Wendy Crewson
Gemini award winner, life on and off the big screen

Interviewed by Barbara Goodman
Editorial Director
Canadian Health & Lifestyle


Wendy Crewson has had an amazing career playing some of Canada’s most celebrated, interesting and brave women.

This award-winning, well-known, talented and diverse Canadian actor has worked with Harrison Ford, Tim Allen and Sophia Loren to name just a few. Married to actor Michael Murphy, with two teenage children, Wendy shares lessons from her busy family life and accomplished career, from her lovely home in Toronto.

Wendy Just like any woman who has a job, a 16 year old teenage daughter, and 13 year old son. I find that it’s really important to be around them when I’m home, when they’re teenagers it’s easier for them to ‘go off their rails’. Even though they may not want to talk to me, or be with me and they’re doing their own thing, I can keep an eye out for them and they have the stability of knowing I’m there if they need me.

H&L What are some of your family’s must do’s, your glue?

Wendy Because I am away a lot, I make a point of making dinner every night when I’m home. We sit together, often in the dining room, light the candles and play music. A tiny section of the day where we’re all together. We talk and can hang out for at least half an hour together, we all really like it.

We love holidays with all the decorations, everything from the time they were little. Grandma isn’t too far away and we have her over often. Mike has family in Maine and we have a little house there where both children were born. We go there every summer. And we love to have dinner parties. These are the kinds of things that keep us glued together.

Wendy I love big legs of lamb and roasts with roasted vegetables. I’m not a big dessert person. I love my protein and vegetables. In Maine, I cook fresh lobster as often as I can. (Wendy’s lobster cooking secret: instead of eating with butter where you can feel your arteries hardening, dip your lobster in white vinegar. Absolutely amazing, she drools.)

Wendy Actually I was three, I didn’t know it then but much later in life I realized I had an epiphany at three. It was in the church auditorium when we were living in Oakville. I saw the stage, walked up the steps and stood in the middle with the bright light streaming in on me. I remember it so succinctly. I said to myself, “This feels really good. I like this. I could be an actress.” I’m not kidding that was it. From then on it was my life’s focus. My parents and two brothers were mystified. They were always extremely supportive of my choice, but mystified.

Wendy Yes, of great Canadian role models like Sue Rodriguez (a woman with ALS who wanted to die with dignity); Jane Doe (a woman who was raped and refused to be a victim); and Louise Arbour (a Canadian Supreme Court Justice and chief prosecutor for the tribunals into the genocide in Rwanda and the human rights abuses in Yugoslavia in the 1990s). They were big jobs where I was in all the scenes. I had to steel myself for a long schedule and really focus. I’ve done a lot of parts that were a lot of fun, but when it’s a role about a real person it becomes more important, there’s a responsibility, more involvement and attachment.

There’s an acting theory, a metaphysics theory really ‘that everything is everything; that we’re a part of everyone and they’re a part of us’. Doing a part like Sue Rodriguez, which is very dear to me, I learned how true this is. Before I did the movie I knew very little about her and yet there was something about her that I felt very connected to. As an actor we get to experience this, that’s something I love about the business, the psychology of it. Of getting into another life, it’s fascinating.

Wendy Wendy It was remarkable to learn that only one in 10 rape cases were reported. That’s stunning and horrifying. After that movie so many women have revealed to me that this has happened to them and they never told anyone. I don’t know how they go on in their life? It’s so damaging and horrifying. There’s so many women living under the burden of that horrible secret.

Wendy I’m sure. But that can be said about the many political and social discussions that take place at our dinner table. We like to educate our children about the world they live in. Recently my daughter spent three weeks in north India doing community service in a home for abandoned girls. This is a huge part of her life. She’s a very politicized 16 year old aware of the plight of women, an outspoken feminist like an American girl. And, she’s a Canadian girl who believes in the health system and social services for the poor. She expresses the best of both worlds. One day she’d like to be a writer. The move here from California a few years ago has been great for giving both children a perspective on the world that will serve them well whether they live in Canada or the U.S.

Wendy Not when I was younger. But as I’ve gotten older I see what’s going on especially in my business around the problems of protecting our cultural industry. There’s no other country in the world that allows American broadcasters to simulcast during their prime time television hours, only Canada. It seems that the more we give up, the more we accept giving up and it becomes normal.

We wonder why we’re brain-drained – our brilliant young doctors and graduates aren’t seeing anything on our airwaves to reinforce how wonderful this country is. So why should they stay here and not go south.

