Jack Hanna
Actor Marguerite Hanna, who grew up in Centretown, has a supporting role in the just-released TV series Reginald the Vampire, which is streaming across the English-speaking world. (In Canada, it is on Amazon Prime.)
The 26-year-old, who now lives in Vancouver, got their start on the stage in grade 5 at Elgin Street Public School. They were Dorothy in the school’s production of the The Wizard of Oz.
This introduction to the stage led to the Drama Program at Canterbury High School and then the esteemed theatre school Studio 58 in Vancouver.
The 10 episodes of Reginald the Vampire were filmed last winter in Victoria, B.C.
Hanna was recently interviewed for The BUZZ – by their father, Jack Hanna.
Jack: What is the premise of Reginald the Vampire?
Marguerite: It is something of an adult coming-of-age story. Reginald is a man who doesn’t feel confident about himself. His life is not what he wants it to be, and that’s got him down in the dumps. Then a big shift happens. (He is transformed into a vampire). He is forced to decide if he is going to keep doing what he has always done, or rise to the new challenge of being the person he has always wanted to be.
Jack: Before you landed this role, you were working for minimum wage in a clothing store. Then you were plunged into the Hollywood life – luxury hotel suites, cars with drivers, a trailer on set with your name on it. How weird was that?
Marguerite: I was ecstatic, star-struck. I was really giddy. I was sending videos to all my friends saying, “Look at this hotel suite I’m in!” But now that I understand a bit of the business, I know that my trailer was one of the lowest-tier trailers you can get.
Jack: Did you have a canvas chair with your name on it?
Marguerite: Yes!
Jack: Your character is Ashley, Reginald’s co-worker in a fast-food joint. Tell me about Ashley.
Marguerite: Ashley is a human (not a vampire). They love strange folk lore and conspiracy theories, and are a walking encyclopedia; they know about everything. Bit of an outcast. Ashley is one of the first people to realize vampires exist, and is trying to tell people they exist and prove they do.
Jack: In personality, are you anything like Ashley?
Marguerite: Ashley is not a people-pleaser. They don’t care what you think. They won’t play by your rules. I find that about Ashley inspiring. I am a bit of a people-pleaser, so I differ from Ashley in that regard. But we both love good gossip. And we both are dissatisfied with the status quo, searching for what else life has to offer.
Jack: You identify as gender non-binary. You said when the writers learned that about you, they changed Ashley to make them non-binary.
Marguerite: Yes, they switched the pronouns referring to Ashley to they/them throughout the script. At first I thought it was a typo. But then I learned it was done for me. It was a profound thing for me.
Jack: Which was harder, being Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at Elgin Street School, or being Ashley on a TV show?
Marguerite: It was harder to play Dorothy. I was a child. I was so worried about what everyone thought of me, and I wanted so badly for people to like me and like what I was doing.
But it did make me a bit of an Elgin Street School celebrity. I’ve run into my old teachers on the street. I walk up and say, “Hi, I was your student. I’m Marguerite.” No reaction. Then I say, “Dorothy” and they exclaim, “Oh, Dorothy!”
Jack: Acting looks easy. You get up there and say a few lines.
Marguerite: Oh my God, it is extremely hard. The sheer level of competition is incredible. I auditioned close to 200 times for TV and film, and landed three roles. Actors constantly have to apply themselves to get better and better, so that you stand a chance against all the competition.
When on set, you are working a 14-hour day. Then you go home to memorize lines, analyze the script and make acting choices for the next day. Then the next day, it’s another 14-hour day.
It takes your whole body to act. It is physically and emotionally draining.
Jack: You are a Vancouverite now, but you are coming back to Ottawa for Christmas. Think you will be able to handle a real Canadian winter?
Marguerite: I’m looking out the window right now, in Vancouver, and I see snow on the ground. Have you got snow? No, you haven’t. Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle soft?