Tatiana Maslany recalls Shakespeare role that got away
In the HBO revamp of the classic Perry Mason drama series, Tatiana Maslany plays Sister Alice, a character she describes as “an iconic celebrity preacher.” The show is set in the 1930s and Sister Alice is an “enigmatic character who bumps up against Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) in his investigation, so she’s part of the mystery. She has an entire congregation that follows her; she does these very sensational performances of these sermons with props and costumes, so she has people eating out of her hands.”
You could say the same about Maslany’s talents as an actor, which won her an Emmy for her performance on Orphan Black. Having a background in improv, she said, was especially helpful when she was creating her many distinct characters on that show.
“In improv, you’ll get a tiny little nugget and then it’s all about taking that and using your imagination to create an entire world based on that one suggestion. So especially with Orphan Black, it was like: What is this tiny little nugget of the character that I can expand on and create a whole person out of?”
Despite her long experience as an actor — she’s been at it since age nine — Maslany has never done Shakespeare. All of that was about to change when she landed a lead role in a film adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays. And then … well …
“I was offered a Shakespeare film. This was about four months ago. I’m not going to go into too many details, but it was going to be a period piece. I’ve grown up on stage, but I’ve never done Shakespeare and I know it’s a whole different thing.
“So I sat down with the director and we talked for a long time, sort of excitedly going over the details of this character and the possibilities of filming. But it was really with the intention of him reiterating: Shakespeare is a very different world. And I was like: ‘Totally.’
“So I had the part. It was offered to me — and for me personally, offers kind of stress me out because I’m like: ‘I didn’t earn this.’ I have this imposter syndrome thing that kicks in.
“So I said: ‘Let’s do a work session so you can feel comfortable with me and see that we’re on the right track …’
“So [laughs] he flew back to Los Angeles so we could do a twohour session. We ran the scenes together and I was loving it! I felt so excited. I felt so jazzed. I was learning so much! I was taking notes! …
“So we finish, I leave the meeting and get on my bike and I was biking away feeling overjoyed.
“Didn’t hear anything back for two weeks.
“And then got a call from my agent saying, ‘So, they’re basically rescinding the offer because they don’t feel you can do this.’
“And I was like, ‘Whooooaaaa.’ My ego was shattered. Absolutely shattered. Because basically I had the part and then got myself fired [laughs]. I had a good two hours where I was like: Well, I guess I’m going to quit acting and I’m the worst and that’s it. That’s the end of the career. “Now I can find it funny ... “I don’t regret asking for that work session; I really do value the collaborative energy between an actor and a director. Auditions are a weird, unnatural thing and we all really struggle with them because they do feel like a strange sales pitch, which is the antithesis of acting. But I do also kind of get off on them; I love the energy of being nervous and that vibration that happens. It’s such an alive fight-or-flight feeling.” The takeaway … “Rejection’s not going to kill you. And no matter what accolades or fanfare are around you, as an actor you’re always going to be learning and coming up against challenges, and that’s why it’s such an enjoyable career.