Maggie Grace, our newest girl crush (she collects tea pots and makes stoneware ceramics) has been on the scene since 2001, acting in some of Hollywood’s biggest films and franchises (Taken, The Twilight Sagas, The Fog) and on some of our favourite television shows (Lost, Californication). We recently got a chance to chat with Maggie about her quirky hobbies, career, and what it was like shooting, About Alex, an indie feature in only 20 days!

SDTC: What was your first job that felt like a real ‘break’? How did you get it?

MG: I shot a tv movie in New Zealand as a teenager. It was my first time away on location, and I loved every minute of the experience. Getting on the plane solo is a moment I remember very clearly , when they gave me a key to my very own little apartment in Aukland, I nearly passed out with excitement.  I’d been struggling to make rent doing commercials for everything from acne wash to tampons, and scoring the odd guest star, and now here I was shooting a movie across the world, and set in the 70s. I felt like I’d really made it big, I wasn’t just relieved not to stress about the next month’s rent, I was thrilled to have real scenes and a character! I was madly in love with the whole world, but especially with New Zealand.

SDTC: In addition to your work in film and television, what else do you like to do? That is, if you have any free time at all?

MG: I really love to travel, whenever I’m shooting far away I tack on a little exploration at the end of the shoot, if I can. I recently shared a stone cottage with some of my closest girlfriends in a remote fishing village in Greece where one of  the girls grew up—  population 250, no internet, no cars. We woke up every morning to the sounds of the goat herd next door.  Heaven!  It was amazing to have quality girl time, we even hiked up to some old castle ruins!

Otherwise, I’m kind of a nerd, I like stoneware ceramics- making them, buying them. I read a lot. Grow herbs, collect teapots. You know, your basic granny activities, really. Why am I still single? Oh, right, because that would involve leaving the house after nine pm. That’s a Fail! But it will all balance out, because when I’m an actual granny, I plan on dying my hair purple. I’ll be the kooky grandma who’s trying shrooms and all the new technology at 80, and starting a garage band.

SDTC: Any advice for aspiring actresses or actors out there? 

MG: I think that rejection and lean times are an inevitable part of it , even if you could somehow won the actor lottery and magically got a huge gig right out of the gate, its an ebb and a flow over the long run, so you have to truly love it, for all of the right reasons, or you won’t hang in down the road. So I think it comes down to a bit of a tough love question for yourself,  can you be happy doing anything else? If you have a great plan B, then do that. Go for it if you’re already really compelled by doing a ton of plays, just really feel fed by the theatre— even the tiny black box variety, school plays or community theatre, and feel like storytelling is in your DNA. Its an interesting time when storytelling and the entertainment industry is changing really fast. The barrier to entry to getting your story out their is lower than ever, with low cost digital video and the internet. Writer-directors can make a calling card, comedic actors can build a youtube audience. That’s pretty cool, and didn’t really exist when I started out.

SDTC: Can you tell us about the experience of working on About Alex?

MG: We shot it in only twenty days, mostly in a rural farmhouse in upstate NY, and with a cast like that, the hijinks meant it was nonstop crying-laughing. Except when we were crying. In the scene, I mean!

SDTC: What was the most challenging aspect of the shoot? What was the most fun?

MG: I think its the same answer for both of these questions; close quarters and biblical rainstorms!  We were lucky in that we were shooting in a remote area with not a single bar of cell service, and  our budget didn’t include the typical trailers or dressing rooms— we were all piled up in the side room during night shoots, and we all stayed together in some ski cabins rented out in the summer.  This was all perfect grounds for immediate group bonding! And I think that comes through in the movie.

SDTC: What’s up next for you? What are you excited about working on?

MG: I’ve been on the road for the last four months or so , doing a pilot and Taken 3, which we just wrapped! So I’ve had a blast traveling, but I’m ready for a little cosy down time at home, time to see my folks and welcome my new niece soon! I’m super excited to be an aunty for the first time! Aunty M! Also I’m excited to be a bridesmaid, so happy that my best friend can now legally marry her girlfriend!  And I’m hoping to do another play this year!

Aaaaand, don’t forget to enter SheDoesTheCity’s About Alex Contest to win passes to the film, and while you’re at it – head on over to dose.ca to win a killer prize pack from Roots!