Will O'Hare Photography
Internationally known award-winning actor, writer, singer and producer Kelly McCormack is a woman who wears many hats, and 2017 marks her biggest year yet. With a list of highly anticipated projects debuting in every department of her multifaceted career, Kelly is making waves as a fresh female voice and powerhouse in Canadian filmmaking.
As an actor, first up is the season three premiere of the hit sci-fi adventure series KILLJOYS set to air on Space/Syfy on June 30th, 2017. KILLJOYS follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters, and Kelly joins the cast as Zeph, a new thorn in the team’s side and a passionate young scientist who Dutch takes on as a new recruit. Fans can expect to be introduced to the energetic, brutally honest, and hyper-competitive Zeph on July 7th, 2017. Created by showrunner Michelle Lovretta (LOST GIRL), the 10-episode, one-hour Space original series also stars Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, and Luke MacFarlane.
As an actor and producer, Kelly’s new digital original series with the CBC The Neddeaus of Duqesne Island debuts on June 26th on CBC Comedy, created by Aaron Schroeder and directed by Sam Zvibleman (Take My Wife Comedy Bang Bang/Seeso). The Neddeaus is a faux 1970s documentary about a bizarre island dwelling family and is narrated by Colin Mochrie. Kelly plays Eloida, the disturbed demonic twin sister who is always plotting her brother’s demise. In addition to acting in the show, Kelly also produced the 10- part series, shooting with a crew of twelve on a remote island, along with producing a promo trailer that featured Jean Chrétien and David Suzuki. The Neddeaus marks Kelly’s first collaboration with the CBC under her production company Floyder Films.
This comes on the heels of some nice momentum in her acting career, as Kelly has been playing a variety of unique roles in both drama and comedy, appearing alongside James Franco in JJ Abrams’ series 11.22.63 (Hulu) and Ricky Gervais in Special Correspondents, along with roles on Damien (Fox), Defiance (Syfy), Save Me (CBC).
Other significant TV roles yet to be released include the new Comedy Central/CBC series Crawford directed by Mike Clattenburg (Trailer Park Boys), the digital original series How to Buy a Baby (CBC) directed by Molly McGlynn and written by Wendy Litner, and season 3 of the award winning digital series That’s My DJ. In the latter, Kelly will return as Dee, the fun, sassy, straight-talking roommate to protagonist Meagan played by Emily Piggford on the third and final season, premiering on July 7th, 2017, starring Jade Hassouné (Shadowhunters).
As a writer, Kelly’s third feature film SUGAR DADDY is set to shoot in Winter 2018, directed by internationally renowned music video director Wendy Morgan (Gnarls Barkley, Janelle Monáe, The Kills) and produced by Lauren Grant and Lori Lozinski. The original screenplay, written by Kelly, also showcases her skills as both an actor and singer. The film follows the story of struggling musician Darren who is too broke to work on her music, so she signs onto a “Sugar Daddy” website — a growing online phenomenon where rich older men pay to go on dates with younger women. The film confronts the commodity of sex, art, and self-worth, and follows a fiery, smart, talented young woman as she negotiates the various expectations of Sugar Daddies against the backdrop of the already sexualized high-stakes of the music industry, begging the question: Is there a right way for a woman to behave?
As a stage actor and singer, Kelly is currently touring with a new opera CHARLOTTE: A TRI-COLOURED PLAY WITH MUSIC making a run at the 2017 Luminato Festival at the Theatre Centre then heading to Taipei for the prestigious World Stage Design Festival. Charlotte is an ambitious genre-bending chamber piece based on the life and artwork of Charlotte Salomon, and Kelly has been developing the new opera over the last three years with world famous director and scenographer Pamela Howard OBE, librettist Alon Nashman, and Czech composer Ales Brezina. In the opera, Kelly plays Charlotte’s friend Barbara who guides Charlotte through her sexual awakening.
This banner year for Kelly encompasses the wide range of disciplines of her career both as a performer and content creator. With a pedigree in classical music and theater that precedes her move into film, screenwriting, and producing, Kelly McCormack brings together a cross section of artists from traditionally separate disciplines with her production company Floyder Films. Her primary focus in storytelling, as in her activism, is the realm of what she calls “gender pain” – stories that seek to illuminate and shift exceptions of masculinity and femininity.
Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Kelly has been performing on stage since the young age of seven and moved to New York to train and work in theater, musical theater, and opera. She was a company member of The Flea Theatre Company – artistically directed by Jim Simpson and Sigourney Weaver, and worked with four-time Tony Nominated composer and director Liz Swados on new experimental works and studied with renowned acting teacher Larry Moss.
Kelly’s debut feature as a writer and producer PLAY THE FILM, co-produced and starring Kristian Bruun, was written in two weeks, shot in two weeks and produced for $1000 as part of Ingrid Veninger’s 1K Wave. The film won five Best Screenplay awards internationally, and Kelly’s second feature film BARN WEDDING starring Emily Coutts (Star Trek: Discovery) and Brett Donahue (The Kennedys) premiered at the world famous Chinese Theatre during the Dances with Films Festival and won the Audience Choice Award at the Canadian Film Festival
Hi, Kelly! You have several amazing projects releasing soon to add to your impressive resume. We can’t wait to speak with you about them! Let’s start with The Neddeaus of Duqesne Island. Tell us more.
