CELEBRITY INTERVIEW.
@alexwaber Photographer Alex Waber and @mac.muartistry Hair and Make Up Mackenzie Stewart.
Tammy Gillis shines in the starring role of Cara Durant in Riverfront Romance, premiered on Superchannel in Canada on October 2, 2021
Tammy also plays Deputy Marissa on Freeform’s hit TV series Siren, now airing on Disney Plus Dynamic actor Tammy Gillis brings the starring role of Cara Durant to life in the feature film Riverfront Romance,premiering in Canada on October 2 and airing throughout October on Superchannel.
The film follows Cara (Tammy) who has always dreamed of buying the Ridgecrest estate, an old turn of the century home nestled on the riverbank of her hometown. After years of hard work as a successful novelist she’s finally saved enough money to buy it all on her own, complete with an office overlooking the river where she can write her next novel. It’s a dream come true…until she discovers that Riley (Morgan David Jones), the project manager of a hydro corporation, is set to begin construction on a dam right in front her house, ruining its peaceful atmosphere, flooding the local swimming hole, and permanently altering the landscape of the town. Cara has 30 days to change Riley’s mind before they begin construction on the dam.
Will Cara and Riley let the construction of the dam come in between them? Or will they be able to let their own barriers down and take a chance on love? Riverfront Romance, which Tammy not only stars in but she also executive produces, is set to aired on Superchannel from October 2 – October 18.
Many may recognize Tammy from her three seasons of playing Deputy Marissa on Freeform’s hit TV series Siren, currently airing on Disney Plus. Siren takes place in a Washington fishing village known for a whimsical obsession with mermaids that is about to discover that the winsome creatures are much more sinister and deadly than anyone had ever dreamed.
A Hallmark Channel favourite, Tammy has appeared in many Hallmark projects. Her most recent role was in the Hallmark Movies & Mystery series Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries – Poisoned in Paradise.
The award-winning actor’s other credits include starring with James Tupper (Big Little Lies) in a special two-part episode in season three of the hit CBC true crime series The Detectives, as well as guest starring and recurring roles on Van Helsing, Motive, Supernatural, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Once Upon A Time, the award-winning HBO comedy series Less Than Kind, The Arrangement, Ghost Wars, and many more. Her feature film credits include No Men Beyond This Point, White Noise 2, A Dog’s Way Home, and Torn Dark Bullets, to name a few. A spirited force in the industry, Tammy’s work has been celebrated with a number of accolades, including four Best Actress awards for her work on Menorca (the UBCP/ACTRA Award, the Black Sea Film Festival in Romania, the Noida International Film Festival in India, and the Solaris Film Festival in Nice, France), and a Leo Award nomination for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture for the film, as well as a Leo Award nomination for Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for her work on UPTV’s Ties That Bind.
Growing up in rural Manitoba, Tammy showed an early interest in her craft and began acting in school plays. Her passion for performing reignited, she began taking theatre classes at the University of Winnipeg and shortly after found herself on the set of Canadian legend Guy Maddin in his inspired award-winning short film, Heart of the World. Her undeniable talent and unwavering drive have been evident on-screen ever since. Tammy resides in Vancouver and is a mentor for Women in Film and Television.
TAMMY GILLIS
ARTICLE BY JOSHUA PANTALLERESCO
The first impression of Tammy Gillis is someone incredibly creative, passionate and capable. Ideas are bursting inside this very cerebral, thoughtful person. This is a woman that adapts very well to situations, in both life and in her work, as her resume shows a range of roles that many actors would envy.
In talking about auditions, Gillis talks about using that creativity, and trying to come up with ways to stand out, using audition tapes to try out different things about the characters she's auditioning for. The only downside to that is that what she did in the audition is something the directors want to see.
@alexwaber Photographer Alex Wabe of Tammy Gillis.
“Sometimes I'll be eating something or doing something a certain way, and they [Directors] will want me
to do that.”
Beyond that adaptability in roles, Tammy Gillis adapted to pandemic as well as expected. With COVID has changed the movie industry, and this week's Riverfront was a unique experience, as this movie was filmed right in the heart of the pandemic.
“I had to fly to Ontario and I was really nervous about the whole thing [The Pandemic].” The experience of flying cast a new light on the situation of making movies on location, in which Gillis admits to quite a few changes that occurred in that time. “It was so weird. There were people I worked with that I wanted to hug and say hi to them but we couldn't. There were so many people allowed only on set. It felt really weird not hugging anyone.”
Beyond some of the COVID restrictions on the filming the biggest concern in this time was her co-star Morgan David Jones. Gillis had nothing but praise working with Jones, and describes him as “A sweet, kind creative soul that made working in this time easy. We were able to focus and have fun.”
Being able to immerse herself into the role. Working in a movie and being a lead is something Gillis takes
pride in.
“So much goes into filming when you're the lead. You spend 12 to 14 hours a day working through 5 to7
pages of script. You have to be good with your dialogue and the choices you make. Once done, you go home, exhausted, and work on your dialogue for the next day.” As gruelling as a filming schedule can be,
you can hear the passion in Gillis' voice.
@alexwaber Photographer Alex Waber
“I love what I do. I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. I figure as long as you can physically do it
and mentally are pushing yourself, and love what you do, I don't see why you can't.”
While her acting days are far from over, Gillis has hopes of one day being a producer in her own production company, wanting to create more content, specifically roles for women to have a little more variety.
“There's a bit of sameness in some of the roles for women. I'd love to create some of my own content to help with that.”
Gillis truly is a renaissance woman with many different aspirations, and she constantly pushes herself. “If
you aren't making yourself uncomfortable, how can you grow?” Wiser words never spoken. Riverfront
premiered October 2nd.
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@alexwaber Photographer Alex Waber
@mac.muartistry Hair and Make Up Mackenzie Stewart
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