it’s the source of a big lawsuit.

So I hear.
Yeah, we’re not allowed to make any comparisons between the two.
....
Since you’re Canadian, what is your advice for women dealing with the scourge that is cold-weather nipples?
Don’t go to the gym and then wear a thin shirt home. I don’t mind cold-weather nipples as long as it’s happening all at once-know what I’m saying?

Not really.
Never mind.
....
Since your character has animal DNA, would you say that her sexual fashion sense is strictly doggie-style?
You are a horrible man. Yeah, yeah. There’s a lot of that going on in my dressing room. Too bad I’m usually alone.

If you were forced to make love to another animal-you know, to save someone from a bad guy-what kind of animal would it be?
You’re horrible! I’d have to see who has the most to offer. I mean, I might as well make it worth my while. I wouldn’t invite Stuff to photograph it, I can tell you that.

A recent article I read reported that the most calorie-burning sexual act one can do is, well, anal. Is this an exercise you’ve ever done? [Note to research: Don’t bother trying to find this “article.”]
Ugh. No! I don’t think I’ll ever have to work out that hard. I imagine it happens in prison a lot-that’s probably where they got that statistic.

Do you feel you’re often perceived as a man who dates only white women?
Huh? What do you mean? You’ll have to redefine the question.

Er, as a bodybuilder, are you perceived as a woman who dates women?
I think if you’re strong, people think you’re into women. I’ve had women hit on me. I’m like, “You’re cute, but I’ve never been to Brazil.” We call women’s privates Brazil in the makeup trailer.

I call that body part Hairysburg, Penisylvania. To each his own, I guess.

-Answer Key-
And the Oprah Winfrey/Quincy Jones interview question is:
“Do you feel you’re often perceived as a man who dates only white women?”

© Stuff Magazine

Excerpt from Victoria Pratt: The Official Site 5/28/03

Q & A with Mutant X's Victoria Pratt
May 28, 2003

Q) After "Mutant X," would you consider a sitcom?
A) I would love to do a sitcom. I love comedy. During my last hiatus, I took some great comedy (acting) classes. I think comedy is closer to my personality than the super hero stuff that I do because I’m a goofball and anybody who knows me knows that.

Q) What is your favorite vacation spot?
A) It has to involve sun and sand. You know, there are so many places that I have yet to discover. I’m hoping to go to Spain on my break. But, having said that, the most romantic, wonderful place I’ve been is Fiji. One of the little islands off of Fiji called Yasawa was just fabulous, romantic and wonderful. It was the island next to the one where they filmed the Brooke Shields movie “Blue Lagoon.”

Q) Can you please give us a little more information on Shalimar's history, especially her human and animal DNA that makes her so fast and cat-like?
A) Well young readers, you’ll very be happy to know that we explore Shalimar’s past in the finale episode of Season 2. You will get to learn a little bit about Shalimar’s “Papa” so tune in.

Q) Is “MUTANT X” a much different working experience from "Cleopatra 2525?” And if so, in what ways do the two experiences differ?
A) You know, they’re not as different as you might think. They’re both fast-paced, action shows. Having said that, “Cleopatra 2525” was filmed in New Zealand, “MUTANT X” is filmed in Toronto, and it’s a lot easier for me filming in North America. As much as I love New Zealand, it was really hard to be half way around the world from my family and friends. We were lucky enough to have a great production team and a great cast on both shows. But “MUTANT X,” I think, is a little closer to my heart because it’s a little closer to reality. As an actress going to work every day, it’s just easier to tap into something that feels more familiar.

Q) Do you do any of your own stunts?
A) If you saw me naked, you’d know the answer to that. I’ve got the bruises and scars to prove it. Yeah, I do most of my own stunts. I have a background in kickboxing and shotokan karate, and I’ve been an athlete since puberty. I ran and I played lots of sports, so the fighting and the action comes very easy to me. And I did a lot of stunts on “Cleopatra 2525,” so the harness work isn’t foreign to me either.

