i've watched some of the show - its pretty good almost all CGI but the occasional vancouver lcoation used...
Brit actor finds 'Sanctuary' here on the West Coast
Julie Crawford, Surrey Now
Published: Friday, January 08, 2010
It's a long way from Coronation Street to Robson Street, but actor Robert Lawrenson is happy for the change in scenery.
The actor, a regular on such British TV shows as Emmerdale, Heartbeat and yes, Coronation Street, is now living in Vancouver and busy guarding monsters on the Syfy channel's Sanctuary.
Just picked up for 20 more episodes, Sanctuary is a show about the monsters, abnormals and otherworldly creatures living among us. Lawrenson plays Declan MacRae, the guardian of the London sanctuary.
"It's a very character-driven show, like Star Trek and the best sci-fi, which is why I was drawn to it," says Lawrenson.
Much of the work is done on a virtual set in front of a green screen, which is challenging, he admits.
"Reacting to absolutely nothing but the director's voice was tricky in the beginning," he says. "But it's like theatre, and that's where I cut my teeth as an actor. You've just got to imagine you're on stage and there's no scenery, no props.... That kind of freed me and I stopped worrying about it."
Working in front of a blank canvas also means that actors never really know what the scene is going to look like until it airs. "I sit down and I pour myself a drink and it's really exciting to watch," he says.
Lawrenson made the leap across the Atlantic after meeting a friend from B.C. and coming out for a visit. The actor, who was living in Manchester, was sold when he took in the views of the mountains and beyond. Lawrenson and his family "totally fell in love" with the Lower Mainland.
"Sure, we had the Lake District in England," he says, "Now I've got the Lake District five minutes away."
Initially the actor was worried about starting again in a new job market, and how he'd be perceived as an immigrant. He only had the "distorted" view of immigration in England to go on, he says, but he's been pleasantly surprised.
Lawrenson also admires the easy flow between television and film environments here on the West Coast.
"There's no gulf between film and television. (In the U.K.), TV actors are looked upon with a certain snobbery by the film industry, though it's largely the same art," he says.
Lawrenson's resume also includes voice work, a growing industry in Vancouver where video gaming and animation studios offer new opportunities.
"I've always enjoyed playing with my voice. My parents are just happy that all that playing with a tape recorder when I was younger paid off," he says, laughing.
Anyone he's burning to work with?
"Any dream will do," he says, before naming Johnny Depp, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino as actors he admires. He did get to work with one of his screen idols, though he confesses it didn't go very well.
...
http://www2.canada.com/surreynow/news/whatson/story.html?id=89ab90f1-44a8-4f30-8b8f-05174e770436
Linear Mode
