Travel technology is always evolving. We can now travel to outer space… well, maybe not we or me – but (coughing) the average multimillionaire can. If you don’t work in outer space, but are still interested in getting to work fast – then you might want to consider the red eye, a Ferrari or a bullet train. If you do find yourself using a bullet train, you can’t ignore the speed, it’s safety record and the percentage of risk associated with a derailment. It has happened in the past and we all want to believe it won’t happen again. Can they make travel accident proof if they use more AI – or is it more dangerous, putting more responsibility on technology with so many variables and unknowns?
Departure is a six-part event series that follows the investigation into the derailment of an experimental high-speed train, The Apollo. The brilliant investigator, Kendra Malley (Archie Panjabi), is recruited to the US to find the cause of the devastation. With the eyes of the entire world on her, Kendra and her team unravel a series of interconnected threads which lead to a number of mysterious motives. Was it the tech mogul inventor of the train’s automation software? Was it a mysterious member of a Mexican drug cartel? Was it a disgruntled employee resisting new technology? This series will keep you guessing, keep you talking about it and keep you wanting more!
All six episodes of Departure are now airing on NBC’s Peacock in the US and will air on Universal in the UK. Season one trended at #1 on Global TV in Canada. Other cast members include Florence Ordesh, Jason O’Mara, Kris Holden-Ried, and Karen LeBlanc.
I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Florence about her lead role as Rose Tait in the Departure series. She spent 3 months in Toronto filming the series but now makes her home in LA. This Irish actor and entrepreneur was born in London and brought up in County Meath, Ireland. She studied acting for film and television at the Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts before getting her MBA from Trinity College, Dublin, on a scholarship. She left Ireland to film Departure in Toronto and is currently residing between Vancouver and Los Angeles. Florence became internationally recognized when she was cast opposite Sarah Greene, Killian Scott and Conleth Hill as archaeologist Mel Royce in Dublin Murders – a crime drama television series, created by Sarah Phelps for Starz, BBC One and RTÉ.
In addition to being an outstanding actor and passionate artist, Florence is always giving back to her tribe. She founded CastandHire (castandhire.ie) in Ireland, which is the number one collaborative and educational platform, housing thousands of members’ profiles, in addition to digital Master Classes from industry experts. She brings her non-profit to connect actors and filmmakers to help bolster the future of film, an art she holds dear to her heart. I had so much to talk about in terms of her career and a film that Florence says, “Has freakish similarities between the film and the current pandemic, all the way down to the face masks and visors.” An Extinction is currently in post-production and is set to screen at festivals in late 2021.
Without further ado, let’s roll that tape!
HNMAG “Congratulations on the lead role of the very successful series, Departure. How long did you stay in Toronto, while taping this 6-part series?”
FLORENCE “That would’ve been August, September, October. Three months in total, but I wasn’t needed on set every day. My last shoot day was pretty much the last day of filming.”
HNMAG “Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of information on the character Rose that you play. Can you tell me more about her and her role?”
FLORENCE “I don’t think I can give you a lot of information before it airs, but my character is introduced early on in the first episode teaser. She is a bit of a mystery, which sets the scene early on in the first episode. You get a glimpse of my character and then you don’t see her again until the final last few episodes. I can’t give too much away but she is a complicated character and it was a lot of fun to play her. In terms of preparation for this role – there is so much going on with the storyline and with the internal moving parts. I think most of my preparation went into the story and the storyline because many of my scenes are at different timelines. As an actor, you have the technical side to work out as well. It’s not all about bringing the emotion… but it is also very important, so I spent time on developing my relationships and the other characters I have relationships with. I wanted to know their backstory, when I had met them, if I would see them again at a later time in Rose’s journey/life and how they relate.”
HNMAG “Did they give you much backstory or do you have to create much of that on your own?”
FLORENCE “It’s very different with every writer and director. With this particular project I wasn’t given much but I did meet with the director a couple of weeks before shooting. I read all the script’s, I’d taken stacks of notes and had a million questions… but the script wasn’t finalized. Every production is different but as an actor, you’ll do a lot of that work on your own. Generally speaking, sometimes the writer doesn’t know the full extent of the character that they’ve written. It’s the actor’s job to make them 3-dimensional when they are portraying them.”
HNMAG “Did you borrow some characteristics from anyone in your past to help form the character of Rose?”
FLORENCE “Sometimes it is helpful to use other people but most of the time, I will try to see the similarities in myself for the character – especially when you’re playing somebody that’s a little mentally unstable. The character doesn’t see themselves as unstable, so when you play that character – there’s no judgement. The actor has to figure out ‘why’ am I in this world and ‘why’ do I see it that way/understanding it. I would observe people, more for the physicality of a character; a bad back, how do they stand? If the character had an illness, I’d do research into the effects on the body. When it comes to a person’s emotional state, I try to figure out the ‘why’ and the ‘how they’ see the world, which prevents me from mimicking the character and allows me to express how ‘I’ now see the world.”
