Hangin’ with Tara
vervegirl: You live in Toronto now, but grew up on the West Coast. What was the transition like for you, and which scene do you like more?
Tara: Well it was actually a weird transition because I started in Vancouver and then I actually went to L.A. for a couple of years and then ended up in Toronto which is a weird way to go about, so I think going from L.A. to Toronto was a lot easier than from Vancouver to Toronto. It’s hard. I find Vancouver and Toronto should be different countries, some-times. It’s difficult because I love Vancouver, and I grew up in Vancouver, when I fly in, to me that’s home. And Toronto is definitely growing on me and there are certain aspects of it that I definite-ly love. I also feel as an actor in Toronto there are more opportunities as far as independent movies, which I love, and I really feel Toronto is where I need to be right now. But I do miss Vancouver. And my mom misses me too!
vervegirl: You’ve done a lot of guest appear-ances on shows like Dead Man’s Gun and The Outer Limits. Which was your best experience?
Tara: Boy, that’s actually funny because I’m at the point where I’m starting to forget some of the things I’ve done because I’m getting so old! I would say one of my most favourite things as far as guest stars was on a show called Bliss. The coolest thing about that was the director was Lynne Stopkewich who was the director of Kissed and I absolutely love and adore her and think she’s just an amazing director so for me it was having the opportunity to work with her that was one of my most memorable experi-ences. She’s super-cool, really talented.
vervegirl: What other careers did you have in mind if acting didn’t work out? Were there any?Tara: Originally I thought I was going to be an Olympic gymnast. That didn’t happen. It’s actually a weird thing—when I was in Grade 4, we were told to make time capsules, to open in year 2000—I hope that won’t help you figure out how old I am—by some miracle my mom actually kept this thing, and in year 2000 I opened it up and inside was weird things like my retainer and gymnastic medals…but we had to write a letter to ourselves. We were supposed to write what we’d be doing in the year 2000, and my answer was if I’m not an Olympic gymnast, I’m going to be a famous actress. I think I always knew and my mom bumps into old family friends and they’re always like “Yeah, you’re daughter’s an actor, of course she is.” I think it’s just something that was always in me from a young age.
vervegirl: What’s one of your favourite things,
or perks of being in the entertainment industry?
Tara: Some of the perks…no one will ever admit this…but swag bags at parties. I have to say, you know, its amazing to see…go to one of those parties and see the actors and musicians go right to those swag bags. I have to say some of the people that I’ve gotten to meet at different events and parties, people who I sort of looked up to from afar and then got an opportunity to work with. I’ve gotten to meet Canadian designers from events too, and those are some of the really cool perks, people that you admire that you all of a sudden have an opportunity to work with, so it’s sctually pretty cool.
vervegirl: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Tara: Wow, it’s so weird because where I am now is not where I saw myself. Hopefully I would like to see myself doing more Canadian films, more independent films, I love doing the festivals films… um…hopefully happy? No, really, hopefully Corner Gas will still be going—it’s great; we have so much fun doing that. I’d definitely like to explore feature film more, produce maybe… I’m pretty bossy.
photography: arash moallemi
