"Schitt's Creek" actress Jennifer Robertson | The Latest With Maya

A conversation with Jennifer Robertson.❤️



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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

It's the latest!

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Hi Jennifer, welcome to The Latest to Admaya. You've seen Jennifer Robertson in Shits Creek, Single All the Way, Jinny and Georgia, and more. Most recently, you can see Jennifer in the Tubi movie, Kissing is the easy part. Thank you so much for joining me. Uh, we first spoke about three years ago, and I'm so excited to be talking with you again. Me too, me too. Let's dive in, let's chat. Yes. Um, so what was your favorite scene to film in Kissing is the easy part?

SPEAKER_00 0:58

My favorite scene to film. Well, the birthday party gone wrong. I mean, in terms of a dramatic scene, was a great scene. Um forgive me for not knowing the actor who plays uh Paris' ex-boyfriend, but he was such a good villain. Like he was so terrible, and we were all having such a fun time at that party, and he shows up, and I was like, This is juicy. Yeah. You know, pivotal plot point. She's gotta find out, it's gotta be in a bad way, and uh that was a fun scene. There were some bugs though, but other than that, it was really fun to shoot.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Oh, I love that. Yeah. Um, so were there any scenes that you had to do multiple takes of and would make it on a blooper reel?

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Oh gosh, that's a really good question. I think we got a little giddy at the science center because it was kind of at the very end of the movie when they're presenting their um amazing whatever invention that they've invented with sound waves. We were filming at the real science center in Calgary, and it was late. And I think we all got a bit of a case of the giggle. So there's definitely some outtakes, I think, from that. Oh, I love that. Yeah, you know, sometimes it's like the pressure of the scene, and then all these people, and then we're at the real science center, and we just got a little bit giggly.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

I love that. That's the best. Yeah. Um, so who has had the biggest impact on the person you have become?

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Biggest impact on the person I've become, I would say my father. Um, my dad, Bob, was also a comedian here in Canada. He was fairly well known. He did um impressions, he did voices, people's voices, um, and had a radio show for 10 years with my stepmom, the national show, and then they had a television show. Um, so he certainly formed me, obviously DNA-wise. I have some of that also, and then he was just my biggest support as I, you know, announced to my family I would like to go to the theater school. And my mom went, oh no. So definitely my dad, Bob, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

Oh, I love that. Yeah, yeah. Um, so what is the greatest lesson you've learned from a character you've played?

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Greatest lesson learned from a character. I would probably say Jocelyn from Shits Creek, and I would say the lesson and the overall theme of that show, I think, is that um you can all be different, but you can all still like love and respect each other, which I think was very much the energy of Shits Creek as a town. And with me and Moira, we were very different people. Um, and occasionally we rolled our eyes at each other, but we never actually fought. Um, so that would be, I think, the best lesson from Schitz Creek is that you can coexist in a world with lots of different people and you can all still get along and respect one another. Oh, I love that. Yeah. Yeah. Could use more of it, could use a little dash of that world at the moment. But anywho, we digress.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Definitely, yeah. Um there um, I mean, Shit's Creek is one of my favorite shows, and so is Jenny and Georgia, and I have um many scenes from Shits Creek that just like play on a loop in my head constantly.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

You're not alone, you're not alone. Lots of people do, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah. Um so what uh small things bring you joy on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Wow. Um, well, I just got home from shooting for most of almost five months. I got to go home once um in Toronto. So I would say, like just coming home. The little things that bring me joy are getting up in the morning and letting my dog out of her crate and giving her breakfast and going and waking up my teenager, who, even though she's a teenager, she doesn't growl at me when I wake her up in the morning. Um, I am I love adventure and I love doing things, but I love that comfort of home and routine and being with my family. My brother lives down the street. Um, so yeah, I think it's that the connection to my family and my friends um is everything. Why do anything if you don't have, you know, if you're not grounded in family and friends, all of this sort of doesn't really mean anything, you know?

SPEAKER_01 6:23

Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Um, so what is uh the best advice you have ever gotten?

