Laura Mennel

Laura Mennel - Alphas
You've worked in lots of sci-fi and genre shows and films over the years. Would you call yourself a sci-fi fan?

I come from Vancouver B.C., where they shoot a lot of sci-fi, so I don’t know if I am what you would call your original die-hard sci-fi fan, although I definitely enjoy sci-fi films, for sure. I especially looked up to people like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. I think she was a really strong, dynamic female character in sci-fi. But starting in the industry in Vancouver, since there are so many wonderful sci-fi shows, I’ve definitely become more of a fan of the genre, and have really loved being a part of so many great shows like Watchmen, where I got to play Jenny Slater, working with Zack Snyder. I loved working on that film. It was really true to the book. It was pretty epic, and I don’t know how they fitted it all in, but they did. Also, working on lots of other shows that I enjoyed, such as The 4400, all the Stargate franchises, and now working in Toronto on Alphas, which has been fantastic, so I’ve definitely become a fan of the genre. You get to be really creative and always do different things, and I love that, I think it’s a lot of fun.

Laura Mennel - Alphas
So it must have been thrilling to be cast in a whole series, especially one that's made it to its second season.

Yeah it was great, especially getting to work with such wonderful people like David, who is a fantastic actor, Oscar nominee, Emmy Award winner, he is a fantastic sweet human being. Everybody in our cast is absolutely amazing so I’ve had a lot of fun and I am very lucky to be working with such a wonderful cast and crew.

Is David [Strathairn] as much of a mentor off screen as he is on screen?

David is absolutely lovely, he is a fabulous actor obviously, but he is also a wonderful human being. He’s a very giving actor and he’s just great to work with. So yeah, I think he is a mentor of sorts, and I think he also sets the tone, which is probably part of the reason why all of us are just so content and happy to be there, to be just really focused and make the show the best it can be. We don’t have any prima donnas. I think part of it must David because of who he is and how wonderful he is. Also, once in a while, he has little bits of advice to give in a scene and he is definitely someone to look up to, for sure.

Laura Mennel - Alphas
Anything in particular about this role or the show that attracted you?

I think Nina’s an interesting character, especially going from Season 1 to Season 2. She goes through so many changes, which are much more complicated in the second season. But I enjoy Nina, I think her ability is really interesting. Her power is being able to influence people or ‘push people’, as we call it on the show, which allows her to manipulate people into doing whatever she wants them to do, and I think it’s fascinating getting to play with that ability, having that amount of power has got to do something to you, I find it really interesting. I also like living through Nina on some days, especially when she borrows another fancy luxurious sports car or has the finer things in life, so there’s a lot of fun aspects to her character as well, but it also brings in a lot of darker aspect too. I think more of those will come into play in the second season, but she’s been great to play. I was very happy to get the role, especially because I almost didn’t get to try out for Nina, simply because I wanted to hang out with my father, who I’ve been so busy with. I was like “no I’m going to hang out with my dad, I’m not going to do any auditions” but my agent was like “no, no, please audition for this one, just read it”. Finally I caved in. I did hang out with my dad but that night I was like, “OK, I’m going to read the script”, and then after I read it I was like, “Wow, OK, I need to try out for this.” So in the end it worked out well, I can’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t try out for that. It’s been such a big part of my life, we did the pilot about three years ago, so it’s been great and I’m glad I listened to my agent. It was meant to be.

There have been lots of similar ensemble shows such as X-Men, Mutant X, Heroes, The 4400. How do you think Alphas compares, or what is there about it that sets it apart from the others?

I think it’s definitely different from your average superhero show. I mean, I’m not an expert of all of those shows necessarily but I think our show has a much more interesting premise because we’re heroes by definition, but we’re not glamourously heroic, like your typical superhero. We drive around, from case to case, in a minivan. We don’t wear capes, we don’t fly. We’re real human beings with flaws, which I think keeps us interesting and more relatable. You also have the little trivialities in life that creep into our show that add interest and humour, and keep it more real.

Laura Mennel - Alphas
One of the great things about being a screen actor is you get the opportunity to learn new skills that you probably wouldn't otherwise. Did you have to learn anything new for this role?

I definitely watched a lot of YouTube videos and anything I could find on hypnosis, but one of the funnier things I had to pick up very quickly, for the pilot, was running around in high heels. In the first season I was in these tallest, highest shoes every created. Weird stilettos with platforms that I had to run in, so I had to pick up that skill pretty quickly, I would say, because I’m more of a comfort-shoe kind of girl. I like flats. Haha! That was definitely a skill that I got to pick up. But you definitely do, that’s the fun part of our work, you always have to learn new skills. Also, on our show, from week to week, there’s some real life science in there, so as you read along you go, “Oh, I’ve never heard of that thing before". I might need to learn about infrasounds, or whatever the subject is, so whatever that week is about there’s always something new to learn, which is fun.

Do you believe it is possible for people to have this enhanced abilities, and if so does that belief make it easier to play the role? 

Yeah. I would say that the interesting thing about our show is that there can be real life Alphas in the world and I think that the average person like you or I could have an Alpha's ability even for an instant. Like you could have a fight-or-flight instinct come about in your body, where your adrenalin just keeps going and gets you through something, or makes you able to save a person from underneath a car, for example. I think there are little magical moments that do happen in real life. If you take Nina’s character ability of being able to manipulate people to do whatever she wants them to do as a form of mind control or hypnosis, there are definitely people out there like that, for example Derren Brown. There are some really interesting videos of him in the subway just being able to influence people into suddenly not knowing where they are going, even though they knew exactly where they were going a moment before. I think you can find little Alpha abilities or examples of that in the world, which makes our show really interesting in real life.

Your power is to bend the will of others, but don't most attractive women have that power over men already?

I don’t know. I guess maybe sometimes it can, maybe sometime it can’t. I don’t know. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people you have more effect on others. It’s just something that Warren [Christie] seems to bring up all the time.

In terms of degrees of separation, the cast of Alphas must be pretty close as most of you seem to have worked on the same shows at some time or another. Did this common ground help build a bond between you to add authenticity to the team spirit of the characters?

To be honest, I hadn’t worked with any of the cast in the past, but I know there were a couple of ties here and there. I hadn’t worked with anyone, so everyone was new to me, except, the funny thing is, Warren, who plays Hicks, I actually knew a little bit because he and I both live in Vancouver. We share the same agency, so we have that tie, which is kind of interesting. I also know that Azita and Warren worked in a film called X's & O's, although I haven’t seen that yet. But yeah there are little connections like that, so I’m sure it’s helped and made life a little easier, but after the past three years of working together we’ve definitely bonded, it’s definitely helped us through, which is great.

Alphas is out on DVD from 10 September.

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