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* For the uncut version of this interview, check out Katianna's Place.

Season 2 DVD Extras 5/04 (short version): Victoria Pratt

Victoria: I am Victoria Pratt; I play Shalimar Fox. And we are at the Boyd Conservation Park, which is a beautiful national park just outside of Toronto. And the Pope has come to town, so we're not allowed to film in our studios because there's a big bandstand. There's gonna be a big mass there, so we're all out for the week, so we're having an adventure.

This totally feels like we're camping! Oh, it's great. It's like sort of the beginning of mosquito season, so we're all just covered in citronel oil and everybody's really stinky and it's been like 35 degrees, and it's crazy and...I love it. I mean, it can never be too hot or too humid for me, so I'm happy to be out here.

How'd I get the part? It’s funny, the last show I was on, "Cleopatra 2525," was a Tribune show. And while I was in "Cleopatra," I did a little movie for Fireworks called Black Top. It was with Fireworks and HBO. So I kind of had a foot in both camps. And we had a great time working on that movie, on Black Top. It was shot in Vancouver, and they didn’t actually realize that I was Canadian. So they tucked that in the back of their minds. And when "Cleopatra" got cancelled, they had sort of been working on this great story idea, "Mutant X." And they called me up and asked me what I thought of the whole idea. And I love to work, and I really enjoy working with Fireworks, and I enjoyed working with Tribune. And I thought that it would be a good combination. And we worked on the script and they made Shalimar work for me and for the character that I wanted to play. And it just really came together so, so well. I was really, really lucky. It was really good timing.

They're really great about working with the cast. The Shalimar character initially was a real tough, mean, not a very likable person. And they’d set up this relationship with Emma that was very miserable and they weren’t liking each other. You know, one of the lines in the original pilot script was, “Yeah, Shalimar’s a bitch, but she knows what she’s talking about.” And I thought, you know what? That just sounds like Sarge, my character on "Cleopatra," in a different costume. And I did not want to go there again. And I think it’s a tribute to the writers and to the producers. I think a lot of people don’t know what to do with a strong woman, and because I think my physicality dictates that I play these physical roles, I think people don’t know what to do with that. And so they make you into this woman who’s not approachable and not sensual, and not friendly, and a woman that other women don’t like. And I’m so sick of playing that. And that was the one thing that I really, really desperately wanted to change. I think it’s important for the superhero team to get along. I mean, we’re fighting the enemies. We don’t need that amongst ourselves. We have little arguments now and then, but everybody on the team has gelled. And we are like a family, and that was the one thing that was really important to me, that I felt I really needed if I was going to be happy in the character. And they just did it beautifully. And they’ve given my character so many layers and she’s got this sort of toughness but this vulnerability. I mean, if you think of...say...a cat. You know, in the jungle, a cat is fierce and protective and territorial, but you think of a housecat who’s very cuddly and very lovable when it wants to be. They’ve given me the room to play with all those things, and the character, I think, is much, much softer than what it originally started. And I’m happy to play that.

I think people have sort of an innate nature to them, and I think mine is very physical. I’ve been physical since I can remember walking. And I ran track for ten years, and I did water sports and every sport imaginable. And my whole life has been built around fitness and movement. Fitness is like a lifestyle to me, so I think movement is really comfortable for me. I think I’m a coordinated person. And then when they write a great character for you that fits with all those things, it just sort of meshes together really well. I don’t find that I have to dig deep to tap into that sort of feral nature. And I think I’m an aggressive person by nature, I’m not timid. And I think that really helps too. But I’m a bit of a goofball. It’s kind of a contradiction. I think people that know me are like, “I can’t believe that you’re playing that kind of tough staunch superhero woman,” when they know me as a goof. But there’s a side of me, the kickboxing side. You know, I love kickboxing and I love the physical. I love getting my hands dirty. I love eating like crab and getting, you know, food all over. I would, like, roll in my food if I could. I like to get in it. It’s fun for me, I love it. So if you’re to get dirty, you shouldn’t try to be a superhero, and you shouldn’t try to eat crab legs!

Biggest joker on the set? Maybe. We all have our moments. I think I maybe have more moments than others, although Victor gives me a run for my money. Yeah, we have a good time. It’s like recess when we all get together. You know, it’s funny, the guest stars come on the show, and they’re just like, “Wow, you guys are having so much fun!” Why wouldn’t we? We get to come to work and play these fantastical characters. you know, it’s in my contract, I always get to win! And my joke with the guest stars is, “Well, if I’m not beating you up, I’m gonna make out with you. So I don’t know where....” Who gets to do that when they go to the office, you know what I’m saying? We have a great time. You know, you can only hope as a member of an ensemble cast that you’re gonna get along with everybody. It only takes one person to ruin it. And that person doesn’t exist here. When we come to work, there’s never someone you don’t want to see. And we don’t work each other every day so, Victor and I have been working together all this episode and I haven’t seen much of Lauren and Forbes. So, next time I see them, it’s gonna be fun. I look forward to it. It’s such a huge, huge thing when you enjoy the people that you work with. And then the hair and makeup team, we have so much fun in the morning. It just starts off with a bang. It's just good from the moment we get here until the moment we go home, and you don’t get that very often.

*laughing* La-la-la, yes!

What’s happening with Brennan? We have a connection. It’s a funny relationship that we have, it’s kind of like we’re just attracted to each other, but we can’t ever really let it happen. Even though at times we get close and we both want it, and we’re constantly making the other person jealous with our little dalliances, it’s a fun thing to play. And even when things aren’t written into the script, it’s a fun thing to have in tucked in the back of your head to know that that relationship is there. So we’re having a lot of fun with it.

No, the first contact I had with a feral was in “Fool for Love.” And they had a problem with the idea of that script. They thought, “How can we possibly build a love relationship in one hour?” And I thought they got around it in such a clever way, with the feral instincts heightening all of your animal nature and the hormonal thing. And it came together beautifully, and that was one of my favorite episodes. It was a really, really emotional one. I think the next time I ran into a feral that was a woman...I can't remember the name of the episode, with Ralf Mueller. And we actually -- after initially fighting because she was trying to blow stuff up -- you can't do that! We actually did bond, and we had a good bond. That's what I like about my character. She doesn't hate people because they're women, or because whatever. I think she feels a kinship with other ferals just because we know what each other goes through. It’s nice. It’s nice to play. With the episode that’s happening now, it’s a feral that’s kind of lost control, mutating out of control, and I see that as a possibility for myself. So obviously, she’s playing it out of compassion and fear. And we want to be able to solve this problem. And just a lot of things again to put in the back of your head to know your feelings so that when the scenes happen some subtext there even if it’s only in your own head, I think it comes out.

Definitely! I'm having sex with my guest star tomorrow! Oh, wait a minute! No, I'm not having sex with him. *laughing* I shouldn't be allowed out on my own, seriously. I need a nurse, or a nanny or something.

No, it's all one. Paul Rapovski, we have a special connection too. He was my fight choreographer on John Woo’s Once a Thief. So five years later, I come back to town, the next thing I do in Toronto, and it’s with Paul. It was great to work with him again. He’s so talented and he’s created this...

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