Over the past couple years as I have reached out to a vast range of diverse actors and actively supported their careers, there have been noteworthy moments that are forever cemented within my heart and mind. The first time an actor responded to me. The first time an actor commented on one of my reviews. Even the first time an actor left me speechless with a heartfelt reply. But in many ways, Kristin Booth holds a distinctive place all her own. When I think of her, I am reminded of the extraordinary character into whom she has breathed unparalleled vitality–Shane McInerney from Signed, Sealed, Delivered. However, something more influential invades my thoughts. The first year this series was on the Hallmark network, I had the quirky, last-minute idea to celebrate Kristin’s birthday with a special tribute post on my blog. And you know what Kristin did? She read it and publicly thanked me! Therefore, she has the honor of being the first actor to ever visit my blog and then comment about it. Possibly that would be a miniscule thing to some people, and she may not even remember it, but I do. And it is one of those treasured memories that I will always retain fondly within my heart. So imagine how ecstatic I was when I had the opportunity recently to chat with Kristin about her career in general with a significant focus on the role of Shane in the next installment of the Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise.

RH: Kristin, I do want to start by passing along some words from the fans. The #POstables appreciate all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that you do and the way that you interact with the fans. That means a lot to them. 

KB: Aw, well, it’s my pleasure really. Without them, we wouldn’t have a show!

That is true. And I know that you have been one from the beginning who has been very interactive, and that’s very much appreciated. So thank you.

Thank you.

______________________________________________________________________

KWIK KWOTES

Fan Quotes

Dava Desjarlais: “Kristin, we so much appreciate your always answering our tweets. I love SSD. I think the chemistry between the cast is amazing. I wish they would have kept it as a weekly series. So quirky and fun.”

Maria Giardello: “I always say ‘Kristin Booth is the bomb!’ It has been my mantra since the very beginning. This is not just any statement; it incorporates many components. She is goofy, sincere, and a mother. I pick these because those were the words she used to describe herself to me. She is also so much more. Kristin is real and she interacts with this fan base with a certain grace and style. It was when the series was on when she showed me the type of person that she really is. A mother started tweeting midway through the episode and said her son was ill. Kristin asked how he was doing and proceeded to tell her what she missed during the live tweet. She didn’t have to do anything or say anything. But this is not her style. That simple action just struck a chord in me. I will forever be a loyal fan.”

Margaret: “Kristin is a versatile actress and woman. Seeing a celebrity and their pieces of work is amazing; you see them grow and pick roles that are unlike who they really are or have a lot in common with themselves. Kristin is someone who not only captivates the viewers on screen, but her fans off screen as well. She invites us all into her life and interacts with her fans as much as she is able to do. She truly is a wonderful role model for all.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Why did you decide to become an actress?

I don’t even know if it was a decision. {laughs} I always sort of loved performing for my family when I was really little. When I was twelve, I auditioned for Huron Country Playhouse, which is a summer stock theater in Grand Bend, Ontario, and I was cast as an orphan in the musical Annie. It was that summer when I was walking into the first rehearsal and saw the adults there, and I don’t know why I’d never put two and two together before while watching TV, but it was like a light bulb went off for me, and I was like, “Wait a second. You can actually do this for a living?” {laughs} And that was it. And I was like, “That’s what I wanna do.” For many, many years, I kind of wore blinders in a sense. I was so driven to do it. And my parents wouldn’t let me pursue it professionally until I had graduated high school. They didn’t want it interfering with my education. And in retrospect as an adult now, I agree with them and I’m glad they enforced that, but at the time, I was not happy.

Annie was like my favorite musical when I was growing up. I loved it.

Yeah, me too. It still is, really. I can’t wait to share the original film with my daughter. I think she’s still a little young because Mrs. Hannigan and Rooster are a bit evil. {laughs} But I tell ya, that was a dream come true working with Carol Burnett. And really it wasn’t so much the Carol Burnett Show or anything else she had done that, of course I had seen, but it was really the fact that I was working with Mrs. Hannigan. I was just like, “What is happening?  This is amazing!”

I think that would have been me too ’cause that’s where I got introduced to her work.

