Award-winning Canadian actress Brittany Raymond chatted with #Powerjouranlist Markos Papadatos about starring in the hit digital series “Chateau Laurier.”
The cast includes Luke Humphrey, Kate Ross Leckie , Tymika Tafari (“Slip” on Roku), Fiona Reid, Emmanuel Kabongo (“Outer Banks” on Netflix), Jason Gray, Joel Oulette, Brittany Raymond, and Katie Uhlmann, among others.
In “Chateau Laurier,” Edwardian newlyweds Hattie and Vivian navigate their lives on the other side of happily ever after and learn that life as heirs to the grand Chateau Laurier hotel comes with slings, arrows, enemies, opportunities and strife. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. “What I liked about it is that it was indie, and we could all collaborative a lot more, which was very cool. It was great.”
“Chateau Laurier” was co-created and written by Kent Staines and Emily Weedon. The show is available on Apple TV, Prime Video, and Google Play. It is up for 15 Indie Series Awards this week.
Portraying Violet Moore
Raymond plays the character Violet Moore. Violet is a good girl straight from Rainy River who dreams of a future in the big city. But her hopes and dreams are met with the soul crushing disappointment of abject poverty and the lecherous advances of Gabriel Sabot. Living a precarious new life, Violet is a lamb in the woods.
Unlike Hattie who has privilege on her side, Violet has the crush of poverty against her. She’s always one misstep away from peril by knowing too much and saying so. Her good nature, inside knowledge and precarious new place in life has set her up for peril. “I like how she comes from a working class background, and she is thrown into this world that she knows nothing about but expects to climb the ranks in society. She is an opportunist through and through,” she said.
“Working with Luke Humphrey was great too, he was amazing and very collaborative,” she added.
Raymond scored a 2023 Indie Series nomination for “Best Supporting Actress in a Drama” for her acting work in “Chateau Laurier.”
Working with director James Stewart
She had great words about working with director James Stewart. “It was great working with James, in particular I really loved his directing, everyone was very collaborative on this project and that was really refreshing,” she said.
On being an actress in the digital age, she said, “It’s good because there are more opportunities now but it’s more challenging to get consistent work. I like it because there are more opportunities coming out and there is more content but you can’t have as much longevity.”
Canadian Screen Award win
She opened up about her 2017 Canadian Screen Award win for “The Next Step.” “That felt surreal and it was so incredible. It still doesn’t feel like something that happened, it was amazing,” she admitted.
Dream acting partners
Raymond listed Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Viola Davis. “These four would be my dream,” she said.
For young and aspiring actors, Raymond said, “There are always going to be ups and downs, and you have to find a center within yourself because everything else around you is out of your control and you can’t focus on that.”
Success
On her definition of the word success, she said, “Creating as many different compelling stories as I possibly can.”
For her fans and followers, she concluded about “Chateau Laurier,” “The great thing about this show is that it has a love story, a thriller, and I love the period piece drama. It is so fascinating and fun to play, all of the actors on the show are incredible. I am blessed to be able to work with them.”
To learn more about Brittany Raymond, follow her on Instagram.