Q) What do people/fans typically ask you when they see you on the street?
A) They normally ask, “Is that you?” I think people are just shocked to see me walking around. It’s weird. When they see you on TV, they don’t expect to see you in a store, so they look at you for a while and then go, “Hey, are you that girl on that show, with the catlike thing and the mutant thing?” I was walking in Toronto, and there was a guy in a car who kept looking at me and I’m thinking, “Dude, drive on.” Finally, he rolls down the window and yells, “Hey mutant lady. How ya doing?” I thought it was so funny because people on the street were like, “Wow. Isn’t she offended? That guy just called her a mutant.” I answered, “I’m good, how’re you doing buddy?” I thought it was hysterical.

Q) How does Shalimar compare to other female heroes, like Buffy or Xena? Do you consider yourself a role model for young girls?
A) Well, she’s blonde like Buffy and buff like Xena. You know what? We’re all fighting evil. We’re trying to keep the world a safer place, and I think that’s what superheroes do. In terms of being a role model, I didn’t start out to be one. I don’t go to work every day with that in mind. But, I do get a lot of fan mail from young girls saying, “I want to be strong like Shalimar. I wanna work out and I wanna learn how to defend myself.” Moms write to me saying, “Thanks for giving us something else to look at.” It feels really good when you hear your work validated that way. It’s such an unexpected surprise, although it shouldn’t be because I remember looking up to Lindsay Wagner, the Bionic Woman and Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2, and thinking, “Geez, that’s what women should look like. Women should be strong.” I think that they did shape the way I am, the way I act, the way I see my body and the way I see women, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that other girls look up to me in the same way.
...
Q) What was the first paying job you ever had?
A) My first paying job: a summer job, I think when I was 15, a day camp counselor. And my nickname was Flash, I don’t know why.

© Mutant X.com

Excerpt from Maxim 1/04: Victoria Pratt

Bad Kitty!
By Eric Alt Maxim, Jan 2004

Mutant X’s feline wild child Victoria Pratt is the sexiest genetic anomaly we’ve ever seen, and that’s including Carrot Top. Ever since Wonder Woman strapped on her go-go boots, we’ve come to expect superheroines to walk the line between statuesque ass-kicker and jaw-dropping knockout. This combination rarely exists in the real world, unless you’re talking about Victoria Pratt. This athletic Canadian-born beauty put aside a future as a workout guru (she graduated summa cum laude from Toronto’s York University with a degree in kinesiology) and a fitness model (MuscleMag offered her a modeling gig after she went to their office to research a book she was writing) to bring her sculpted bod and formidable brains to sci-fi TV. With stints on Xena: Warrior Princess and the Sam Raimi-produced Cleopatra 2525 under her belt, Victoria naturally evolved into Shalimar Fox, a crime fighter with enhanced animal DNA, on the nationally syndicated Mutant X. She’s been kicking ass and coughing up hairballs ever since.

Tell us, Victoria, what’s the coolest part about being a mutant?
That I finally get paid for it! There aren’t a lot of opportunities out there for people to be superheroes. To get to go to work every day and fight evil-sure, it’s imaginary evil-but it’s like you’re fulfilling a childhood fantasy. Now I get to do that on a larger scale.

Your character, Shalimar, has animal DNA. Is there a dominant species?
It seems to be whatever species suits the episode. I think cat is the most dominant, since it’s easier for the creators and fight choreographers to work with. And for a woman, being a dog wouldn’t be very glamorous.

Judging by your résumé, you seem to be a sci-fi buff. Has that always been true, or did you grow to like it?
I think I grew to like it. I always admired that the sci-fi/fantasy genre had strong roles for women, like The Bionic Woman or Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. I want to play those roles while I can, because there’s going to come a time when my body’s not going to be able to take being thrown around on a harness. And the audience won’t want to see it! So I’m enjoying it now.
....
Do guys find your skills intimidating?
It’s not intimidating to anyone who talks to me for a second. I try to balance it with femininity. I even try to do that on the show. Originally, Shalimar was much manlier. I think it’s better to let her girl side come out.