I think I even said it to her. I was like, “You’re Mrs. Hannigan!” {laughs}

I was going through your credits, and you’ve done some amazing stuff. But what kind of intrigued me is you got to play Ethel Kennedy back in 2011, and now you’re playing her again. And I thought that was interesting that you’re getting cast in the same role again.

Well, it’s the same production, same company, same director. So essentially, I’m just picking up where we left off. Katie Holmes is in the same boat. She played Jackie in the first mini series, and she’s back playing Jackie in this one as well. In fact, any of the characters that were still alive after Bobby’s assassination, the production–mostly Jon Cassar, the director–insisted that all the same actors were brought back to play the roles, which was really cool. The British actor Diana Hardcastle played Rose, Katie, myself, and a couple other actors came back to some of the smaller roles. It was pretty exciting to come back and do this six years later.

Well, that’s really neat ’cause you don’t always see that happen.

No, it rarely happens. We certainly didn’t have an inkling that it was gonna happen back when we were first shooting it.

I was thinking of Ethel Kennedy and how she’s a cultural icon, and she’s still alive. How challenging is that to portray this real-life character who’s so well-known and is still alive?

Well, you know, the first time around, it kind of haunted me a little bit–I’m not gonna lie. And even almost more so the second time. You’re portraying someone who lived this life, who is a part of history, who is still alive, and you obviously want to do them justice and portray them as close to who they are or who they were at that time as possible. I pored over biographies and books about the Kennedys, videos and all sorts of research material in order to create this character who then became Ethel Kennedy. And that’s the whole thing. Once you’ve done all that research, once you’ve put all that work into it, at some point before you go to camera, you have to kind of let go of that idea that I have to be exactly like she was in order to make it a truthful performance and not just an imitation. You kind of have to let go of all that and you just go with your gut. You kind of hope that all the research you did is going to support your choices and your decisions once you’re on set shooting. It still freaks me out. {laughs}

I think it would just about anyone. Everybody would be freaked out to a degree to be portraying someone like that.

Well, you know, you obviously want to do a great job, and it’s different than playing a fictitious character because no one can hold up this fictitious character and go, “Hey, you’re not doing it right.”  Let’s use Shane for an example. There’s no Shane McInerney for anybody to go, “Hey, this is the real Shane McInerney, and this is the way it should be done.” But with Ethel Kennedy, there very much is a real person, so they can hold that up and hold it against you or use it as a barometer to judge you by. I believe unless you want to do a pure, old imitation of someone, which I think is pretty boring, especially if you’re going to do anything at great lengths–imitations are great in little short stints–but if you’re going to portray someone, you have to make it truthful. You have to make it a part of you. And that’s why I say at some point you have to let go of all of those fears and be in the moment and hope that everything you’ve done in the moment to prep will support what you’re doing. But you know, there’s always going to be critics, and as actors, we just have to live with that too.

Yes, I think anyone involved with the arts–I mean, in life you have to live with it–but in the arts, you get judged. Even with writing, I have people who criticize me about it.

Of course. Everybody has an opinion, right? And if you’re putting something out into the public, then everybody feels that it’s their right to comment on it. You just have to believe in what you’re doing and have a thick skin.

_______________________________________________________________________

KWIK KWOTES

Fan Quotes

Joy R Tiffany: “Kristin’s performance in #SSD is always amazing. Her ability to use facial expressions to convey her character’s feelings are always spot-on. She should be given awards for this show!”

Barbara Ogburn Kristin: “Love the movies 🙂 “

Hannah Nilsson Kristin: “Your portrayal of the character is so lovable and down to earth.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Of course, Signed, Sealed, Delivered is where most of our focus is right now. How did you get chosen for Shane?

Through doing the role of Ethel Kennedy back in 2010, I worked with the company Muse, and Joel Rice, who was our executive producer on Signed, Sealed, Delivered, he is the president of Muse USA. He saw my performance in The Kennedys and was a fan, and we met at the Emmy’s. He continued to be a fan, which is always nice. God bless him, he has employed me ever since.