Canadian broadcasters are spending millions on acquiring American shows and only a quarter of that on creating Canadian shows. Canadian drama is slowly sinking into the ground, there will be nothing left. We literally aren’t telling our own Canadian story.

H&L You’re a very passionate woman Wendy.

Wendy I am very passionate about my work. I feel very lucky and fortunate that I work as much as I do. An artist is always striving to perfect what they do. We’re very critical of ourselves, and looking at how to do better. It’s an endless process. I feel like I’m finally getting what acting is about. There’s so much to learn. Every time I do it I get something new. It certainly keeps life fresh. You go in, do a job for four weeks and you’re so passionate about it. You’re in love with everyone involved, and then it’s done.

I’m also passionate about being Canadian. I take great pride in our Canadian liberalism and acceptance; that my agent could marry his boyfriend without hassle. Canadians should take pride in our forward-thinking, our acceptance and understanding of life and people. We should embrace that, not shy away from it or emulate other countries. This is why Canada is so great for my children and what I want them to see and learn – the love and acceptance of a nation of people. And Canadians take pride in a certain intellectual ability and curiosity. We’re a well-read, well-informed people.

H&L Your advice to a young woman who wants to be an actor

Wendy If it’s the only thing you can ever see yourself doing, then do it. I can’t imagine what would bring more joy then getting into a role with all the other actors and the director – it’s bliss. If there’s other things you love and can see yourself doing equally then choose the other thing. Because there can be no greater disappointment or heartbreak. It’s a tough way to make a living. It’s a hard industry, especially on women – long hours, lots of rejection, and tons of humiliation. So if it really is something you’re dying to do, really figure it out and cement it in yourself.

H&L You’ve been nominated for and received many awards including a Gemini Humanitarian Award – tell us about that.

WendyThe best award ever. The whole thing was fantastic. I didn’t know anything about ALS until I did the Sue Rodriguez movie. It’s the most awful disease. Very little attention was paid to it because it’s a difficult disease that really wasn’t understood. Working with ALS victims and their caregivers, being exposed to their strength, grace and courage made me aware and really wanting to do something. After the movie was released I was asked to be a patron for ‘Betty’s Run for ALS’ in Calgary. It’s such a great way to make a difference and raise awareness. But as everyone who does work like this knows you get way more out of it than you put into it. It moved me and inspired me. I gave the award to the people who deserve it – the organizers of ‘Betty’s Run’. Her friends who do this every year out of love, it’s in its 10th year. They’ve taught me what love really means.

H&L What about change, is there anything you’d love to change?

Wendy Yes! A large part of the world is still living in the mediaeval age. There’s still so much poverty and disease, the horrible problems in Darfur – the killings, the famine and displaced children. The AIDS epidemic in Africa, so many people are affected. If I could wave a magic wand over all of that, it would be amazing. We live in such a protected little part of the world.

Wendy It’s so easy and glib to say, “Follow your dreams.” A friend of mine once said, “I want to be the star of my own movie”. And that’s what I want. I don’t want to think back – wow I did a lot of what someone else wanted or expected me to do.

Canadian women want to be ‘good girls’. As a group we’re so willing to put our needs aside to make somebody else happy. Our favourite expression: “I’m sorry.” My mother’s advice, “Stop apologizing. We have nothing to apologize for.” We work harder and do without more than anyone else I know. The joke in the U.S., “Marry a Canadian woman, they work hard and aren’t princesses.”

We’re the bedrock strength of this country. I believe we’ll have a woman Prime Minister one day. Personally I would love that to be Louise Arbour. She’d be a great Prime Minister, although we also need her in the UN, but she’s a strong woman and could do both. You should see how she handles the UN Generals. She’s a great protector of the world, without pushing her own agenda and has a great sense of humour. Talk about a hardworking Canadian girl.

Canadian women are finally coming into their own; we have the opportunity, the education, and the know-how to put our dreams into action. We’re clear-thinking and have enormous strength, just

look at our women writers, singers and leaders. We have the makings of an enormous future. And it takes all of us saying, this is what I believe to be right. Don’t hide your light because you don’t want to make someone feel insecure. We can still step up without making someone feel bad. It’s time to take that power and have a say in the future of this country to make sure it stays on the right road. We can do it with our grace and great sense of humour. I truly believe that Canadian women are the future of this country.

H&L I think you should be Prime Minister, you not only have a great love for Canada, you represent all that we stand for.

Wendy (Laughs her big, hearty, contagious laugh).

H&L Happy birthday Wendy! Thank you for being an example of how to be a star of our own movie H&L