THAT SOON LED ALL THE WAY TO RIVER CITY
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The Canadian actress arrived in Shieldinch after packing up her life and moving from Toronto last year. She made the bold move across the Atlantic having been seduced by the landscape of the Highlands and the Isle of Skye while on holiday. Sophia, who plays Cassie Lindsay, said: “I look back and think you never know what’s going to happen in life. “A couple of years ago I was visiting my sister Elaine, who is a teacher, and was living in London at the time. “I said, ‘ Let’s go take a trip somewhere,’ and really wanted to do the West Highland Way so we came to Scotland and I fell head over heels in love with it and I said, ‘I need to come back here.’ “Honestly, that feeling has never happened to me before. I never dreamt that I would leave Canada. I never saw myself as living anywhere else but I just had such a gut feeling about this place that I really, truly, loved it. “We did the last three legs of the West Highland Way and the Ring of Steall ridge walk which I remember clearly because I was terrified. “The fog was so thick you couldn’t see your feet or how far you would fall, which I think was to my advantage. “We also did some kayaking at Fort William then made a trip to Skye and that’s when I was completely sure I wanted to come to Scotland.”
Sophia, 33, who has worked extensively on stage in Canada, arrived in Edinburgh in May 2015 and was planning to work as a supply teacher when River City came calling.
She said: “I have a teaching background so I thought I will make my first steps in the teaching world to make ends meet.
“I love teaching so I thought I can do that and figure it out, take the chance to see everything in the arts scene.
“So for a year, I planned my way back to Scotland and I ended up in Edinburgh.
“I found this amazing actors’ workshops and I took a Shakespeare one with them in my first week of being back in Scotland. I thought they were amazing andIdidandIdid anotherwiththem,anotherwiththem, a film workshop. I got lucky because in that workshop were the casting director and producer of River City and that’s how it happened.
“I was enchanted by the fact that when I came to Scotland there seemed to be music and storytelling everywhere.
“I love story and music and Scotland is the embodiment of that for me and its people, culture, landscape breathes all of those things, so I thought I am totally aligned with that and it will work out.
“I said to myself, ‘If you go somewhere that makes you happy, maybe good things will come your way,’ and that’s what happened. I was just very lucky.”
Her parents, Christine and Greg, emigrated to Canada from Greece and sheadsheadmits her family and friends were shocked by her decision. So was she.
She said: “They were floored. They didn’t see it coming but neither did I.
“At first it was a blow to everybody but they are cool with it now.
“I miss the snow but when I came to Scotland for that trip I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I feel so home,’ which is wild because my ancestry is Greek. I just don’t know.”
Her River City role as American Cassie, who marries Angus to stay in Scotland, comes into its own this week.
As the y dev e lop feelings for one other, she finds another suitor in Vader, who serenades her.
The fact that Angus and Vader are played by real-life brothers Scott and Ryan Fletcher only adds to what has been a hugely enjoyable story.
She said: “Two brothers fighting over me? It’s dreamy, I’ve never had that.
“When I wrote home, everyone had a laugh because that would never happen to me in real life so I am kind of living through Cassie in that.
“And then I get serenaded. I can’t wait for my real boyfriend to see the show, give him some guidelines.
“Cassie wants to bring opportunity to every situation, she seizes it and says, ‘ We can do this.’
“I get that, having made my leap to Scotland. I admire her in that way. She makes a lot of sense.”
After the landscapes of the Highlands and islands and the fairytale feel of Edinburgh, work is in the more down-to-earth location of the former whisky bond in Dumbarton where River City is f ilmed but Sophia is enjoying it just as much.
She said: “It is vastly different from the other parts of Scotland I’ve seen but I just love the people.
“The cast and crew are such kind and fun people. When I started, I knew I’d be in for just over a month but I had no idea it was going to carry forward.
“I’m just so grateful I have the opportunity to do so.
“Nobody knows how long they are going to be on. You never know who’s going next. It’s like Game of Thrones.”
Regardless of what happens in River City, Sophia is in Scotland for the long term. She said: “I would love to stay. I am really enchanted with Scotland.”
I thought, ‘I feel so at home.’ It is so wild because my ancestry is Greek