I did another Hallmark movie for him called Banner 4th of July {Star Spangled Banners in the U.S.}. And it was during the shooting of Banner 4th of July he said to me, “I have a project for you. I want you to play the lead. Would you consider relocating to Vancouver?” And I just kind of looked at him like, “Okay.” You have to understand that in this business, people say a lot of things that don’t always happen. I was just kind of like–I knew Joel but not very well. I had just started working with him on this project and I had only met him through The Kennedys, but not really working together. So I didn’t know him that well and I was like, ‘What is this guy talking about? Relocating? Ha, ha, ha!” But of course I said, “Yes, I would love to audition.” So I put myself on tape, and the tape went to Joel and Martha {Williamson}. They had notes, and I did it again, and they had more notes. And I did it again {laughs} and I think it was three or four times I retaped based on their notes. And then I was flown to LA to meet Martha and read for Martha in person. I met Martha and it was like, “Wow, I wanna work for you.” And I was lucky ’cause she agreed.

Martha Williamson, Kristin Booth Credit: Copyright 2016 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Duane Prentice

Wow, I don’t think I’d ever heard that full story. 

Yeah, it was a long process. It was about three months actually from start to finish. From me hearing about the project from Joel to actually getting the role, it was about two and a half, three months. It was a bit agonizing. {laughs}

I think one of the things that we fans are always amazed by is the chemistry that the four main characters have on screen. You don’t usually see that. You might see two that get along really well, but to have four that have that really unique chemistry that you have is rare. Is there anything that you can point to that maybe helped that chemistry come about?

Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Geoff Gustafson, Crystal Lowe Credit: Copyright 2015 

Well, I think first off, before anything else, it’s smart and intuitive casting. Martha, Joel, and the casting director–they knew what they were doing. They picked people that were right for the roles, but I think they also had an idea of how people would work together. And then once you’ve got that, I have to credit our first director, Scott Smith. He directed the pilot. He brought an element to the beginning of our relationship that no one had ever done before since theater school really. To be honest, he brought up this idea the first time we had a read-through. We had a couple hours set aside afterwards where we were supposed to rehearse or work with the director–all four of us. I heard that he was planning on doing this exercise where he was taking lines from each individual character, and he would cut them out. Then he would hand each of us this little print-out with our line, and we were to walk around the room and explore this space and explore each other while saying that line and only that line until he gave us the next line. I heard this, and I was like, “Are you kidding me? This is so theater school.” And I was terrified ’cause I thought we were going to have to be doing this in front of Martha and Joel. And I thought, “Gosh, I’m going to be so self-conscious. I don’t want to do this.” But really it was just my own fear and insecurity.

Finally, when it came down to it, I found out we weren’t doing it in front of Martha and Joel, which was a relief. And it allowed us to be a little bit more free with things. And then, magic happened. I say that–I know you hear an actor say that and you’re like, “Oh, gosh, that sounds so cheesy.” But it really did. It helped to inform us of who our characters were and how they interacted with one another, how they felt about one another, how we felt about the other characters interacting with the other characters. It just informed us so, so much. It was probably the best thing a director has ever done in my career to help prepare us for shooting and help us figure out our relationships and our dynamic. And because we all were sorta weirded out and terrified, it kind of bonded us as well. {laughs} I mean, I gotta hand it to Scott. It was brilliant. If I were ever gonna direct–which one day, I hope to–I would steal it. That’s what I would do. I would totally use that at the start for me. Like, “This is what we’re doin’!” It was amazing. It was so cool.

I have never heard of a director doing that. But I have heard good things about Scott Smith.

Oh, he is amazing. A fabulous guy and such a great director. He’s an actor’s director. He’s always caring first and foremost about the performance and the relationships and the dynamics.

______________________________________________________________________

KWIK KWOTE

Crystal Lowe, Co-Star Signed, Sealed, Delivered

“I could write a million 🙂

But a set memory…

Ep 7- (guitar episode with that beautiful song)

It was the final scene where our handsome guest star gets his memory back and they kiss.

We shot it at 3am both Kristin and I were fried.. So exhausted and right as they started kissing, we couldn’t stop giggling and crying. Like 5-year-olds, which then led to us yelling.. Kiss her!.. Kiss her!

