With a myriad of roles under her belt, and a two-time Canadian LEO award-nominated actress, Miranda Frigon is likely most recognized for her past recurring role on the CW/CBC’s hit drama HEARTLAND, her series regular role on Hallmark’s #1 rated movie series THE AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES, her past series regular role on Syfy’s PRIMEVAL NEW WORLD and her newest series lead on Syfy’s DAY OF THE DEAD. With a background in theatre, improv, and stand-up comedy, Miranda’s drama and comedy chops have made her one of the busiest working actresses in the business. In addition to her work on-camera, Miranda is also a sought after singer whose songs have appeared in numerous television series. We had a chance to sit down with her to chat all about her work, what drives her, and how she’s empowering other women.
You play Paula Bowman on the hit Syfy series DAY OF THE DEAD and have quite a number of sci-fi credits to your resume. Are you drawn to these types of roles in particular? What drew you to the character of Paula?
I’m definitely drawn to characters that have a bit of a dark edge to them. They are way more fun to play and for some reason, they come to me very naturally, haha.
Kidding aside, I think the reason I’m good at playing these characters is that I don’t judge them. Anything I’ve done in my life that I’ve not been proud of has always come from a place in me that feels judged, lonely or unworthy and so I think characters with a dark side often have this running in the background.
When I first read the audition sides for Paula, I knew I needed to play her. She was witty, sharp, tough and dark and I was so interested in her brokenness that was underneath the words on the page. After getting to explore Paula with our writers and EP’s Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, I fell in love with her even more. She’s definitely one of my most favourite characters I’ve gotten to play so far!
Before you got your start in acting you danced professionally. How did you segue from dancing to acting, and do you still dance at all?
I actually started dancing when I was four and booked my first acting job at eight for a toy commercial. I danced all the way up until my early twenties and that’s when I booked my first big recurring role on a Disney series called “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids”. I was living in NYC at the time, attending musical theatre school. I left school to travel back and forth to Canada where the show was filmed and from that moment on, acting became my main squeeze. I definitely miss it as my dance career is now limited to dance parties in my living room with my 3-year-old daughter, but I’m totally ok with that. I do one spin and almost pass out so I’m not sure my body could hold up to doing what it used to anyway!
You’re also a singer—how do you find time to balance it all?! Are you working on any new music right now?
People sometimes think I’m nuts for juggling so many things but I have a short attention span so I need to move from one thing to another to keep my creative flow. 🙂 Music has always been something I’ve been able to pursue without pressure.
I love writing and I and get such excitement out of producing it in the studio. When I started getting my songs placed in films and TV, it opened up a fun little niche for me and I’m super grateful for it. I am currently working on new music, though it moves slower these days because my 3year old also wants to write her music while I’m working at my piano.
We have different creative ideas on where we think the song should go, so you can imagine 😉 No release date for anything as of yet. I’m just going with the flow and trust it will come together when it’s meant to!
When it comes to who you are when, not in front of the camera, how would you describe Miranda Frigon?
Growing up, my family dressed up silly, played jokes, and made fun of each other…it’s how we showed our love. I was always the class clown and feel most myself when I’m acting like an idiot. Nothing makes me happier than making people laugh! I’m always on some sort of a spiritual quest to discover new philosophies on life in order to grow and better myself. I love to laugh, (especially at my husband or family members 🙂 I love cooking, baking and am obsessed with healthy eating. I love working out and staying fit and own 47 plants that feel like my children and I can’t get enough of them. I’m constantly working on my inner self and love to read books on psychology and personal growth. My family is absolutely everything to me but being creative and sharing those gifts with the world comes in at a close second. I feel that helping others to discover their gifts and unique talents is part of my purpose here and I’m in the process of exploring that.
You’re also a mom, and you’ve had quite the journey in terms of what it took to become a mother. So many women struggle with IVF, and fertility, which isn’t spoken about enough. What advice do you have for other women who may be going through the same struggle?
Having patience and trust and learning how to let go of control has been my biggest lessons. When you can view your struggles as a journey to growth, it will make the experience much more peaceful. Our journey to conceiving our little girl was long and difficult but once she came, it all made sense. We were waiting for her.
Doctors will give you statistics and sometimes bad news that you can’t unhear, but they are just doing their job. Be realistic but keep the faith because there are endless stories of little baby miracles that defy those statistics. When you’re on the roller coaster, it’s really hard to see the plan but just remember that there is one at work. If you want to be a mother, you will be.
It may not look exactly how you thought it would so be open to that. Just remember that you can’t rush your process, you can’t make yourself let go no matter how many people give you that advice. Feel the feelings, love yourself through it and be patient. At 3.5 more years of trying for our second baby now, I know after having been through it the first time, that this is also part of my journey. It doesn’t feel fair sometimes but I have to keep the faith. I still trust my second baby will come but if it doesn’t, I know the Universe has something even better in-store. Be patient and love yourself. It’s the only way through this.
