Going on 15 years now, the Leo Awards have highlighted the hard work of hundreds of talented people working in the BC film and television. From a prime spot at the tail end of the Leo Awards red carpet (the largest in Western Canada), WE Vancouver enjoyed unhurried chats with several nominees and winners, all decked out in their awards show best.
EMILIE ULLERUP (nominee, Arctic Air)
(pictured with actor Kyle Cassie)
ON FILMING IN YELLOWKNIFE: I had no idea what cold meant. I just packed my Uggs thinking, 'this is made for the cold,' and they were not made for that cold. At all. But, what a treat to get to go up there. It's one of those destinations you might not get to go to otherwise. It's cool, too, because you get to go there with all these other awesome people, and its like camp in Yellowknife. We stay in the same hotel. We all go to dinner together at night when we're done shooting. Some people end up staying out late and drinking and then they don't work so well the next day, but it is really like camp.
ON BEING DIRECTED BY HER SANCTUARY MOTHER, AMANDA TAPPING (pictured, right): That was one of my
favourite episodes of the season. I was terrified to work with Tim Weber [Cece] because he's so good and so focused and he doesn't need to say anything in real life. He's good with silence. I'm not good with silence. It makes me uncomfortable and I need to talk and then I make a fool of myself. That also played great in the story because she [Ullerup's character, Astrid] was uncomfortable around him. Working with Amanda through that was awesome because I was like, 'I got my mom here; I'm good.'
ON ARCTIC AIR LOVE INTEREST STEPHEN LOBO: He's such an awful human being! Such a diva. I kid. There are many similarities between Dev and Stephen. There's such a youthful energy that Stephen has that he brings to Dev, which is I think what people fall in love with, and which I fell in love with as a human, too. Stephen is a little bit smarter than Dev is, has a little more street smarts, but I think that youthfulness is something lovely Stephen brings to all of his characters.
JOHN REARDON (nominee, Arctic Air)
(pictured with Meghan Ory, Once Upon a Time)
ABOUT BEING PART OF TWO LEO-NOMINATED TV SERIES: Both Continuum and Arctic Air have done so well. Between them, there are over twenty nominations [Continuum was the big winner of the night with seven wins]. It's pretty exciting. It's almost a seamless transition from Arctic Air to Continuum. Arctic Air finishes and then we go into Continuum, and with Stephen Lobo, Lexa Doig, Brian Markinson, and myself on both, and a lot of the same crew as well, it almost feels like it's all the same show.
AGAM DARSHI (winner, Crimes of Mike Recket)
ON DIRECTING HER FIRST SHORT FILM, FADE OUT: It was amazing. I'd written and produced a couple of shorts prior, but this was the first time I was directing, and it was very difficult just because it's a brand new hat that I'm putting on, but at the same time it was almost very easy because I've been acting for almost ten years now. So there were certain things that I already understood, and I surrounded myself with people that were really good at their jobs. My husband Juan [Riedinger, himself a 
winner of two acting Leos] was the editor. Editors are amazing. They recreate the film for the third time.
ON WORKING WITH HER HUSBAND, JUAN RIEDINGER (pictured, right): I was worried about it, to be honest. We work very differently, but I think we both have a lot of respect for the story, for what everybody put into it, and for each other, so it really wasn't that difficult and I learned so much. It was like going to film school. That's what the experience was about, and it came out really well.
PASCALE HUTTON (nominee, Arctic Air)
ON GETTING READY FOR THE LEOS WHILE HER TODDLER SLEPT: "He was very cooperative and went down for a huge, long, three-hour nap. I had a babysitter as a back-up and they were hanging around the house while he was sleeping, but I was like, 'if that child wakes up, I can't deal with him, you're dealing with him!'
IN ANSWER TO THE CLASSIC WHO ARE YOU WEARING? QUESTION: "I'm wearing Theory. I just saw it and thought it looked like Audrey Hepburn. Isn't she a style icon for everyone?"
MIRANDA FRIGON (nominee, Primeval: New World)
ABOUT WORKING ON THE RECENTLY CANCELLED PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD: It was amazing. I'd never been on a show that's been such a tight group of talented people. We were a team, a family, and it's sad that it went away, but I'm cherishing the experience, and it's nice to be here and I'm waving a flag for the team.
ALEKS PAUNOVIC (nominee, Arctic Air/Eve of Destruction)
(pictured with actress Chelah Horsdal)
ABOUT FILMING IN YELLOWKNIFE: At night, the borealis is just insane up there. It does get quite cold, but I'm from Winnipeg. I'm a pro at it. I just put my brain back into Winnipeg.
ON HIS CHEMISTRY WITH ADAM BEACH: Him and I hit it off immediately. We're both from Winnipeg. We're both from the North End of Winnipeg, which is a really tough area. We didn't know each other at all in Winnipeg, but obviously I knew of him, and when we started talking, it was just a couple of North End boys hanging out. We became really close after that, and it just spills over on the set.
Interviews by Sabrina Furminger
Photos by Paul Furminger