It took 20 min which we didn’t have to compose ourselves!!

Personal memory/

Kristin convincing me to go to Pilates. When I got there is was a full advanced class on the machine.. Which I had NEVER even seen before. Lol we faked it till I made it!

And she coached me through!! Lol it was hilarious”

______________________________________________________________________

I have a very insightful fan question I wanted to be sure to ask. Are there any life lessons that Shane has learned that you’ve been able to incorporate into your everyday life?

For sure, no question. In fact, I would say it’s one of the biggest gifts that this job has given me as a person. I constantly learn things through Shane and through the other characters, but mostly through Shane. It’s hard for me to even pinpoint or remember one right now in my head, but there are so many moments that I find myself at home away from set thinking about something that Shane has just gone through or is about to go through and relating it to my own life or vice versa too. I think when you play a character for so long and so intensely, it’s bound to happen if you’re really tuned into it. And you know, sometimes I’ll even have dreams as Shane. Oh, that sounds really weird.

No, that really doesn’t sound weird. You’ve been playing her for all these years. I don’t think that sounds weird. I think that sounds kinda cool. As fans, we have dreams about the show. I know I have, and I know other fans have as well, so it’s okay. It’s not weird. It’s all good.

{laughs} Well, thank you. It’s always a little weird when I wake up and go, “Wait a second, what? Who? I don’t know what’s happening.”

Kristin Booth, Eric Mabius Credit: Copyright 2016 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Ryan Plummer

Of course, with the film coming up on Sunday, Lost Without You, which we are all very, very excited about that one. Is there anything you can tell us about this film without ruining the story?

Sure. I think, you know, this is a game-changing episode for Oliver and Shane. Especially Shane. Throughout the series, there have been certain episodes where Shane has really grown as a person and learned a lot from her interactions with Oliver. When I was talking with Chandel from Alamada & Downing blog the other night, I said that one of those incidents was a moment when I was shooting the episode about the young musician who had been in a motorcycle accident {Something Good}. It was at the end of that episode when he was trying to relearn how to play the guitar again and singing this song that he had written for this girl. They’re sitting there, and they’re looking at each other, and he’s figuring out this song. In the scene, I looked over to Oliver, and it was sort of a lightning bolt moment when I realized in that period of time at that moment how much Shane was in love with Oliver…how deep it actually went for her. And I started sobbing, and it caught me by surprise because I wasn’t looking for it. It was just one of those things that happen organically, and me looking over at him in that moment.

This episode–the reason I bring that up–is ’cause I find this episode another one of those examples. There’s a point in this upcoming episode Lost Without You where Shane has one of those epiphany moments where her feeling surprise even herself and the lengths to which she is willing to go because of those feelings. If that makes any sense whatsoever.

Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth

Yes, it does. It makes perfect sense. And since you bring that up, I don’t know if you ever get this–you probably do–but I see a lot online especially when the shows are going on and people are tweeting. Several fans like to push for Oliver and Shane to speed up their relationship. “They’re going too slowly.” “Why aren’t they kissing?”  What is your response to the pace of Oliver and Shane’s relationship?

You know, I think–and I’m gonna sound like Oliver right now–but I think in this day and age with everything at our fingertips. You walk into a coffee shop and you order your coffee and you expect it within three minutes. And it has to be done right. You go online and if it takes more than three seconds to have the page come up, you’re pissed off and you’re like, “I want to see what’s going on!” You get frustrated. And if you’re in the car, everything has to happen right now. And we get angry and we get frustrated. We just live in this time where waiting is like nonexistent really. And when we are faced with waiting, we get really frustrated and angry because we’re no longer used to it. {laughs} Maybe I’m dating myself, but I remember the dial-up phase of internet where we sat there and it made that horrible noise while you sat and waited for it to connect. And I remember the days before the internet. And I remember the days when you walked into a coffee shop and it was more of a ritual. It was less about walking in and getting something immediately. It was more like taking in the atmosphere, ordering your coffee–you waited about five to ten minutes to get it because they were brewing the espresso and they were steaming the milk, and it took time. But now that doesn’t happen. It’s over.

