Currently reality game host Traitors, she has been part of the Quebec cultural landscape since the age of 14. Of 2 brothers has Before the crash Passing by Pan Am And revengea look back at the career of the talented Karine Vanasse.
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Karine, what was your first role on the small screen?
Lucie Chaput, in the series 2 brothers, broadcast in 1999. Among the notable scenes, during the second season, Lucie discovers Kevin Drisdell (Marc Beaupré) dead in her bathroom. I didn’t know how to perform such a scene, but the director advised me to go as I felt. Instead of screaming or crying, I moved my arms frantically, much like a butterfly flapping its wings. We shot other takes, but that’s the one we kept.
What was the most intensive shoot of your career?
That of 30 lives. I played Maxim Bouchard, a fifth-grade biology teacher. I shot this daily in the winter of 2013, between two English-speaking shoots, those of Pan Am And revenge. I loved acting alongside teenagers, having started my career as an actress at 14, in the film Emporte-moi.
Which character did you have the hardest time leaving?
Investigator Lise Delorme, in Cardinal, remains one of my favorite characters. This detective series lasted four seasons, but I would have played Lise for several more years. If, by some miracle, I was offered to take on this role, I would be up for it!
Have you ever transformed yourself to play a character?
I trained a lot to portray Justine Laurier in Blue Moon. It was a role of a rough woman, in which I was not necessarily immediately seen. Thanks to the author Luc Dionne and the producer Fabienne Larouche for thinking of me to play in this series which took place in a paramilitary agency, a universe which had never been shown on the small Quebec screen.
Have you ever played a villain?
Margaux LeMarchal, in the American series revenge, was the first villain of my career. As soon as she arrived in 2013, people in the public posted hateful messages towards her on Twitter. Some people felt obliged to come to my defense, but, for my part, I told myself that if people hated her like that, it was because I played my character well.
Photo: Julien Faugere / RADIO-
Which shoot moved you the most?
That of Bones of Crows, by author and director of mixed race Marie Clements. I play Sister Ruth, a nun involved in the residential school system. I was heartbroken to think that the script was inspired by the stories of Marie Clements’ family. Some scenes were filmed in Kamloops, British Columbia, where 200 unmarked graves of indigenous children have been discovered in recent years.
What was your first English-speaking series?
Pan Am. I remember exactly how I felt when I flew to take part in screen tests in New York, as Colette Valois. The pleasure and pride I felt at getting closer to my “American dream” was indescribable.
What is the main advantage for you, having worked in Canada, the United States and Europe?
In English Canada and Europe, people associate me with Lise Delorme in Cardinala character who was rather cold and detached from his emotions initially, as well as later. bitch service of Revenge. They have no problem offering me villain roles like Frances Swann, who I play in Hidden Assets.
We haven’t seen this series here yet!
It’s coming! It was filmed in Europe and will soon be broadcast in Quebec. That said, at 40, I consider myself blessed to play characters who are completely opposite to each other, in different cities and different countries.
You starred in the English adaptation of the first season of Plan B. Did you watch the original version to familiarize yourself with the plot?
I was a fan of the series, I had seen the first season when it aired a few years before. I listened to it again to immerse myself in the story. While playing in the English version, I realized that no matter how much you take the same story, as soon as you entrust it to a new director and different actors, it becomes something completely different.
Recently we were able to see you in Before the crashin the shoes of Evelyne Ste-Marie…
I love everything about this series: the quality of the texts, the production, the complicity between the actors and my character of Evelyne. This woman has a forehead all around her head, but she can also be vulnerable. I am grateful that the audience welcomes with open arms this character full of nuances, who can sometimes go too far to achieve his ends.
We currently see you at the helm of the reality game Traitorswhich you also hosted in English Canada, where it is titled The Traitors. Even if you’re animating, you’re portraying a character!
I play the mistress of the place. To create an atmosphere of suspense à la Agatha Christie, I am authoritarian with the competitors. In English Canada, it went well, but in Quebec, the participants found it odd that “their” Karine was so cold! When they were eliminated, I spoke with them one last time and dropped my character… to their great relief, I must say! (laughs)