Body positivity is a huge topic right now, and often women who struggle to become pregnant blame their bodies. What does body positivity mean to you, and why is it important to further this movement?
For me, body positivity is accepting and loving your body no matter what shape or size you are and no matter what your body can or can’t do. It’s a hard thing to do especially when there is judgement from the outside. Every woman has been faced with judging or hating their body in some way, but each of our struggles is vastly different. I’ll never know what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes, so I can only speak to my own experience.
I grew up in the world of dance and gymnastics, so all I did was compare myself to others and felt like my body was never good enough. I had never learned how to cherish and be proud of it because I was always trying to fix it. Now, as I struggle with my fertility, there’s a different kind of loathing we feel towards our body when it’s not doing the thing it’s literally designed to do.
But women miscarried and struggled with conception long before IVF was around. It’s part of life and part of being a woman. It’s a fragile topic that needs to be talked about and normalized so we can band together and support each other. For those of us who are open to talking about it, let’s SHARE OUR STORIES so we can lift the shame, embarrassment and loneliness that other women feel. We’re human and we’re all perfect the way we are, challenges and all. Let’s spread love and acceptance and lift each other up.
When it comes to social media it can be a way to connect with others, but it can also be very damaging. What are your thoughts on social media and how do you aspire to use your own platforms?
I’ve seen social media work to do incredibly positive things in the world and I’ve also seen it responsible for some of the people’s darkest moments. One of the ways in which it’s damaging us the most is that we’re comparing everything we see to our own lives; when most of what’s on there is a façade.
It only reflects a tiny portion of often skewed reality and people only post what they want others to see. I worry about what it’s creating in the younger generation. I’d love to use my platform to show the truth of who I am, both the struggles and victories.
I want to inspire people, make them feel less alone through their struggles, make them laugh and encourage kindness, self-love and self-care. Social media has pulled us away from really being present.
Real, genuine moments get passed by because we’re checking how many likes we have or trying to snap a pic to post and find the right filter. It’s making us lose touch with reality and I’d love to see us all wake up from the addiction, I’m just not sure we’re there yet.
Shifting focus back to career, what would you say would be your dream role? Any other actor/director, in particular, you’d love to work with?
My dream role would be to have my own sitcom or single-camera comedy. I’d love to play a dysfunctional character -the girl who seems like she’s got it all together but is a hot mess underneath. Because aren’t we all sometimes? 🙂 I literally can’t even name all the people I’d love to work with but I’ll give you a few of my faves: Meryl Streep is my top because OMG I just want to watch her work. Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford, Sandra Bullock I’d love to do a comedy with, Nicole Kidman and Amy Adams would play my sisters, Matt Damon and Ryan Gosling could be my lovers and comedically I’d love to work with Will Farrell because duh, Jason Bateman, Vince Vaughn (though I’d be scared I couldn’t keep up) and Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling because they are just amazing examples of powerhouse comedic women.
What would you say was the best advice you could give to anyone aspiring to be an entertainer? What has been the greatest lesson of your journey?
The first thing I’d say is “how badly do you want it and why?” If you’re chasing fame and hoping it will make you feel seen and worthy and hoping it will cure your insecurities then it will be a tough journey for you. I knew from a young age that I was born to perform.
But years into my career I realized that along with my deep love for it, was an underlying need to be validated that was part of my driving force in pursuing it. It’s common in entertainers and performers because we do get validation from the outside world and it does feel good but it’s temporary.
You get high from it and then the crash can take you down. I had a very hard time when I reached a few goals that I had set for myself in my career and I woke up feeling very empty. From that point on I set on a quest to rewrite my beliefs and work on my inner self. My goal since then is to be empowered to truly love and appreciate myself so I don’t need validation from the outside. I’ve also realized along the way, that it doesn’t matter what you do for a living, we all feel a calling to different careers; it’s who you are while doing that career that is your true purpose.
Success will make you more of what you are. If you’re kind and empathetic, that will grow with success, if you’re anxious and fearful, that will grow too, if you’re selfish and demanding, you’re on the diva track. So if you do choose this career and love it for all the right reasons, go for it with everything you have
. Study, be good to your body and mind, be patient and be kind. Lastly, believe and trust. Life doesn’t always turn out exactly as we have it planned out in our minds. Take it day by day, live in gratitude and let the Universe guide you.
Any other projects coming up we should be on the lookout for?
I’m actually up in Vancouver right now in the middle of filming our 18th Aurora Teagarden movie so that will be airing in February of 2022. I also have a new design show that I co-created am co-producing with my good friend Marilu Henner. We are very excited about it and in the process of pitching it, so fingers crossed that comes to fruition!