I bring this up because this is how I feel about our show and this relationship with Shane and Oliver. I think a lot of our audience is in the mindset of “today,” where they want everything to happen immediately. Whereas what I love about the show and the way Martha has written it–she often in her writing will show the mirror to what Shane is the now, and Oliver is the past, right? And they’re always butting heads. And their relationship mirrors kind of what our society is like in some ways where we want everything right away. Shane’s impatient. She wants to do this right now. And Oliver’s very happy to wait. And I think that’s the best thing about their relationship is seeing them teach each other and learn from each other. If we go too quickly with Shane and Oliver, we lose that. Does that mean it will never happen? No, of course it’s gonna happen. And when it does, everyone will be jumping on the couch and yelling like Tom Cruise. But you know, I think there’s something to be said for the build-up. There’s something to be said for the wait. And there’s that old thing that says, “Anything worth having is worth waiting for.” I think it’s a beautiful relationship we’ve been able to establish between the two of them and slowly fertilize and nurture and you know, it’s marinating. Let it marinate. {laughs}

Kristin Booth, Eric Mabius Credit: Copyright 2016 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Duane Prentice

And I agree. And I always tell people that you don’t want it to go too fast ’cause then there’s the danger that the series will end too soon. So often, when those romances happen so fast, the series ends so suddenly ’cause people lose interest. I always tell people that you want something else to come back for, so just keep waiting. 

{laughs} I mean, that being said, I think  we are getting to a point where fans will not have to wait much longer. But who knows what will happen then, right?

I think that’s great, personally. We run into the same thing with When Calls the Heart. We hear it from the fans all the time–“They’re not going fast enough.”  So it’s the same kind of problem there, too.

_______________________________________________________________________

KWIK KWOTES

Fan Quotes

Lisa Viera Colangelo: “I cannot imagine any other actor portraying our beloved Shane.”

Maria Graziano Strom: “Ditto, I can’t either!!!”

Lori Meeker: “Thank you, Kristin, for your fan interaction; we love that!”

_______________________________________________________________________

So #POstables want more films. What is your suggestion to them to make sure that happens?

You know, two things. One is–and most importantly is you gotta tune in and you gotta get your friends to tune in. You know, we need to build households because that will build the numbers. Bottom line is Hallmark makes great television, but this is a business. If the numbers are great and it seems to be doing well, they will not say goodbye to it. So I think the most important thing is sharing and getting the word out there that this show exists and getting people to watch. New people. We love our fans–we’re so grateful for them. But we need our numbers to increase, so we want new ones as well. I think the best thing the fans can do is spread the word and get their friends to subscribe and watch and tune in.

And then the other thing that our fans can do is inundate twitter during the broadcast. Use the hashtag #POstables. Last movie, we were trending, and so we want to do that again. And Bill Abbott {Hallmark President} and Michelle Vicary {Hallmark Vice-President} are both on twitter, and fans can tell them what they want. They can tell them they don’t want just three movies next year; they want five. And tell them they don’t want the show to go away. I think having that voice is very important.

And I agree, and I would have said much the same thing, but I figured it would mean more coming from you. They listen to the people involved with the show sometimes more than the fans, so that was good. 

_______________________________________________________________________

KWIK KWOTES

Fan Quotes

Marybeth Rudzinski: “Kristin, we know that Shane’s big heart, full of patience, forgiveness and compassion is a reflection of you, whose kindness and love for humanity is evident in all that you do. Thanks for pouring the best of yourself into this beloved character!”

Joy Wilkinson: “Kristin is an amazing actress blessed with talent and beauty. Her characters come alive with just her facial expressions.”

_______________________________________________________________________

The last thing I want to ask you about is not related to Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I know you also had the opportunity to be on Orphan Black. And of course, right now, Tatiana Maslany’s Emmy win has made this an exciting time for the show. What was very special for you getting the chance to be on that show?