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Oh, best advice I've ever gotten. Well, my family is English, and we actually have like a family motto where um in World War II, Winston Churchill used to end phone calls when things were going badly with keep buggering on. And so it's kind of actually a family motto. I have a necklace with KBO engraved on it, and to me, the spirit of it is just you gotta keep going, even when things are not great, you gotta keep going, and so we're a KBO family all the way. Oh, I love that. That's great advice.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Keep buggering on, yeah. Um, so if you had a warning label, what would yours be?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Um caution. I think it starts with a caution. Um may uh may burn in the sun. It's not even a may, I just will. I think the caution label is this is a very delicate um dermological situation with this woman. She must be kept out of the sun at all costs. I like that one. She will burst into flames if she is in the sun for more than five minutes. Keep her out of the sun.

unknown 8:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Maybe it's like gremlins and don't feed me after midnight. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Like I like both of those. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My mom always jokes that I'm a vampire because when it's when the sun's out, I'm mostly I'm usually inside.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

You're my people. Moved, come move to Vancouver. It rains 250 days in the year. It's basically twilight. Just welcome. We'll welcome you with open arms.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Oh, thank you. Yeah, I actually just recently had um another interview where um the actor I interviewed also lives in Canada. And so we he also said we'd switch places because it's been he said it's snowing a lot there. Snow is my favorite, and it hasn't really snowed in Denver. So has it snowed in Denver? No, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

It's Denver's gorgeous though. Denver's quite lovely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Yeah, but I need the snow.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

You need the snow. Okay. Well, we had some here yesterday. They're still a bit on the ground. Come on over. Okay, thank you. I'll I'll be there soon. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

I'll be there in the next couple of days.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Okay, great. I'll just show up at your sure. You can help me take the dog out, take Lola to school. We got this, Maya. We're doing it. I would love that. We'll fold you in. Hold you in the routine.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah. Um, so what has been the biggest obstacle, either personally or professionally, that you've overcome?

SPEAKER_00 10:00

I would say as a 54-year-old actress, um the obstacle has been um just handling rejection on a really long, long career. Um not taking it personally, not um feeling deflated, trying not to feel deflated. Of course, everybody feels a bit deflated sometimes. Um, but you know, I've been doing this now professionally for 30 years, and um I think the trick is to just try to not let the rejection or the thing that you wanted that you didn't get um live for too long in your body and keep keep buggering on because you know, if you're an artist, you're an artist. And sometimes people are gonna be into the art you're making and sometimes they're not. Um, but it doesn't mean you stop doing the thing that you do. So the rejection is is is difficult some days, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Oh wow, yeah. Um, so I am uh pop culture obsessed, and I mean if you don't already know, I do know and um I go in stages of shows that I cannot stop watching. Um is there a show that you are currently obsessed with?

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Yes, there's two. Um, I'm obsessed with a pit. Uh obviously, I think that I can intubate a person now. Like I'm pretty pretty sure I'm almost a doctor. And I am also obsessed with paradise. So the second season of Paradise just came out, and I loved the first season. So I'm only one episode into season two, but I'm really jazzed about that. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah, oh well. Um, I love uh The Pit and Paradise. The Pit is one of my favorite shows. Yeah. Um I'm watching there's a new show on Amazon Prime called Young Sherlock that I just started.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah, that's uh really good. And um I don't there's so many things that now I'm trying to remember.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

I know. Well, this is your wheelhouse, so you're probably watching all kinds of things. So I'm just you know.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Um well I'm currently I'm binge watching Ugly Betty uh for the first time. Oh, it's the best. The best. I love that show. I just recently finished. I was binge watching Franklin and Bash, and now Ugly Betty.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

So Ugly Betty is the best. I'm good friends with Chris Gorham, who plays Henry. Oh, wow, and uh it stands the test of time. I did Ugly Betty with my daughter, who's 15. We started it last year, and it totally stands the test of time. That show, it still is funny. Michael Urey's in it. Yeah, our Michael Uri is in that show, like it's just such a great show. Great show.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah, yeah, I actually I started watching it after I interviewed Michael. Okay, yeah, yeah, and so then I started, I was watching Franklin and Bash, and then I got distracted with Ugly Betty, and then I saw Netflix was taking off Franklin and Bash, so I put all finishing that and then going back to Ugly Betty. Right, right, yeah, perfect journey.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

I love it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

Yeah, yeah, it's so good. And I actually Christopher um go, sorry, I don't know. Yeah, yeah, um, yeah, I forgot that I was like, he looks so familiar. So I was looking him up as I was watching Ugly Buddy, and I um he the Lincoln Lawyer is um one of my favorite, another one of my favorite shows.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Yeah, and so I and so I uh Chris is very good, like Chris can play a bad guy or a good guy, seamlessly. He can be like both, which is he's the nicest man in real life, but I'm like, you're very good at playing villains. What's about that?

