The year 2017 marks the time my daughter and I had the opportunity to meet Nicole Oliver in person at the Everfree Northwest convention, and it is an experience we will always remember as Nicole played host for those few moments to not only my daughter and me, but my daughter’s brood of friends as well. I recall how exhausted she was, and yet she was as professional and gracious as one could ever imagine, and I, in that brief time, undeniably knew that Nicole was everything I had always imagined her to be and more. A couple of months ago, Nicole and I had the chance to chat yet again, but due to the Christmas rush, I am only now seizing the opportunity to share my interview with this generous, inspirational, and uncommonly gifted woman.
RH: Hey, Nicole, it’s so nice to talk with you!
NO: Hey, Ruth, nice to talk with you too! How have you been and how’s Martha?
Oh, we’re great. In fact, Martha and I were just talking about you because we finally got caught up on Somewhere Between.
Oh, yeah, that’s a great show.
Yes, and I did not recognize your character at first.
Oh, really?
from Somewhere Between
Yep, I just talked with Martha about your guest role on the show, and she didn’t recognize you at first either. Your role was very memorable, but we weren’t thinking about you guest-starring for whatever reason. We were just so into the show.
Come to think of it, that’s a good thing. You don’t want to be pulled out of the show.
Definitely. There was a lot of great talent on that–plenty of Canadians.
Yes, ABC was really good about hiring Canadian actors for some pretty big parts.
Well, now that we know your role on the show, we love it even more. So good to see you on a network show like that.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Earlier this fall, a very big movie came to the screen, and you were a pretty good part of it.
Yes, the My Little Pony movie. It was such a well-received film. Even Variety gave it a nice review, which was really helpful. It was rather well-received, and lots of fun. I liked the way it turned out.
From the moment we saw the trailers, Martha got really interested, and she kept telling me how much she loved the way they did the animation. She has become quite an artist, and so she notices things that I do not notice in that area. I just say whether I like it or not, but she looks at it from an artist’s viewpoint.
Yes, it’s 2D animation, and there’s not too many of those made anymore. And the quality of it is beautiful. It’s in the same style as the TV show, but kind of amped for the movie. It’s just really beautiful.
Due to our schedules, we didn’t get a chance to see it in the theater, but we are planning on seeing it during Christmas break since it’s coming out on demand and DVD on December 19th!
Oh, that’s great. Yes, it was such fun. Of course, I play Princess Celestia in it, but I also voiced a new character. Her name is Lix Spittle, and she is one of the pirate parrots–say that ten times fast–under Captain Selaeno, who is voiced by Zoe Saldana.
I happened to watch a short interview your publicist, Lesley Diana, had sent to me, and what I really appreciated about what you said was this movie has the kind of message that we really need right now.
Especially in recent weeks and months with these mass shootings and all the people we’ve lost this year–great musicians, entertainers, actors, and more. It’s been so tough. In fact, the week this film came out, we lost a great musician in Tom Petty. While he lived a hard musician’s life, his music was inspiring and supportive for so many people. That’s what music is; music is transformative. Music is like a best friend, and it helps you through tough times.
Yes, and as you alluded to, the shooting in Las Vegas was just heartbreaking as well.
It affected us too. We lost four Canadians. In fact, one young man was living in the suburbs just outside of Vancouver. His story got a lot of attention because one of the bartenders held his hand till he passed. She stayed with him, and she answered his phone, and it was this man’s friend. Then she talked to the young man’s mother. But there were fifty-eight people who were killed, and every one of them has a story that deserves to be told and remembered. Such a tough time. What do you say to your kids? What do you say to yourself?
So I’m proud to be in the My Little Pony movie, and I’m proud to be in something G-rated, family-friendly, but friendly for everybody. I think that fans of the TV show, the Bronies and everyone else is just gonna love it.