HNMAG “In Departure, you get to act alongside some incredible talents. The late Oscar winner, Christopher Plummer and the Emmy award-winner Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife). Did you feel any validation as an actor, having reached that level of success?”
FLORENCE “I guess I’ve never looked at it that way, but it is nice to think that. I’ve worked with a lot of really talented actors over the years, and it’s always so cool to have grown up watching them in movies and shows. You never imagine that you might be working with them someday, so when you do and you’re onset, you get to see their style and learn from the best.”
HNMAG “Having worked with both Christopher and Archie, were there any takeaways from their performances that you can recall?”
FLORENCE “With Departure, there was so much to be filmed in a short amount of time because of Covid regulations and I was very impressed with Archie’s ability to get so much done in a day, every day. As an actor, I have no issues learning lines for scenes and going from day to day but when I was watching Archie jumping from a scene that might be in a third episode, then to a scene that might be in the second episode and having that ability to switch gears and have the mindset for that timeline, was fascinating and very impressive.”
HNMAG “When you’re working on a highly successful series, does it come with added rehearsals, table reads, added pressure?”
FLORENCE “I didn’t feel any and I try not to think about it that way, or you can end up putting pressure on yourself. I try my best on every show, no matter how big or small the production is; I still bring 110 percent. The first day, everyone… including the cast and crew were so focused on trying to get the absolute best out of each shot, so you have to trust each other. There’s not really any pressure on any one individual because everyone’s doing such a good job. Most of the time you’re not going to finish up until the director is happy and everyone trusts the director’s vision. There’s even room after they’re done shooting, to go back and do some pickups.”
HNMAG “With the great Christopher Plummer having passed on, do you have a personal story from the set that you can share with us?”
FLORENCE “The first time I’d watched Christopher Plummer was probably similar to many others, in The Sound of Music. It was back in the late 70’s and I was home, sick. I was on the couch and my mom put the movie on. I think I watched it 2 more times, I absolutely loved it. Thinking back to that and having the privilege of being in his final show, makes me a little emotional. When I watched his very last scene on Peacock, he’s actually saying goodbye. Knowing that he’s passed on since doing the scene, is very sad.”
HNMAG “Is it especially difficult to wrap on a three-month series, especially on the last day?”
FLORENCE “I think I had a lot of scenes that day but there was a lot of energy, having reached that finishing point. It’s always fun to be shooting on set but it was pretty much like any other day. I was a little more excited because it was my last day (laughing). When I was finishing my scene there was another scene right after, so the crew was hustling to set up for the next shot… but there was a moment that was quite funny. I’m not sure if I should tell you because it was a little awkward and could embarrass myself but I’m going to tell you anyway (laughter). So… there was another lead character – who was also having their ‘last day’. We were both in the last scene and after the wrap, the assistant director wanted to take a moment and said, ‘that’s a wrap for the scene and it’s a complete wrap for Charlie!’. I didn’t realize he was about to clap him out… when I jumped in to say, ‘I think it’s my last day too.’ I was just wondering if I could also go. The AD then turned to me, ‘Yeahh and it’s also Florence’s last scene!’ He started clapping but then realized there were 2 other actors in the scene, and it was their only scene in the entire shoot… so he also said their names. Suddenly, there’s a huge clap for everyone in that scene – which never happens unless it’s a lead that’s finished their last scene and they’re about to leave. I basically jumped in and stole the entire moment from Charlie (laughing). The assistant director didn’t want to leave anyone out once they started clapping for me and Charlie, then suddenly everyone on the set got this huge clap (laughing). I was so embarrassed and apologized to Charlie.”
HNMAG “You’re also in another film, An Extinction – coming out soon. It has so many similarities to the Covid pandemic. Was it written before the pandemic?”
FLORENCE “It was actually written long before the pandemic but he didn’t shoot it for a while. They had done a lot of research on pandemics, diseases and infections. We were wearing the masks with the elastics and in the story, many people had died. Everything we were fashioning, was hand made. On top of the masks, we had cut water bottles in half to make a shield over our face. We had to put on a jump suit and gloves before we left our homes. The inside of the walls were covered in plastic near the exit with a vapor barrier. You’d get changed before you left and when you returned, you’d take off the coveralls and gloves in the plastic covered room to avoid spreading the infection. Once Covid did hit, we started seeing people wearing the same masks and face shields, just not made from plastic bottles. The similarities were so bizarre. The film should be coming out in late 2021 or early 2022. It was filmed entirely in Ireland.”
