Sarah Booth Interview

Sarah Booth plays Agent Yvette Nichol on the hit Amazon Prime show "Three Pines".

What do you like most about your character in Three Pines?

What I like most about my character in Three Pines is that when I play her I get to have fun. I get to just basically turn on all of my basically senses and just try a bunch of different, basically options for the scene. So I feel like that's what really makes me happy with her is that I get to play a lot.

Did you do any preparation for the role?

I actually did prepare for the role. I did my own research. I looked up some documentaries about police officers. One of my friends who's also an actor, played a police officer in the past, so I was able to talk to her and ask her questions. And also just a few weeks before production started, we were able to have a session with one of the police officers that was going to be on set with us so that we could ask him a bunch of different questions and learn how to handcuff people and all like the basic things that you should look professional with when you're playing a police officer.

Are you pleased with the audience reaction to the show?

I have been so blown away by just the personal messages that I've gotten from people that I know or that I know of. I'm also just so blown away by the reception of all the Prime viewers. We're number one in Canada, number one in the US, number one in the UK. So I think people are really enjoying it. My favorite part of this series going out into the world is that a lot of people are discovering these books and these stories and these characters for the first time. So they're going to be able to either dive into the books if they want to, stick to the series if they want to, but I think it's just really fun to have the opportunity to go down the Louise Penny rabbit hole For sure.

What would you say that fans of the books would most enjoy about the series?

I think what they will most enjoy about the series is Alfred Molina. I think he is just the perfect, perfect Gamache. He is just so empathetic, his eyes just say so much. He doesn't even have to speak and you kind of know something's going on. So I think the fans are going to love, love, love Alpha Molina, and they're going to fall in love with Clare Coulter who plays Ruth Zardo. She's fantastic.

How do you get into character?

Oh, that is a good question. I guess it kind of depends what kind of scene I have to do that day. If it's a scene that I know is a little bit on the lighter side, I definitely like to find my energy through music or through movement or just discussing the scene before with the actors. If I have to have those magical moments with certain actors and scenes, I really like to just have a moment with them before to connect and get kind of that motor going. If it's a more emotional scene, I also use music, but obviously in a very different way. A little bit more, just more emotional music, grounded music, classical music. I also love to just sit there and breathe and relax and try to let all the nerves and energy happen when the scene's about to happen versus before, thinking about it too much.

How did you get into acting?

I got into acting through, honestly, just by chance. I grew up in a small, tiny, little farm town. It's called Ormstown. It's actually about an hour away from where we shoot the series. So growing up here, it was very sports oriented, very farm oriented, you were outside a lot. In the last two years of high school, they started an arts program with dance, theater and music. They put on the show Fame and I was cast in the show as the lead, and I just absolutely fell in love and I was like, uh-oh, I want to do this now. How do I make this happen? I realized that there was a professional theater school just an hour away in Montreal that had a great reputation. So I decided to audition and I got into that and the rest is kind of history. Once I got out of theater school, I decided to pursue it. I still loved it, which was good, and I found an agent and started auditioning and knocking on doors.

What has been your favorite TV role to play?

That's a tough one because I feel like Agent Yvette Nichol is definitely one of my favorites because I've gotten to play her for an entire season of a television show, which I'm very lucky because a lot of actors don't get to do that. Sometimes you'll show up your character's in one episode or one scene. So I definitely feel like she's my favorite because I know, fingers crossed, that I'll probably be with her for a little while if we're allowed to get onto second season and third season. But I would also have to say one of my favorite roles to play was Beth Williams in Law and Order Special Victims Unit. That was a really fun show to do and I got to do all my own stunts and it was a little bit more of a physical, darker role. So I really, really enjoyed that experience as well.

What was involved in being in the video game Far Cry 5, and did you enjoy doing that work?

So Far Cry 5 pretty much consisted of a lot of things. I had to do the motion capture, so I was in full motion capture where with the facial cam. So everything capturing, every movement while we were using a lot of different props and you get to use your imagination so much. Especially with the other actors, you get to just create these little stories and making sure everyone's seeing the same thing while you're shooting in the volume. And then we also had a section of creating that project where we were in the voice booth, so doing all the commands, all the calls, any possible voice, I guess, however you would get there to the game that they have a lot of possibilities of phrases that your character can say. So, I was in the voice booth for quite a few days doing that as well. That was awesome. Fantastic. Got to do some stunts. It was a good time. I got to go to Toronto for part of it, LA part of it, and I got to work with a lot of people that I knew. So it just felt more play than work, but I guess it ended up being some work too.

Are there actors or directors that you would love to work with but haven't?

In Canada, I really want to work with the director, Sarah Polley. I've always looked up to her and her projects and seen her on television while I was younger and I just read her book and she just directed an amazing movie called Women Talking. So I'm very excited and I feel like I'll probably work with her in the future because we're both Canadian and we'll definitely be within six degrees of separation quite a few times I believe.

Honestly, lately, who do I want to work with out in the world? Oh, there's so many good ones. I'm going to say if Tom Cruise ever directs something in the future, I really want to work with him because I want to do a full action movie because of my background. I would love, love, love to be part of a movie with him where it's just full on action, doing your own stunts. I think that would make me really happy.

Are there ways in which the Canadian acting industry is different than the American acting industry and what are they?

Yes, I definitely find there are differences, pros and cons on both sides. I feel like in the States you can get bigger opportunities that'll give you more of a global platform. I definitely feel the business is different in the States. I feel like the business in the States is definitely more of make your own path. There's so many different avenues. It's definitely more of a star system based on fame. In Canada, the actors here are a little bit different because we don't have as much of a star system up here in Canada, yet. I feel like there's more of a working actor attitude up here in Canada versus in the US you strive to get to a certain level and want to kind of maintain that level and not have to pedal backwards. But I feel like in Canada it's definitely up and down and around the corner in this way, and so I feel like it's a little bit different. You don't use your career as much here as clout as you would in the States.

What would you say has been the biggest challenge in your career?

I would say the biggest challenge of my career so far is when I'm not working. That's the hardest is when you just want to work and you want to do what you love the most in the entire world and you're auditioning. Auditioning is part of the job. So we do get to act when we're auditioning, but you really have to change your mindset and make sure that you're not just performing at that time to get a job, that you're really performing for yourself and making yourself happy. So I think just getting the mental health aspect of when you're not busy is very important.

Where can people follow you and your work?

Sure. So the best place to follow me I would say is on Instagram. That's definitely where I'm most active. People can follow me @SarahFilmBooth on Instagram. Also on Twitter and on Facebook as Sarah Booth. And I think those are the best places to find me. You can find one of my feature films that's out there in the world right now. It's called Last Call. It's a one-take feature so we never cut for 80 minutes. And you can find it on Peacock, Tubi, Amazon Prime in the US and also YouTube.