CULT TIMES  | #74 November 2001
Mrs G Woolvett interviewed for her guest spot on Andromeda

The Guest List: Michele Morand / Andromeda

The pregnant Michele Morand smiles and shakes her head 'no' when asked if she always wanted to act. "My mum would've killed me if she thought I was going to become an actor," she jokes. After graduating high school, Morand worked for a year at the Canadian Consulate in New York. At 17, she enrolled in university to study political science and planned to pursued diplomatic career. However, acting intervened. "I came to Vancouver on a whim to give acting a try, and I'm still here today!" Morand plays, of all things, a pregnant woman in the Andromeda episode Last Call at the Broken Hammer.

How did you become involved in Andromeda?
I have to thank my husband Gordon Woolvett, who plays Harper on the show. I spend quite a bit of time hanging out on the set making a nuisance of myself and eating all the wonderful food they have. Since I'm an actress I always tend to look through the scripts and think, "That would be an interesting character for me to play". Last month [April 2001], Gordon received the script for Last Call at the Broken Hammer. Lo and behold there was a part for a pregnant woman, so I said to Gordon, "Hey, that role was practically written for me". I managed to get an audition and, very cleverly I thought, went in wearing a top that accentuated my big, round belly. I acted my little heart out and, much to my delight, was hired to play the character of Jadis.

How would you describe Jadis?
She's a rather forlorn woman who's been living on this backwater I mining planet for far too many years. Every so often these evil guys, the Kalderans, raid the planet and kill its people, especially the men. Jadis's husband was killed in one of these attacks, so now it's just her and her unborn baby. My character ends up at this bar and the Kaldarans attack it looking for a rebel leader they believe is there. Jadis is stuck there and has to do something she wouldn't normally do in order to protect herself and her child. It's a very emotional role and quite a challenging one as well.

What is it like working with the Andromeda cast?
It's great. Obviously, I know them all. They're a fantastic group of people and they've made the set an enjoyable, laid-back place to work. This episode is an unusually heavy one with all the aliens, so everyone's been kept very busy, in particular the make-up and wardrobe people. However, no one's lost his or her cool. It's been a very pleasant experience.

Is this your first Science Fiction/Fantasy role?
No. I actually played a prostitute on Highlander: The Raven. I had to wear a big blonde wig, fake boobs and a little gold dress for that part. That was probably the most fun I've had so far in my career because the character was so different from the girl-next-door roles I usually get.

How did you and Gordon meet?
He was a friend of a friend. I'd just broken up with my boyfriend of eight years and Gordon and my friend Woody were coming to Vancouver to visit. They needed a place to sleep and I had all this extra room, so I invited them to stay with me. After three months, Gordon asked me out. We began dating and before you knew it we were married.

Steven Eramo

This magazine was published in November 2001, at this time back issues are still available (subject to availability), for more details visit the Visual imagination web