HNMAG “Up in Canada, many businesses are implementing a vaccine passport that allows you to work. Have film sets begun a similar protocol with cast and crew?”
FLORENCE “I don’t think so, but I can’t really say. My agent hasn’t said anything, so I personally haven’t heard that.”
HNMAG “You became internationally known for your role as archeologist, Mel Royce in the drama, Dublin Murders. Can you tell me more about your character and the series?”
FLORENCE “The Dublin Murders were so popular in Ireland and England. It was released on Starz and it’s popular over here (LA) as well. It’s a mystery and a young girl is killed. Her body is found on an archeological dig and I play one of the archeologists that finds the body. An architect on the head of the dig becomes a suspect… and I’m having an affair with him. I’m his alibi to prove he didn’t do it but he doesn’t want to jeopardize me getting caught. I end up coming forward to reveal that he was with me that night and didn’t do it. It was another incredibly talented show with a top Irish cast and it was a lot of fun to shoot.”
HNMAG “What keeps driving you toward the pursuit of acting in films and TV?”
FLORENCE “I love the entire creative process. From understanding the character to putting yourself into the shoes of that character for a few days, few weeks, few months. It’s invigorating to come away from it and to be able to appreciate the way it’s put together by the rest of the creative team. When everyone else has done their job and you see where you fit in, you get instant gratification from creating art. The entire process is really exciting from beginning to finish.”
HNMAG “I had read that you founded the CastandHire (castandhire.ie) foundation in 2011. I think it’s so wonderful to have a data bank like this for actors and filmmakers. You’re amazing for picking up the torch to help so many.”
FLORENCE “I originally launched it as Ireland’s Actors Guide in 2012 after I had moved back home from Vancouver. I realized there wasn’t a place for actors to get information, or to find work, so I put a lot of research into launching the site. A few years ago, I relaunched as CastandHire, which includes a database of crew, jobs for crew and masterclasses as well. We have approx. 3000 members in Ireland alone. I found that it’s more popular with actors, possibly because actors are used to signing up, building profiles and finding jobs online.”
HNMAG “If a director was making a film in Ireland, they could see an actor’s headshots?”
FLORENCE “Yes, they can search through the actors on the CastandHire. If you want to look at any of their profiles, you’d have to log in. It’s absolutely free to join for everybody. As an actress, I’m so used to having to sign up to so many databases with a yearly fee. When I was in my early 20’s I was paying a lot of fees and wasn’t on any director’s radar yet, so I wasn’t getting many auditions. It’s hard to measure the value of your money on a database if you’re not getting auditions and roles. I didn’t feel good about actors paying when I couldn’t guarantee them value. If they wanted to buy masterclasses, then that would be a guaranteed value.”
HNMAG “I just have a couple of fun questions left. What is the most extreme activity you’ve tried?”
FLORENCE “I haven’t really done anything too extreme like skydiving but I’ve played sports regularly, such as basketball and athletics. Currently, I just signed up to a gym that’s really intense. You wear a heart monitor and it’s a mixture of running, rowing and weights. You’re there for 1 hour with everyone and all of your heart rate, calories burned stats are up on a big screen with everyone else’s stats, so you can see how hard everyone else is working. There’s music playing, someone is directing and everyone is giving it their all… you’re dying at the end. At the same time, you don’t want to have the lowest numbers, so there’s some friendly competition (laughing).”
We discussed Florence’s choice of switching to a vegan diet 8 years ago. She said it was very difficult in the beginning and took 4-6 weeks to become comfortable with knowing what to buy and knowing what to cook. It wasn’t until 2-3 months after, that Florence said it became second nature. She said it was totally worth it and she’s glad she did it. In the event that others are considering a change to a vegan life, Florence adds – “it’s never easy to change a lifelong habit, so expect the first couple of weeks to be difficult.”
HNMAG “If you were stranded on an island and only had enough power on your phone to call one person to rescue you, who would it be?”
FLORENCE “(Laughing) I would probably call my partner. I feel like he would know what to do (laughing). I’d usually say, my dad but I think my partner has taken over that role. He has so many resources that he can tap into, to get me off that island.”
Florence is a leading actor disguised as an outstanding guest and we appreciated her candor, her positive energy and her tremendous contributions. She is set to play the lead role of an inmate, determined to escape her sentence in an upcoming jailbreak movie, currently in development.
Florence is currently a judge for five major film festivals worldwide, including the San Diego Awards and Cinequest. As a committed vegan, she is mindful of the environment and is delighted to also judge at Films of the Forest, promoting the preservation of the rainforests around the world, including British Columbia. https://filmsfortheforest.org/