It’s only been a year since Darlene Tait started acting in Hallmark movies, but it’s a dream that took root when she was a young girl, weaving stories as her brothers and friends lay on their pillows hanging onto every word she spoke in the backyard tent her parent set up each summer.
“I have always loved storytelling and now I am an actor living my dream at 65 years of age.”
“I grew up as a military child. There were a lot of rules around how you behave. To find myself participating in a craft where all the rules come off, it’s like, oh, my gosh! This is a huge gift. I love my life!”
Darlene’s career path began in sales and marketing with Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CP Air) which became Canadian Airlines.
“I was literally hired off the street and placed in the reservations department. Within a couple years I was managing a sales team of about 75 people. I then moved over to district sales.”
A large part of Darlene’s job was taking corporate executives around the world.
“I handled the airlines, sales and travel agency business in the Vancouver region. I was trained as a flight attendant, in the event of a strike, but I never actually flew as a flight attendant.”
During that time, Darlene met and married her husband of 38 years. “I met him on a blind date and we were engaged the next weekend.” She has two sons, a stepson, and two grandchildren.
After a move to Kelowna and then Cologne Germany, Darlene resigned from her corporate job and started her own travel sales and service company, getting contracts with larger travel agencies like American Express.
When the next move brought her back to Victoria BC, Darlene started to get involved in real estate, again from a sales and marketing perspective, working for about 30 years with David Butterfield, a well-known developer of large sustainable communities.
In 2002, Darlene and her husband went to Mexico to set up the ground team and launch a development called The Villages of Loreto Bay.
“We worked alongside the Mexican government. It was a very innovative plan for homes about 5 or 10 minutes out of Loreto, a small fishing village. I was part of the marketing and sales launch of that project. My husband headed up the development and the local liaison with officials.”
When the real estate market softened in 2007/2008, it hit them hard but Darlene and her husband stayed and opened up a bar in a restaurant.
“Our plan was to retire full time in Mexico. Then my husband had a heart attack.”
Darlene and her husband came back to Victoria in 2012, where he had quintuple bypass surgery.
“It was time for another about-face in the career business. That was when I got into film and I have never looked back.”
She became an active member of the Victoria Film community.
“I’ve always sought to be part of associated groups in whatever industry I was in. With film, I had a considerable business background and felt that it might be of use to emerging filmmakers and organizations.
Darlene Tait currently serves as Vice President on the Board of the South Island Film Commission and Past President of the Board of the Cinevic Independent Film Society. She recently retired from the Board of Women in Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV).
“There is nothing quite so satisfying as watching filmmaker careers take off and I always loved being a part of it regardless of the volunteer role I might have played.”
“For me volunteerism is a way to give back in the real meaningful sense of the word. I don’t just sit on boards though, I dive in and volunteer in numerous ways. In some ways it can also be strategic – it is an opportunity to meet industry people who you may potentially develop a business or creative partnership with. It is the best way to contribute and network in any business or industry.”
Instead of attending acting school, Darlene took advantage of the many courses and weekend workshops offered in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island and has trained with “some of the best instructors in the region.”
She started out involving herself in the indie film world, volunteering for different positions as a crew member.
“I felt I needed an education in how a film set works.”
She then applied and was accepted by UBCP/ACTRA – the Union of BC Performers (provincial) as part of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.
Once you join a union, you are prohibited from working non-union, says Darlene.
“Independent films are probably 95% non-union. I had to make a conscious decision to take a leap into a world that was quite different; the professional film world versus the independent film world. I’d poured a lot of time and money into building a film career, and I felt like now was the time to take that leap where I would get paid for acting. I joined the union just over a year ago and got a rock star agent. Joining the union really marked the transition.”
Making the transition to being in front of a camera took study and practice but Darlene’s background in business and presentations has also helped.
“When I was in the development business, I had to address large professional associations and groups. I’ve always been quite comfortable on stage. The older I get, the less I even think about it. Life experience is a huge benefit for an actor.”
Darlene explains that you don’t go in and try to be somebody else. You are yourself in a different role.
“Somebody once explained it to me that every character is you with a different history in a different set of circumstances. What you do is learn everything you can about the history of that character. You know how they were born, what their upbringing and careers were like, and you wrap yourself in that.”
Darlene recently landed a supporting role as Grandma Gertie in a Hallmark movie of the week called “Fourth Down and Love” – a fall-themed movie based on a football star where her grandson (Ryan Paevey) recovers from a football injury and falls back in love with a high school flame (Pascale Hutton).
“It has received favourable reviews and the Hallmark fans love it!”
Hallmark is quite a big umbrella, according to Darlene.
“They have a number of different sub genres. They have their countdowns to Christmas, their movies, mysteries and seasonal films. They seek to be really uplifting and hopeful.”
