FATHER TIME LEADS TO A CHANGE
KELLI FOX HAS FOUND COMFORT IN THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
Kelli Fox had often thought about making the transition from acting to directing but it was Father Time that convinced her to commit to the change.
While some actors are fortunate enough to be able to get significant roles as they get older, more often than not the available roles for older actors are minuscule in comparison. During an interview a few years ago with Regina actor, director and playwright Joey Tremblay, he told me that he as he aged, the plum roles were not as plentiful and to stay active in the business, he found it necessary to branch out.
“I think Joey’s point is really true," said Fox. "As the parts start to kind of dwindle, I could see in my career at (Shaw Festival Theatre), I could not be more grateful for the decade of my 30s that I spent at that festival. Boy, was it ever a beautiful time for a woman to be at a place like that. The parts were just dreamy and meaty and fabulous. I was in amazing company and I think I became an exponentially better actor in my time there just because of what I was able to do and who I was allowed to do it with.
"You could feel it, as I got into my 40s, looking six, eight, 10 years down the line at women just ahead of you and you go, ‘Oh, OK, I stay here and I become Aunt Mary who comes in with the tea in the third act and gives the pep talk and then what do I do with the rest of my time?’ I knew that under those circumstances I would just lose my mind,it would be bad.”
Fox, who is 54, pointed out that the difficulty for older actors is even more pronounced for women. However, she refuses to allow age to define or restrict her ability to work in the industry.
In fact, Fox is committed to proving that age should not be a defining factor for women working on stage, television and film.
“And that’s doubly true for women. I appreciate your sensitivity around age but I always have this kind of definite sense of, ‘I just turned 54.’ I make a point of owning my age as an example for younger women. I’m 54 years old and I still have value in this world. I have lots of energy and lots of passion so I’m still working.”
Fox found her way into the business while attending high school in Burnaby, B.C. She tagged along with some friends to the audition and ended up with the lead role in Grandpa Disco, a production written by the school drama teacher Russ Jones.
From her first moment on stage, Fox knew she wanted to act and the small high school production put that plan into motion.
“It changed the course of my life,” said Fox. “I was really grateful for Ross, who had connections to the professional theatre world in Vancouver. I was grateful for an older brother who dove into that world a little ahead of me and had received a couple of pay cheques already which allowed me to think my dream wasn’t completely crazy. People do this and make a living from it.
"And I had parents who said they would support whatever I was going to do. My dad said, ‘I love you. I support you. I want you to succeed at this. Also, please just learn how to type,’ ” she added with a laugh.
As for her older brother who got into the business before her, you might recognize his name — Michael J. Fox. With starring roles in television (Family Ties, Spin City, Boston Legal and The Michael J. Fox Show, to name a few) and in movies (the Back To The Future trilogy, Teen Wolf, Casualties of War, Light of Day and The Secret To May Success), Michael J. Fox has fashioned a remarkably success career in Hollywood.
So when Kelli Fox decided to chase an acting career, one would think she would benefit from her brother’s success.
And that thought wouldn’t be entirely correct.
“It gets very complicated and of course it’s changed over the years. In the beginning, I didn’t want to talk about it because I knew from what I heard inside audition rooms and from what I heard from casting directors that it hurt me as much as it helped me,” said Fox.
"One television director that I worked with many, many years ago said he almost didn’t see me for the audition because he heard that I was related to Michael and he said, ‘I’ve seen too many siblings of famous people who think they’re actors and they’re not actors. I didn’t even want to look at you.’ And then he was convinced to see me and I got the part. Afterward I took that as a very important piece of information that it could as hurtful as helpful. It was better just to keep myself to myself and be like every other actor and take my chances along with the rest of the gang.
“And then as it moved forward, it was really, really clear that my heart and soul and life’s work was on the stage which is a very different world than film and TV. In very many respects it feels like we’re in different businesses. There are a few points of connection but fewer than you’d think.”
I make a point of owning my age as an example for younger women.. – Kelli Fox