Photography by Liz Rosa
Jill Morrison knew as a little girl that she wanted to be an actor and when she landed her first role the rest of the world knew why. She has an infectious on-screen presence that envelops the audience.
Born in Langley, British Columbia, Jill spent her childhood living in small Canadian towns, always looking for a chance to act. At the age of 13, Jill discovered a theatre group in her community where she began her love affair with theatre. Jill also discovered she had a remarkable talent in Improv, a skill that has contributed to her instincts as an actress.
Jill received her B.F.A in classical and contemporary theatre from the University of Windsor. She continued her work in sketch comedy through her university years actively participating in many Improv groups. Jill’s film career began as the memorable ‘She doesn’t even go here’ girl from Tina Fey’s hit movie MEAN GIRLS, a scene that has since grossed 1.5 million hits on YouTube. This was Jill’s first audition and first job. Shortly after completing MEAN GIRLS, Jill booked a lead role in Disney’s feature film CRIMES OF FASHION. A slew of roles followed in numerous blockbuster films including BIG EYES, opposite Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz, WARCRAFT, DECK THE HALLS, TOOTH FAIRY, FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, 2012 and the upcoming sequel, BENCHWARMERS 2: BREAKING BALLS alongside Chris Klein and Jon Lovitz.
Jill can be seen in numerous television shows, recurring in City TV’s “Package Deal”, A&E’s “The Returned”, Showtime’s “The L Word”, and USA Network’s “Psych”. She’s also guest starred in ABC’s “Imaginary Mary”, The CW’s “Supernatural”, “Smallville”, “iZombie”, and “Emily Owens”, Showtimes “Masters of Horror”, USA Network’s “The 4400”, CBC’s “Intelligence”, and SYFY’s, “Aftermath”, and “Eureka”. Jill has also worked extensively over the years with Hallmark, recurring in the hit drama series “When Calls the Heart”, and appearing in numerous Hallmark films including “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Road Less Travelled”,
“The Sweetest Christmas”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From the Heart”, “Family for Christmas”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Truth be Told”, and “A Cookie Cutter Christmas”.
Most recently Jill guest starred in Netflix’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, alongside one of her mentors Neil Patrick Harris. The role was a dream come true for her, one which also gave her the opportunity to play opposite Neil Patrick Harris’ real-life husband David Burtka as his wife.
Jill can be seen in A&E’s “Project Blue Book” and the sequel of BENCHWARMERS.
Jill splits her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles. We had the amazing opportunity to speak with her. Check out the interview below.
Hi, Jill! Thank you for granting the interview. Congrats on your role as Faye in the new History Channel series “Project Blue Book.” What should the audience expect to see in this series?
I think what is so wonderful and cool about this show is that the audience won’t know what to expect. Every episode has something new and exciting! The stories are so different from each other! You can expect to ask questions and to have your mind to possibilities. Expect the plot to twist and turn. All the different theories and questions the lead characters ask will also have you asking the same ones.
Tell us about your character Faye.
Faye works for the U.S army base as the assistant to Dr. Quinn (Michael Malarkay. She is a strong, intelligent, disciplined woman.
Was it a challenge to play Faye?
It was a challenge to play Faye in the fact that I am not trained in the armed forces. I had to always be aware of how I was saluting, addressing officers of certain ranks, and standing properly. This is not second nature to me.
How did you get the role?
I got the role in the good old fashioned way. I had first self-taped for it when I was visiting Toronto and then was called into the room to be with the director and the producers. And this is when I really started to find out more about this woman and who she is. The director had me do the scene a number of different times, and it went well!
The subject matter of the series is exciting, how does the overall series bring something fresh to alien phenomena?
I think it might open some doors because it talks about some things that haven’t been talked about much before or a part of mainstream knowledge and that might knock some of our socks off! To find out the secrets we have actually known for years.
What is going to surprise people about Faye?
I think what will surprise people about Faye is her strength and her loyalty. We do get to see that at some point.
What’s your favorite part of the series that you can share?
My favorite part of the series is for me the authenticity of the set, the props, the tiniest detail was paid attention to. And that really fascinated me and allowed me to really feel like I was living in another time.
Do you have any favorite stories from the set you can share?
I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones. I almost lost my cookies when I found out I was going to work with Aiden Gillen. We had a director on set for one of the episodes, Alex Graves. He had worked on Game of Thrones and Homeland (which I also love). He and Aiden were talking about certain scenes and choices, and events on Game of Thrones and I had front row seats. I was beyond thrilled, to hear all of this. If you want to know the truth! But that being said, to work with this kind of high caliber of artistry is really what was the most exhilarating, out of body coolness that this experiences offered.
In your opinion, what scene in the series is going to blow people away and why?
I think people will be blown away, and have been, by the scenes in episode two, ‘The Flatwoods Monster’. Where the mother and her children witness a UFO crash and pay the consequences. It’s awesome and very well done. There are many episodes in the series like that too!
Do you have anything else you would like to share about the series?
We have been picked up for a season two! The audience loves the show.
You’re also starring as Milford in the sequel of BENCHWARMERS. Tell us about her.
Milford is hilariously fun to play. She’s goofy, and naive, and sweet and means well. She loves being on the team, winning or losing. It’s fun to play someone who is not totally sharp, but sweet. The combination is joyful. The movie stars Chris Klein and Jon Lovitz, and it is truly hilarious!
Without giving anything away, what surprises are in store for the fans of BENCHWARMERS 2?
Surprises in Benchwarmers are a lot of callbacks to the first movie! Such a combination of unique and silly characters makes this movie something fun and surprising. Also don’t be fooled by the title, breaking balls, kids will also love this goofy comedy and we made it also with families in mind.
Do you have anything else you would like to share about your career?
Right now I am having a wonderful time working on The CW’s ‘Supergirl’ and just wrapped on ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’. I’m also doing some fun Hallmark movies! I look so forward to this work coming out, and to enjoy all of the amazing work coming to Vancouver!
Featured Image Credit: Photography by Liz Rosa.
About Author