Well, it’s such a great, quality production. The writing is fantastic. The acting is unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone tackle what Tatiana has tackled and what she and the show are doing. She’s just so brilliant at playing those roles, and she’s such a force. She’s an amazing actress. I spoke with her when I was working on the show and told her I didn’t think I could do what she was doing. It’s crazy. It’s so incredible what she’s doing. And her Emmy is so, so, so well-deserved. So the fact that you get to go on a show where the writing is so fantastic, the production value is so fantastic, she’s fantastic, the other supporting actors are great–so that’s part of it.

But then also, there is–I’m not gonna lie–a little bit of a patriotic warm and fuzzy feeling because it’s Canadian. It’s a Canadian production. It’s filmed here. The cast is predominantly Canadian. It was created and written by Canadians.  Tatiana made history with her Emmy win. First Canadian performer to win an Emmy for a Canadian production. It’s amazing. So there is that patriotic pride as well.

And then on top of all of that, playing Bonnie was so much fun. It was such a great role. I can’t thank Graeme {Manson} and John {Fawcett} enough for casting me to play that evil character ’cause a lot of times, I don’t get to play those types of characters. Everyone’s like, “Oh, you’re so nice. You’re so friendly-looking. You’re so sweet.” And I’m like, “Well, you know, yeah. {laughs} But I’m an actor! Give me a chance.” And they did. They gave me a chance to play this truly evil woman, and I just loved every second of it. I had so much fun.

As an actor, for me, the further the role I’m playing is from who I am as a person, the better. If I look vastly different in the character than I do in person, great! Bring it on! Doing all that mean stuff–I love it! Being able to play someone so far from who I am in my own life was such a treat. I really hope I continue to get those opportunities. You know, Orphan Black is going into their final season, and I’m still praying and I’ve got my fingers crossed that there’s a chance that Bonnie will reappear, even just to have some brutal demise. Orphan Black is so good at those awful deaths. {laughs} So yeah, we’ll see. I’m not gonna hold my breath, but gosh, I certainly would jump at the chance to come back and get slaughtered.  {laughs}

You know, what you told me here at the end, that gave me a really good perspective of who you are as an actress. I mean I know you’re a great actress, but it was really cool to get your perspective. That was very well put. And seriously, you have every right to feel patriotic about Orphan Black. Of course, I’m American, but I can realize that there is amazing talent in Canada that often gets overlooked, and I was excited for you guys with the Emmy win. It’s about time that they recognize that there is talent in Canada and not just the U.S.

Well, thanks.

Well, Kristin, I think I’ve covered everything. And I so appreciate your taking time to talk with me. That really means a lot. 

Oh, it’s my pleasure, Ruth. Thanks for being such a supporter and huge fan of our show. We really appreciate it. And I also say to the fans–to the #POstables–I so much appreciate everything you do and your support, and I love you all so much. So thanks to everyone for their support. It means so much.

Is there really anything I can add to this? I mean, we’re talking about a woman who has as much talent (if not more) than the lion’s share of the so-called A-listers in Hollywood, and yet she is as humble, sweet, and unspoiled as they come. Furthermore, she has her priorities straight, and she is fully aware of who she is as a person, a mother, a wife, an artist, a friend–honestly, the woman is phenomenal. She is proud of her Canadian heritage, and she has engendered a love for Canada within her fans as well. She adores highlighting Canadian fashion and talent, yet she never casts the spotlight on herself. And well, I don’t think Kristin needs to. When you spread as much love, positivity, kindness, and joy into this dreary and dismal world, the aura of your existence organically illuminates who you are as a person. And I do believe that everyone who knows Kristin personally would agree with me, and I am confident that all of her true fans would herald my words about her from the rooftops. To have such a paragon of positivity that exists in the sea of piranhas called Hollywood is truly an anomaly, and I am even more proud to call myself a “die-hard Kristin Booth fan” after speaking with her this past week. Be certain that you check out her film tomorrow night (September 25) on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries network–Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You. Moreover, please follow her at the links below and consider supporting as many of Kristin’s works as you are able, for there is nothing like a confident, feminine woman who knows who she is, what she is, and is as committed to her craft as she is to spreading goodness in this world of ours.

FOLLOW KRISTIN

Twitter

Instagram

IMDB

Spread the love

Tweet