Fri, Jan 20, 2012

The New Paper

IT HAS been three years and the elephant is still in the room.

Rachelle Lefevre, famously known as the red-headed actress who was unceremoniously dumped from The Twilight Saga movie series, is perhaps still a little sensitive about her untimely and sudden exit in 2009.

Speaking to The New Paper from New York, where she’s filming a new TV series, A Gifted Man, the Canadian actress – and her minders – declined to clarify if her departure from the successful vampire film franchise was truly that unpleasant.

It was requested that the interview remained focused on A Gifted Man.

The Montreal native rose to fame in the movie Twilight in 2008, playing the villainous vampire Victoria, and reprised the character in the sequel, New Moon, a year later.

But just a few weeks shy of the start of production on the third instalment, Eclipse, in August 2009, it was announced that Lefevre had been replaced by US actress Bryce Dallas Howard.

The reason given was a “scheduling conflict” with Barney’s Version, a movie Lefevre was attached to.

Ironically, Eclipse would have been her moment to shine as Victoria was the central antagonist in the movie.

Lefevre then publicly expressed how “stunned” and “deeply hurt” she was by the abrupt decision, which led to a curt “lack of cooperative spirit” response from Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the Twilight franchise.

Perhaps scarred by the experience, Lefevre has not kept in contact with her former Twilight castmates.

Getting axed from the Twilight flicks turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the 32-year-old.

Because of the controversy, her name is now recognisable and working in Barney’s Version opposite Paul Giamatti (who won a Golden Globe for his role) introduced Lefevre to an appreciative adult audience.

That same year, she went on to have a starring role opposite Kevin Spacey in the movie Casino Jack.

Feeling lucky

“I’m extremely satisfied with my career right now. I feel really lucky,” said Lefevre.

“I’ve been doing small parts in films and TV for about 14 years. To be, right now, living in New York City and working in a major television show for the number one network station (in the US) just feels amazing.”

The show is A Gifted Man, which is on the US network CBS.

She added: “I had no idea that I’d achieve this. To think that I began as a waitress who wasn’t making enough money to see all the movies that I’ve done.

“I’m so blessed. Sometimes I wonder how I got here!”

A Gifted Man stars Patrick Wilson as an extremely talented neurosurgeon whose materialistic and ordered life is rocked by visions of his deceased ex-wife (Jennifer Ehle) seeking his help to look after her free clinic for the underprivileged.

Lefevre plays Kate Sykora, a doctor at the free clinic.

A Gifted Man premieres tomorrow at 10.55pm on AXN Beyond (StarHub Ch 525).

Lefevre cherished the opportunity to work with Wilson, 38, who has appeared in movies like Watchmen, The A-Team and Insidious.

Professing to be a huge fan of his, Lefevre jumped at the chance to pick the versatile actor’s brains.

“I asked a lot of questions,” she said with a laugh.

“Patrick and Jennifer both do a lot of theatre, which I loved but don’t get to do a lot of.

“So I asked them about their experiences, the differences between theatre and TV, and I’m just learning a lot from them.”

She was also quick to share how “everyone on set was like a family” and revealed a little-known side of Wilson.

“He works very hard and is very serious about the work, but he’s a total goof!

“He would, between takes, suddenly break into a song and dance! It’s a nice surprise to learn that he’s such a big goofball. You know him as a serious actor from the roles he plays.

“You don’t get to see what a nutcase he is!” she said.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

http://www.divaasia.com/article/15711