There is no easy way to explain or pronounce The Neddeaus of Duqesne Island. The series is the weirdest project I’ve ever worked on but easily the one I’m most proud of. It is a faux 1970s documentary about a bizarre island dwelling family, shot in the same tone and style of those NFB docs we watched in Canadian schools. Just think the bizarre charm of Grey Gardens, except fake…but pretending to be real! The Neddeaus was written and created by Aaron Schroeder who plays the eldest son Elmer and directed by Sam Zvibleman, who also plays the fictitious director Ford Francis Mayflower. I produced the series while simultaneously playing the sinister twin sister Eloida Neddeau, so not exactly a conventional series! To top it off, the CBC was totally on board releasing the series as if it was a real documentary that had been unearthed from the archives, so for the trailer, we interviewed famous Canadians who “remember” hearing about it back in the day. That involved me tracking down Jean Chrétien and chatting with David Suzuki which was a great thrill. We also shot this series on a remote island in the woods, and part of my job as the producer was driving the cast around in boats, building fires, chopping wood and trekking through the wilderness. Producing off the grid is not every producer’s dream, but for this BC girl who grew up outdoors, I was in heaven.
Tell us about your auditioning process for your role.
Aaron pitched the series to me as he was looking for a producer, but he was also looking for the other actors. I perform with a really talented theater community in Toronto who thrive on weird, experimental, improvisational work and have the right sort of true grit that the project needed since we were going into the wilderness, literally. Tim Walker, Caitlin Driscoll, and Tara Samuel came on board and then it just sort of happened that I ended up playing one of the sisters so I didn’t have to audition! Woot woot! The way that Aaron wrote the script and Sam directed the actors was something really special. Since they were trying to recreate the documentary feel, we spent most of the day trying not to act, push away from any narrative or “performance” and toe the fine line of funny, weird, real and heartfelt. It was an actor’s dream, to be honest. Plus we had a lot of scenes with unexpected wildlife showing up on set.
It released June 26, 2017. How has the reception been?
The reception has been better than I imagined. To begin with, when the series was released as if it was a real documentary unearthed from the archives, and the likes of Jean Chrétien, David Suzuki, Nerene Virgin, Colin Mochrie, Graham Greene and Elizabeth Klinck were corroborating the fact in the trailer, the questions started rolling in. The main response was ‘What the hell is this!? Is this real!? Who are these people? Why did the CBC can this documentary?” which is exactly what we wanted. There was an extensive Reddit thread investigating the whether or not this documentary was real. We had Wikipedia pages for the filmmaker and family. And after it was finally released on CBC Comedy, the reception has been incredible. Even people who were duped seem to appreciate how much work went into the elaborate ruse, along with how much painstaking work went into recreating the authenticity and style of those 1970s Canadian documentaries. But the best response for me are the ones where people have watched the series and loved the dose of nostalgia in a real honest way.
You also have a new role in Crawford. Tell us about your role.
I don’t think I’m allowed to talk about it yet! All I can say it’s super bizarre, and my role required four hours of hair and makeup, and I’m so excited for this series! The writing is so original, and Mike Clattenburg has pulled out all the stops on his new series. His directing style is so unique and engaging. I believe it comes out in Winter 2018. I’m not spoiling anything by saying there are a lot of raccoons in the show.
OK, let’s talk How to Buy a Baby. Tell us more.
Another great digital original series to come out of the CBC and headlined by some badass women. I play sister in law to the lovely Meghan Heffern who is trying to get pregnant through IVF – which is an incredible autobiographical story of the writer Wendy LitnerI was really excited to work with director Molly McGlynn who has a great directorial style and is a kickass writer herself, and also be on set with my best friend and stylist Mara Zigler who costume designed the series. Also – producer Lauren Corber is someone I’m a big fan on in the city, so there were a lot of inspiring ladies on that set!
Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the industry?
It’s not secret that this industry has a lot to learn with how it treats women and working mothers. But some of the hardest working people I know in this industry happen to be both. At the moment, I have the pleasure of working with three incredible women on my next feature film Sugar Daddy – producer Lauren Grant, Lori Lozinski and director Wendy Morgan. Last year, we went to the Cannes Film Festival to represent the film and seek international sales at the Marché du Film, and I watched and learned so much from them. Standing alongside working mothers, taking meetings in Cannes and dealing with the onslaught of sexism at the industry’s highest and most competitive arena, while championing a story that was at its core at the service of women was a learning experience of a lifetime, heartbreaking, infuriating, eye-opening and deeply motivating all at the same time. I left Cannes forever changed and with the helpful chip on my shoulder and serious bone to pick with the world. The resilience of women is the greatest motivator and joy of this career for me. It taps into a deeper and urgent reason why we do this. For me, right now, it’s not one project, it’s the women.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
I am the new resident science nerd on the hit SyFy/Space TV show Killjoys! My character was just introduced last week and there is a lot of fun in store for her this season. I play Zeph, the tomboy biological science nerd who is socially awkward has no filter and always needs to be right. I got to run around space ships on set all day and play with gizmo’s. It is a dream role and the cast and crew were like a new family. Killjoys air this summer every Friday night!
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Up next is Sugar Daddy which we are shooting in the new year, directed by world renowned music video director Wendy Morgan. In the film, I play a broke musician who funds her music through the e-commerce phenomenon of paid dating and puts herself in a pressure cooker situation to get ahead in the already sexualized music industry. Wendy Morgan has directed iconic music videos for Janelle Monae and Gnarls Barkley and has a style and aesthetic that I am in constant awe of. Every time I watch her work, I am sure I’ve never seen anything like it.
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________?
Originate a role on Broadway, have it transfer to the West End, buy a flat in London and perform eight shows a week. That life, on repeat, for years and years. I’ve had that dream since I was seven. But after a little more…life, my art has become my activism, and I have some heavier aspirations. I want to change the conversation with storytelling on behalf of women, and I want to do it diligently with a very very loud voice.
Connect with Kelly:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kelmccormack
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kellyandphyllis
Web: http://www.kellymccormack.net
Web: http://www.floyderfilms.com
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3080168/
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