We go beyond Equestria. So what the movie does is give permission to step outside of what you’ve always known. I know for some people that might be tough ’cause we’re used to rules in Equestria, but we’re not there anymore. We’re not in Kansas anymore. {laughs} So we can meet cats who walk on two legs and parrots that walk on two claws. We’ve titled reality on its side. But this time reality has been tilted on its head for enjoyment.
What I love about the premise of the film is that there are so many times lately that I just don’t feel like watching some blockbuster that has a lot of violence in it. When these horrible things happen, it just doesn’t always sit right. Sure, there’s a time and a place for it, but it’s nice to have a family-friendly escape.
Actually, Blade Runner opened the same day as My Little Pony. I’m a huge fan of Blade Runner, and I couldn’t wait to see it. But even that production canceled their premiere in light of the Las Vegas shooting. They’re smart people, and they’re caring people. There’s different genres for everybody. I went to see both films. What’s fun is having movies in the theater again that are spectacles and that are fun. And that’s what movies are supposed to be. They’re supposed to be entertainment and fun and help us escape from the drudgery of everyday life.
Well, we are looking forward to finally being able to see it.
You know, the music is great. Danny Ingram did a beautiful job with the music. I got to perform as Lick Spittle in a song called “To Be Awesome.” So that was fun. I got to do it with all the other actors on the pirate ship. Even from the opening song which is “We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s. If you’re a child of the ’80’s, you might recognize that song. Emily Blunt has an amazing song; she sings the villainous ballad. So as much as it’s a movie, it’s also a musical. And I think there’s as many jokes for adults as there are appreciative moments for the young.
Oh, that’s great! I just love it when movies do smart things like that. {pause} Recently, I was talking to Peter Benson, and we discussed the movie Marrying the Family and how it’s getting close to distribution, maybe even early next year.
Yeah, it’s been doing well in the film festivals and winning awards. So it’s awesome. It was so great to work with him on that.
He said the same thing about you. It’s one movie I am looking forward to finally being able to see.
I’ll definitely let you know once I hear anything specific about when it’s going to be released.
So what else do you have upcoming besides My Little Pony?
Well, Wonder just came out. I play Jack Wills’ mom. I really enjoyed my time on set and with the scenes. It was great working with the director, Stephen Chbosky. He’s an amazing director, and it was a really empowering gift. It came at a time when I needed encouragement to remember that there are still wonderful parts of this industry. It’s easy to get negative, but then you do a project like this, and you are reminded of the positives.
And my entire family saw that one. And absolutely loved it! I cried more than once. I have been recommending the movie to all my friends.
I’m so pleased. It’s got such a good message, and man, we need that.
I also directed a voice project for Mattel called Enchantimals. So be on the lookout for that. This was the directorial project I mentioned the last time that I had coming up, so look for more along those lines.
You can also see me as Doctor Holbrook on Hallmark’s Christmas movie this year called A Gift To Remember. So yes, I got to do a little bit of Hallmark for this Christmas, which is always fun.
Then I have projects I can’t tell you about because I signed away my children and my house and everything I own when I signed those NDA’s.
So it’s been busy, exhausting, but uplifting. I’m just on a bed of gratitude for all that’s going on personally and professionally for me. In fact, that’s something I’ve been doing every day. There’s an app called Gratitude Garden, and it doesn’t have to be long. You can just write three short sentences about what you’re grateful for every day. And it can be something as simple as, “I’m grateful I’m breathing.” “I’m grateful the sun is shining.” “I’m grateful for my sons.” It can be something just as simple and easy as that. “I’m grateful I don’t have ingrown toenails,” or whatever you want to write. It’s just to keep it positive. It goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Life is what you make it absolutely, but there’s also so much we don’t have control over. Because of the advent of social media, it makes it feel like everybody else’s business is ours. Now, I don’t mean that in a way that I wouldn’t help somebody out. I’m just trying to say that we don’t have a buffer. We generally don’t allow ourselves to unplug.