© Maxim

Excerpt from Creation Entertainment 2/04: Victoria Pratt at Burbank Xena Convention 2004 | Youtube

Post-convention interview

Victoria: Mutant X is doing really well. We are just finishing the taping of season three, only two episodes left to go. And it's changed a lot since the beginning. You know, we lost two cast members; we gained another one. I really like the changes that have happened. I think it's kind of an exciting show and I get to do some fun things. Right now, I'm training with the circus. And I'm not even kidding. Shalimar goes to the circus, so I've been training with these trapeze bungee people. I have to do an act. So I wrap and I go and train with the circus. And I thought that would be funny if that was Shalimar's swan song, you know, I don't die, but I ran off to join the circus. Made the producers a little scared. They're like, "What do you mean, your swan song? It's too early! Don't go!" But, yeah, I get to do some fun things. I really, really enjoy myself on that show. I've got a great stunt double. Her name is Alicia Turner. I tried to get Zoe on Mutant X. She was in town for the stunt awards, Zoe Bell, my stunt double on Cleopatra. And I think it was, you know, the different unions take care of their own, and the Canadian stunt union, you know, they had girls that they thought would work. So it wasn't going to work for Zoe. But, I mean, she went on to do Kill Bill, which was fantastic. But my stunt double, Alicia Turner, she's fantastic. We have so much fun, you know, on set and off. We hang out often as well. She is a blast; she's really good. But she's not going to be doing my trapeze stuff. I have a circus performer. They found a circus performer who looks similar enough to me that she can sort of fill the holes that I can't do.

© Creation Entertainment

Victoria Pratt: Coming Soon.net 5/5/04

Victoria Pratt on Mutant X
Source: Fred Topel May 5, 2004

Victoria Pratt, who plays Shalimar Fox on TV's Mutant X previewed one of the last episodes of the season, which finds her in some hairy predicaments. "In the last episode we shot, which isn't necessarily the last one that will air, Shalimar goes undercover in a circus," Pratt said. "I actually got to train with the circus and we're trying to figure out what routine I could do, because it's not like I had tons of lead time to be able to train and stuff. So we came up with this cool bungee trapeze routine. I was doing cherry drops off of a trapeze at 40 feet. It's just cool stuff, like the closest you can come to flying really. It's just so amazing. I don't know necessarily how dangerous it was but I think it would've turned a lot of people's stomachs."

With the daily grind of a weekly TV series, Pratt didn't have months and months to train like the actors on feature films who go through specialized boot camps for each project. She had to work her training into her tight schedule. "We set up a big bungee apparatus in the studio that I could pop in on my lunch hours and stuff like that. I went to the different facilities around town with the circus trainers. I don't know how much time I actually got to put in on it, but I loved it. So whenever I could, it was something I really wanted to do."

Pratt is of course experiences with wirework from the show's many fight scenes, but she said the circus work was completely different. "The wirework for fight scenes is a lot more almost violent. The bungee is so soft and you have to work the bungee yourself too. So it's a workout too. The harness, they're just picking you up and flinging you around. You have to work to keep your body where it's supposed to be in space, but you've got riggers yanking you and moving you. With the bungee, it's you. And it's just the coolest thing. You control the movements that you do, like in the air when you're throwing semis and back layouts and doubles. It's your momentum and your balance that make you do the trick. When you're doing wirework for stunts, there are a lot of other people that come into play."

© Coming Soon

Excerpt from UGO 1/06: Victoria Pratt | 2002 Victoria Pratt Underground Online video

Victoria Pratt of House of the Dead 2
Interview by Troy Rogers, contributing editor

UGO: Early in your career you did a number of TV shows, like Mutant X, Cleopatra 2525 and Xena. What do you miss most about working on a regular series?
VICTORIA: I love working on a series and I perfer that to movies, hands down. Mutant X was probably my favorite because it was a character that was kind of crafted for me and I got to be in Toronto, which is where my family is from. The cast and crew were amazing. The thing about working on a series is that as long as you get along with your cast and crew, it's the best feeling, the best environment, and it's like a big family. I still keep in close contact with a lot of people from Mutant X, I loved that show.

© UGO