Anne’s ‘fierce’ persona offered rare role: Follows
Actress who immortalized Green Gables’ bold redhead reflects on 1985 miniseries
IgettobeNo.1 in a story as a young woman; I’mnotthe sister of; I’m not the girlfriend of
... (Anne) is the story. Sign me up.
More than three decades after bringing Anne Shirley to life in the 1985 CBC miniseries, Megan Follows is still being recognized as Anne of Green Gables.
She has been billed as such for her visit to Regina Fan Expo this weekend, although her more recent roles in Reign and Wynonna Earp make her more fitting for a sci-fi and fantasy festival.
“This is brand new to me,” said Follows in a recent phone interview from Calgary, where she was a guest at last weekend’s Calgary Expo alongside two of her Reign counterparts.
In that CW show that ended last year, Follows was Queen Catherine de’ Medici in 78 episodes over four seasons.
“A lot of times people had no idea I was the same person and then they ’d watch Reign and they ’d love and hate Catherine and all these things and then they ’d realize, ‘Oh my God, that was you.’ I always take that as a compliment,” said Follows.
“They’re seeing that character you’ve embodied and that’s what actors hope for, that’s what we strive for.”
Since Reign, Follows has signed on to the cast of Wynonna Earp, a supernatural western series on Syfy. Follows recognizes that Anne has a loyal fan base.
“Sometimes people — especially with a character like Anne — there’s often a memory associated for people. The book was introduced to them by their grandmother or their mother, their aunt, a teacher, that’s also very touching,” she said.
Follows was a teenager auditioning for the role before she’d read Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel and its many sequels.
Until that point, the daughter of two actors had known the story of Anne through the musical based on the book.
“I read it from the perspective at first of, ‘What a fantastic character, I want to play this. Who is this character? What can I bring to this? What can I do?’ ” said Follows.
“I get to be No. 1 in a story as a young woman; I’m not the sister of; I’m not the girlfriend of; I’m not the appendage of a boy ’s story. She is the story, sign me up.”
An actor from the time she was nine years old, Follows knew that quality female roles were hard to come by.
“The roles for girls often got channelled very quickly into an identification with your sexuality and the boys wanted you or how hot you were,” said Follows.
“(Anne is) a person first, although people say you’re a girl, you’re not good enough, you’re this, you’re ugly, you’re an orphan ... and she’s this fierce character with imagination and a richness of character and a human being.”
She was a “revolutionary” character, said Follows.
Follows is among several celebrity guests at Fan Expo Regina, which takes place Saturday and Sunday at Evraz Place (Canada Centre East building).
Others are:
Kristy Swanson, the lead in the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.
Jason Priestley, a star in nine seasons of Beverly Hills 90210.
Eugene Brave Rock, who played The Chief in the 2017 Wonder Woman film and also did stunts in The Revenant and Hell on Wheels.
Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario in video games since Nintendo 64.
Richard Horvitz, who currently plays Kaos in the Netflix animated series Skylanders Academy and also voiced the title character in Invader Zim and Alpha 5 in Power Rangers.