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Yeah, yeah. I love that, yeah. Um so um, if you could choose anyone to narrate your life, who would you choose and why?

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Emma Thompson, because she's the greatest, and I would like someone with an English accent. I don't know why. Just feels natural. Um, yeah, she's the best. I would die a thousand times if it was Emma Thompson narrating.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Oh yeah. Oh, I love her.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Me too. Me too.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Yeah, yeah. I I think that there's so many people. I think I'd love Brees Whitler Springton narrative. That would be great, also.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Yes. So many great ladies to narrate our lives. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Ellen Miren, come on.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

That would be also pretty sweet.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yeah, definitely. Um, so uh do you have a go-to comfort show or movie that you turn on when you just want to turn out the world and escape?

SPEAKER_00 15:54

I don't. I know lots of people. My daughter does. My daughter watches Modern Family. Modern Family is her, I call it her second family, because she could probably at this point um word for word do the episodes. Like she'll put it on when she wants to nap. She'll put it on like just it's her when she does homework, it's on. I'm like, how is that? She's like, it's just my comfort thing. And I don't have that. I wish I did. It's really nice. I'll read a book or something usually in those moments, but I wish I had like a little vice or like a oh the housewives of blah blah blah. And I don't watch any of that. Oh you know boring. She's boring.

unknown 16:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Yeah. I have um yeah, a long list that I just rotate between. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Maybe it's a younger, it is it possibly generational? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. I don't, I think it might be. No one has to research it, but I do think maybe it's more of an under 40 situation. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

Yeah. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Yeah, yeah. You guys are cute. You guys are cute with your comfort shows. It's lovely.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

Thank you. Yeah, I I read once, well, my mom sent me this thing she saw um that uh sorry, my brain just completely uh went blank. Okay. Um but she sent me um yeah, she sent me um something saying that people with usually like with high anxiety, like have shows they go back to because they know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

That totally makes sense, yes. Yeah, my daughter has uh a lot of anxiety. Yeah, me too. There you go. There you go. That makes so much sense. Yeah, it's not there's no surprises, you know what's gonna happen. It's a constant. That's not that's nice in a way, it's a soothing thing.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

There's so many shows I just turn on when I'm doing work too, and I it's usually like um, I mean, I rotate, but it's a lot of like will and grace and friends that I put on in the background.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Totally. So it's interesting, it's usually like half-hour comedies, which I think is interesting. Like, yeah, I think that's a lot of people's comfort show is friends or yeah, will and gray. Like it always goes back to the half-hour comedy. Yeah, but what is that? I wonder. It's joyful and predictable. I don't know. We'll do a study on it. We'll we'll find someone in a university to study it and tell us what it is.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Yes, definitely. I would like I would like that. Yeah, yeah. Um, so what is uh something people are always surprised to learn about you?

SPEAKER_00 19:14

I think people are a little surprised to learn um how driven I am and how um not intense, but it can be quite serious about things. And I think because I play a lot of very light characters, when I get really focused and really serious about something, I think it surprises people a little bit because I play a lot of bubbly people and I am generally a bubbly person, but if I'm determined, watch out.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Oh yeah, yeah, I um yeah, I'm like the same way if I have a goal in mind. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

Look out, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Yes, definitely, yeah. Um, so what are the songs that always make you sing along whenever you hear them?

SPEAKER_00 20:20

What am I singing along to these days? Um, from way, way back, my daughter and I sing a lot of Ariana Grande in the car, still classic, never gets old. Um, and then our tastes kind of separate. I sort of go more into the indie world, and she goes more into the hip-hop world. Um, Beyonce. If you don't sing along to Beyonce, you're not alive in the world. Um what else? It's a lot of older songs I find that kind of catch you off guard, and then you're surprised that you still know all the lyrics to like, you know. Um what's her name? Megan, Megan Mombrain, Blonde.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Megan Trainer.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Megan Trainer! Megan Trainer songs live in here. They're never leaving. Yeah. You know, they're just in my brain. I feel uh better when I'm dancing. Bring it on. I will sing that in the car. It's a cute, fun, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yeah, yeah. I love that. Yeah, there's um, I mean, so many for me. I like any Asher Angel song I've listened to. Um, I've lost track how many times. So any one of his songs.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