So I like being busy. I am busy. I’ve got lots of fingers in different pies. I’ve got auditions going out to a bunch of networks for various projects. And when I can talk about what else I’m doing, I will, but not till then. I love to mix it up a bit when I can, and I’m grateful. I’m still here, and I’m grateful that I can do all this and continue to work in this wonderful industry.
Well, I always know that when I see a post from you, it’s going to be positive, and I really do mean that. I know we all have moments when we complain or get negative, but when that fills up someone’s feed, I have a hard time continuing to read their posts. But with you, I always want to read what you’ve posted.
You know what? I am feisty. I am political. I am opinionated. However, I am choosing to spread kindness and support and positivity if I can. I know everyone uses social media for different things, but I use it to interact and engage with my fans promote my works and other stuff that is of interest to me. I follow some cool and interesting people, and I try to make my twitter feed as diverse as possible. I think that’s another part of social media. You can choose who to follow, and you can choose very carefully to stay in your own crafted little world. Which I think is fake news. {laughs} Your crafted world may not be the real thing. I think opposing opinions are essential.
I firmly agree with that. I know I sometimes get put in a box, but I do my best to come out of that box, and it shocks people sometimes.
Sure, people are comfortable knowing what they know. Some people asked if My Little Pony was my first movie. And I answer, “No.” I love being a pony. I love being a part of the franchise. I love the opportunities it’s afforded me. And I’m genuinely proud to be a part of it. But no, it’s not the only thing I’ve done. {laughs}
You have certainly done well with your boys.
Yes, they’re pretty great boys. They’re pretty sweet. They are my raison d’etre in French, which means my reason for being.
I know not every family stays together. There are so many reasons families and marriages split up. But I look at you and your family, Nicole, and it really gives me hope. It’s nice to see a family that is making it in this world. And we know you all love each other. That’s the most important thing.
When it comes to strong women who are making a difference in this world, you really can’t find anyone better than Nicole. Oh, maybe she’s not a household name, and you’re probably not going to find her tweets going viral or her inspirational quotes showing up at the top of Google’s search engines. But does that mean she’s not successful? Absolutely not! True success should never be determined by celebrity rank, and if you’re looking for a celebrity woman to follow who posts risqué selfies, controversial news stories, or the red-carpet party she crashed last night, I would invite you to look elsewhere. That is not what Nicole is all about. And that is why I absolutely adore this woman! She is the real deal and as grounded as they come. She labors tirelessly behind-the-scenes in a variety of capacities, and she is always challenging herself to be a better actress, director, writer, speaker, wife, mother, and human being. She doesn’t post as much on social media as some people do, but it doesn’t mean she’s not informed or out trying to influence this world for good. Nicole doesn’t crave the spotlight in the way the top A-listers and some of the B- and C-listers do. But each project in which she is involved is one in which she firmly believes, and she wholly immerses herself in every aspect of the role. Honestly, this is why even I sometimes watch her on screen and don’t readily recognize her. She is intrinsically embedded within the cast, character, and framework of the story in such a way that she doesn’t always “jump out” at you. But there is no doubt about the fact that her works are consistently memorable and efficacious, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant they may appear to be on the surface. It is just Nicole’s mode; I cannot explain it any other way.
Therefore, if you have not seen My Little Pony: The Movie, be sure to watch out for it coming to DVD and on-demand just in time for Christmas–December 19th! And if you are lucky enough to still have Wonder lighting up the screens at your local theater, drop everything right now and run to the theater (or your preferred website) and purchase tickets immediately! If there is one film you DO NOT want to miss, it’s Wonder! And if you haven’t seen Hallmark’s A Gift To Remember, look it up right now! Watch it before Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas programming bids adieu for another year. Moreover, if you are not following Nicole at the links below, what more can I do to convince you? She is one of the most exceptional people on this earth, and following her motivational social media accounts as well as her industry projects are two of the cleverest things you could do! I am honored to call this woman friend, and I look forward to her upcoming projects as well, for I know if she is involved with them, they have to be at least as special as she is!
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