“Hallmark has an amazing fan base. Hallmark movie fans sometimes watch a movie dozens of times. You could sit down with anybody and never have a moment of embarrassment because there’s nothing too adult going on, just good wholesome romance. They’re very family centric.”
Hallmark is very good at production. “They are so efficient. They shoot one of these movies of the week in 15 days.”
To land on a Hallmark set as an actor you have to be prepared.
“They don’t have time to mess around dealing with actors who forget lines or don’t know the fundamentals of camera work and filming. Hallmark movies are often the first door a lot of actors walk through. I happen to fit that Hallmark grandmother look and vibe. I love it. I would happily work all Hallmark.”
As a new actor still building her career, in her first year Darlene has gotten the equivalent of a full month of days on set.
She’s been thrilled to get some supporting roles.
“Generally, the route goes that you get a small part and you maybe have a line or two. You get a few of those, and then you get one that’s called a large principal, which maybe has half a dozen lines.”
“I had a one actor role with just a few lines in it. Then my next booking was supporting. I just about passed out when I got it. I was so surprised. Since then, I’ve had another supporting role. And I have booked some small roles.”
Because most of the provinces in Canada offer tax credits, there is a lot of incentive for productions to hire locally.
A day on set for Darlene starts at 6am when she presents herself to “the circus” – the place where the trailers and trucks are and where the wardrobe and makeup are located, usually near the set.
“You check in and are shown to your trailer. I get myself set up, ‘cause I’m going to be there for a few weeks. Then you wait. They come and get you for hair and makeup. By the time I get back, my wardrobe for that day is in my trailer. I get dressed, then spend time with my script. Nothing is shot in chronological order. As an actor, I have to find my place in the script.
“You wait to be called for blocking. That is usually your first time on set. You’ve got a director standing there with everybody in the scene that’s being shot. The director says, ‘Okay, this scene’s gonna start here’.
“They mark all the points where all the actors start their scenes from – you do a quick run-through of the lines – then you move, and when they say they want you to come around the corner of the table, this is called blocking.”
“Then you’re taken off set into a green room while the crew sets up the lighting and the cameras, based on the blocking. We’re called back on set. Everybody’s ready to go. They call lights, camera, sound, action.”
Age does have its hazards. A couple years ago, Darlene started getting stiffness in her hands and fingers, and pain in her shoulder.
“I went for a scan in Vancouver. The scan indicated a severe degenerative condition in the top of my neck, small of my back, and my hip. The swelling was related to a torn tendon on my right shoulder, and that was agony. I was essentially on the couch, my shoulder propped up by cushions on my neck. That is when I started eating and feeling sorry for myself, making wrong food choices and started to pile the weight on. Not great for an actor.”
It was a wake-up call to lose weight and pay more attention to her health.
“Eventually my shoulder did repair itself, though it is still not 100 per cent. Between the exercises for my neck and the weight loss I’m feeling better now than I’ve probably felt in the last 8 to 10 years.”
Like any career, acting has its challenges.
“We see a lot of people come into this business and not stay, and it’s usually because it is a difficult craft to learn to do well. It can take a long time to build up a career. A lot of people are trying to support families or support themselves and it can be financially very difficult. Fortunately, I’m retired and I don’t do it for the money.”
Thanks to other movie icons who have woken the world to the value of older actors, Darlene has found her place in the industry. She mentions Judi Densch, Jamie Lee Curtis and Helen Mirren. “They’re not all raving beauties, but we love them. We love them for their wisdom.”
“I don’t feel like the old lady in the room, though I joke about it all the time. I am loving that in many aspects of the film industry, older women are now being respected, appreciated, even celebrated, which I think is brilliant.”
Darlene loves that she’s in a place in her life where booking a role is inconsequential.
“At this age I have no delusions of grandeur at all. I’m just having fun. How many of us in our lifetimes get to the place where you have permission to be all these wonderfully awful, naughty, fun characters? “
“Things really started to click when getting the job no longer mattered. The craft of acting became the thing that motivated me. I love auditioning. It’s fun to spend a whole day playing, living a whole different set of circumstances for the day.” |
SNAPSHOT:
What advice would you give your younger self?
Your body might be able to handle anything now, but please take better care of yourself.
Who has been most influential in your life?
I would have to say my mother and father. They had such a brilliant way of helping me navigate the world and the perspectives I brought to a situation. It has stayed with me through my life and allowed me to grow into an extremely positive individual.
What does courage mean to you?
Courage is not wanting the battle but engaging anyway. I don’t always win, but when I do, I’m very happy and I recognize that it is the kind of thinking that got me where I am.
What does success mean to you?
I would say healthy, happy children who are exceptional partners to the women in their lives, who love what they do, who are contributing citizens, positive forces. Ones that call all the time just to say, “Mom, I love you.” That’s success. I’m living it.
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Want to listen to an interview with Darlene Tait on our new INSPIRED podcast hosted by Michael Forbes and Lisa Marshall? CLICK HERE