And was this before you came to the movie and met him? Oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

This was like years before. Wow, that's cool. That's so cool then.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

He's the nicest person.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Oh kind.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

So lovely.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

He is.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Yeah. I think I I might have been like shaking the first time I met him.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

No need. Just a regular, regular person. He's so great. And so talented, obviously. He's so good in the movie. He's so good.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

I mean, I think everyone in the movie is so agreed.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

Agreed. Like Paris, of course, she's an absolute icon. Yeah. And the supporting cast from Canada, I thought were so great. As the friends. They were awesome. And the her parents, Paris's parents, everybody was great. It was such a fun movie.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Yeah. Yeah. I actually just um interviewed Haley and Roshan. Great. Excellent. Yeah. And we were um, yeah, we were talking for I don't even know how long we got off topic so many times.

SPEAKER_00 22:59

They're the best. They're great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Nice crew. Very nice crew.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Yeah. Um, yeah, my mom, um, my mom adopted Haley when we were in LA. So oh yes, I remember.

unknown 23:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

I remember. She's like, I need a mom. And then your mom was like, I'll be your mom. Yep, I remember. That was so great.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Yeah. So then we were just we kept talking about that and going like referencing that during the interviews.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Yeah. That was fun. That premiere was fun. That was a nice group of people. It was good.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

Yeah. Yeah. That was um my first movie premiere. And if a dream come true like that, I could not have asked for a better one.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Pretty fun. It was a pretty good one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

It was.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Yeah. Yeah. Um, so if you had the opportunity to put a message on a billboard for everyone to see, what would it be?

SPEAKER_00 24:13

What would my billboard say? Um maybe it would say um the the time to do it is now.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

I like that.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

You know, I think that's if that's the spirit, obviously great things take time, but the impetus in the beginning to start it should just be now.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

We don't know how much time we're gonna be given. We don't know how this is gonna go. So if there's something that speaks to you and calls your name, by golly, go get it and follow it, you know?

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yeah, definitely. I love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

I don't know how much the billboard would cost, though. It would need to be in a small town. I don't think I can afford like Sunset Boulevard that might be out of my price range, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

Well, in this world, it's free.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

There we go. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Yeah. Put it right on Sunset Boulevard then, right? Right there. Yes, yeah. Yeah. There's um, yeah, so many things my mom has said, like to me and my sister growing up that I want on a a billboard, I'd want to put on a billboard. And also there's um a line from um the show A Million Little Things that um well there's several, but there's one that has always stuck with me where one character just says love each other.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Um and that one has always billboard, yes. Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Thank you. And then there's another line that is I dare you to show the world you're not afraid of anything, which I love too.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Yeah, like that. Yeah. I'm writing that one down. I'm writing it down.

SPEAKER_01 26:25

Yeah, I can send it to you too.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Okay, great. Yeah, great. Love it.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Yeah, yeah. My brain is just filled with those kind of like lines from shows and movies and scenes.

SPEAKER_00 26:38

So you do what you do.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, that's what my brain is filled for. My mom always joked or filled with my mom always joked in school that uh we always joked that there's no room for anything else because I need room for all these references.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

So I used to feel that way when I was a waitress. I would think, oh, my brain is too full of like what that person wants on their hamburger. I gotta get out of here because I'm like clapped up with cider fries or onion rings, and I gotta use my brain for something better.

SPEAKER_03 27:21

Yeah.

unknown 27:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I always told my mom I was like, this is the stuff that's useful. I need space for all the facts and uh lines from shows to have in my brain.

SPEAKER_03 27:39

So totally.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Um, so I just have uh one uh final question for you. Um so today, what are you most grateful for?

SPEAKER_00 28:00

My family, being home with my family. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Yeah, yeah, because I've missed them. The dogs untrained, things have gone completely off the wheels like since I left, but I'm just happy to be back with all of them. So yeah, I'm super grateful for that.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Oh, I love that. Yeah, yeah. Um, well, uh, thank you so much for um joining me. I um have had the best time talking with you again. I loved seeing you in LA, and so I'm so happy to talk with you again. So thank you so much. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

So lovely to hang with you anytime, Maya. You come here where there's no sunshine, okay? Come a vampire with all of us. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Oh, I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

Okay.

unknown 28:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:55

Um so thank you so much again, and um, I hope you have a great rest of your day. You too. Thank you. Bye. Um, and that's a wrap on today's edition of the latest to admire.