Playing murderous queen a delightful change for Follows
Anne of Green Gables star reinvents herself in teen drama, but she can never fully turn her back on the famous P. E. I redhead
Reign
Thursdays, CTV Two/ The CW
It’s good to be the queen. As Catherine de’ Medici, the Dowager Queen Consort of France, widow of Henry, mother- in- law to Philip II and Mary Stuart in the teen- oriented costume drama Reign, Megan Follows is having a swell time. That’s despite having to say lines like “I didn’t want to be me either” to Mary Stuart in the season opener, an episode titled The Plague. “I blame Henry,” Catherine continued, “because being a queen unloved by your king is excruciating and dangerous.”
Indeed, as anyone who’s watched The Tudors knows. It’s a good thing, then — both for the character Catherine and the actress who plays her — that she’s not above subterfuge and the occasional murder.
“I’m having a blast being the bad guy,” Follows said. “Personally, it’s fantastic to be a woman and actually be playing somebody who doesn’t play by the rules.”
Anne of Green Gables was never like this.
“Ultimately drama is drama, and what you hope for as an actor is good drama,” said Follows, who’s known for playing the lead redhead in the Canadian series of Green Gables films.
The veteran of the Toronto- based Soulpepper Theatre feels a strong attachment to Reign.
Yes, it’s a paying gig. And yes, it provides stability — Reign is now in its second season — in a profession renowned for its instability. Reign is more than that, though. “It comes down to writing and storytelling, and then the execution of that storytelling,” Follows said.
“What’s fun about this is that, obviously, young people are the target audience, but a lot more people than that are watching, certainly from the people I get responses from.”
Reign — set in 16th century France — has a youthful cast that includes Australian- born Adelaide Kane as the young Mary, Queen of Scots, and Vancouver’s Torrance Coombs as the dashing Sebastian.
At its heart, Reign is about how young love will not be denied, no matter how many innocents the scheming royals murder along the way.
And no royal is more scheming and murderous than the queen herself.
Follows is not an avid royal watcher in real life, but the legacy of Anne of Green Gables continues.
“I have to confess that Kate ( Middleton) is a huge Anne of Green Gables fan,” Follows said. “So when she came to Canada, she was desperate to go to P. E. I.
“Being a royal is a job that has to be handled and managed and negotiated, and it’s fascinating to watch. There is something to be observed and learned, from an actor’s point of view, in how they do that.”
Follows herself hails from an eclectic background.
“Part of my family is Canadian. My mom was born in Shanghai, my grandfather was born in India, and his in Africa. So I come from a colonial background on the one side, the English empire and having lived through wars where they lost everything and were interned in China. So my family always had a very strong sense of king and country.
“But there was also a complete embracing of a new world. My mom’s family came to Canada, basically with nothing.
“And they became fierce Canadians, in the sense of finding a place to start anew and begin again.”
Follows will never turn her back on Anne of Green Gables, even though her first outing as Anne debuted in 1985.
“The fact that I’m still here and you’re still asking me questions — I take that as a blessing,” Follows said. “It’s a complicated business and I’ve been in it for many years. I have been lucky to play some very powerful, strong, interesting characters as a woman. I feel incredibly lucky for that.
“And Anne is one of those characters, most definitely.”