Samantha Ferris is surely one of the most well travelled actors working in TV today. In the last four years alone she’s been a deckhand on the Galactica, run a roadhouse for tired hunters of the supernatural and helped the National Threat Assessment Command deal with a sudden massive influx of enhanced UFO abductees. Somewhere in there she found the time to do some voice acting for both anime and video games and talk to us about saving the world, acting, how the Supernatural boys stay sane on set and much more.
When reading a new script for the first time is the strength of the character or the strength of the story, which draws you to the part?
The character. You cannot control the story….that has so many other variables to how it looks in the end….i.e. the cast, the direction, editing. The character is the only thing I can get in there and create. I am a very strong and specific actor, so it really has to speak to me. I have to be able to see myself if that character’s shoes.
Would you describe yourself as a ‘writers actor’ or a ‘directors actor’? Meaning: do you relate better to the original words on the page to inspire you, or the directors’ interpretation of a scene to direct you.
The words. When you read a scene or script, you automatically have an interpretation. Your intuition tells you what to do and where to take it. Once you get to the director, you already have a basic plan, so if the director has different ideas on how it goes, it can be a bit difficult to change over. You try to go in open minded so that it doesn’t throw you off, but I would think most actors go in with a basic concept of how they are going to portray the character.
You’ve worked on a lot of genre shows. Are you a fan? And if so, what shows would you like to work on in the future?
I like all shows. I happen to have done a lot of sci-fi-esque shows, but I would say that is because they shoot in Vancouver. I do a lot of cop shows too. My voice and persona is very strong and tough so I get a lot of the power roles; head fbi, head cop, head lawyer, head doctor, judge….. I would like to play a more vulnerable role. The show itself doesn’t matter, the role is what counts.
What’s been your favourite show to work on to date?
I did a series called Beggars and Choosers years ago. It was a tongue in cheek poke at the television industry. I played this useless, talentless, tackless, ethically void actress named Sandra Cassandra. In all my scenes I am either stuffing my face with food (not pretty) or having sex with someone……including Jim Belushi….under his desk. The role was a lot of fun, (I swore at Ivana Trump!) and the cast were great. Was sorry to see that go after two years. A brilliant man named Peter Lefcourt created it.
How does working on a Canadian show like Da Vinci’s Inquest differ to working on American productions?
The two are very different. For one, sadly, there is way more money in the American shows. The budgets are bigger, and that affects all areas of a production: the crew are more experienced, they spend more time creatively because they have the budget to do so…..etc…. However, as a Canadian actress, I find the crews on Canadian shows easier to work with. American shows usually bring up a lot of their own people. The Americans would disagree with this, but they treat you differently.
American’s tend to look down on us locals. We are not as smart, not as talented, not as in the know or cool. So you are treated differently when you are Canadian as compared to American. Shitty. But true.
Are there any shows you’d like to appear on but haven’t yet?
Sure, everybody’s got their dream shows….who wouldn’t want to work on Gray’s Anatomy? CSI? If I had to choose one, it would be Boston Legal…..love the cast.
Are they any you’d like to make a return to? After all, NTAC directors have a history of turning up again in unusual circumstances…
The ones I would like to return to are off the air now. The Chris Issac (spelling?) show was a lot of fun and Beggars and Choosers. I don’t like the way things ended with The 4400 so there would have to be a few conversations before I went back to that one.
Stargate SG-1 just concluded its series of ten amazing seasons, and although you only appeared in two of its episodes, they were quite pivotal and replay often on the Sci Fi Channel. Are you still often recognized for that role?
Not really. I tend to look quite different in every role I play and that was a long time ago. People don’t recognize me from that. They actually recognize me more for some ridiculous set of commercials I did 3-4 years ago! I also have curly hair in real life and no one recognizes me from TV and Film until I open my mouth.
How did you get into voice acting for anime?
I started out, way back when, in radio. 1991. I still do it. So my voice got out there a bit and I did a few commercials around town. My television agent started a voice department in his agency a few years after I started there. So there was a voice agent and she started sending me out to voice auditions. It’s like film and tv auditions. The production companies call, ask for you to audition, you go, do your best, and you either get the part or you don’t. I do more voice commercials than anime….that is harder to come by.
Does the ability to see what your character looks like influence your performance?
Yes. People often sound like what they look like.
How does voice acting for games differ to voice acting for anime?
They don’t really. You go into a booth. You do each line. The director tells you to do it again or move onto the next one.
Having portrayed Nina Jarvis in The 4400 for 23 episodes, do you ever find yourself getting so comfortable with the character - to the point, where does Nina leave off and Samantha begin?
No, funnily enough. Jarvis is quite a departure from who I am. I am a very outgoing, loud and gregarious person…I tell rude jokes, flirt with cast, and swear like a trucker. Jarvis is none of those things. She is professional, tense, polished, and conservative.
From a Goa’uld Mother Ship to the Battlestar Galactica – which would you rather serve on?
BSG…the guys are hotter.
Supernatural is one of the hottest sci-fi shows on TV currently, when working with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, can you just sit back and go for the ride?
Absolutely. You have to. Otherwise you would have no fun. They are very good at their jobs and know what they are doing. They know those roles inside and out. They are also total pranksters and have a lot of fun. You gotta burn off steam when you work 5 days a week, 12-16 hours a day. You gotta watch yourself or Jared will get you…and it could hurt. He is constantly pulling jokes.
A show like Supernatural has a real sense of fun to it as well as the horror, was it difficult to balance those two elements in your performance as Ellen Harvelle?
Sometimes the guys get in goofy moods, and we all start cracking up. As I said before, they have to burn off steam somehow; they work 5 days a week and 12-16 hours a day. So, when the giggles start, sometimes it’s hard to get focused, but normally it’s manageable. They are very considerate to other actors. The only one I couldn’t keep it together for was Ash. I loved that character so much and working with Chad was an absolute treat, but he made me laugh no matter what he did. In the end I had to look away from him when it was my camera coverage because I couldn’t keep a straight face.
You’re stuck in a lift with one of the Winchesters. Dean, Sam or John?
Ooooooh, I don’t think I can answer that….but there is a lot of visual going through my head right now….and it’s all bad.
As a very busy working actress, you seem to mix the quality of your film projects without being typecast by your heavy sci-fi TV roles. Is that a conscience effort on your part or do you see Hollywood finally opening up?
Sci-fi is becoming more mainstream all the time…..4400 could be argued to be a true sci fi….and Battlestar Galactica is like every other good drama, it just happens to be in space. The days of the old Star Trek episodes are over. I would continue to take Sci-fi…..or anything else for that matter. As long as I like the role….I just want to work.