Pickle Barrel
WHEN GEORGINA REILLY moved
across the pond at age 16 from her
native Surrey, England, to a little
street called Theodore Place in
Thornhill, she left something
behind. Her British accent.
“I know it’s so weird!” the now 22-year-old actress says with a laugh during a recent chat. “When I came [to Toronto from England] it just sort of went away. But if I’m home and around English friends, I have an English accent... It’s all very confusing!”
It doesn’t take long after meeting Reilly — who has a wonderful sense of humor — to realize that there’s something behind the buzz.
Dubbed Canada’s “next big thing,” by a host of media outlets, including the celebrity starmaking website du jour, She Does the City, she certainly has the charisma to follow in the footsteps of other breakout stars like Nova Scotia’s Ellen Page. Or perhaps Vancouver’s Seth Rogen, both of whom are coming off a tremendous year. (Think indie fave Juno and comedic hit Knocked Up respectively).
One can’t help but think she’s just one great role away from stardom.
That great role might just be in Pontypool, one of the most eagerly awaited films at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Reilly plays a young woman, trapped in a radio station, coping with what might be the end of the world, thanks to a virus infecting and transmitted by the English language. It’ll be a chance for Reilly to showcase her chops, and the cerebral nature of the script means she’ll be doing a lot more than running around screaming.
Growing up in England’s idyllic countryside, the acting bug caught the fresh-faced brunette at an early age.
Various stints in musical theatre followed. “I’m a sucker for musical theatre!” she gushes, citing Guys and Dolls and Thoroughly Modern Millie among her favourites: “It’s always great when there are good songs to sing.”
Her first foray into television came in the form of an animated character on the popular BBC children’s series Number Time. “I was 10 at the time and loved it. I would record songs in my PJs,” she says.
While most Britons jaunt off the Paris or the Swiss Alps on vacation, Reilly recalls her family always came to Canada.
“When I was younger, we always went to Vancouver and Victoria because we have family here in Toronto,” she says fondly, adding, “I just remember loving the beaches there when I was little.”
While her parents’ decision to move to the Yonge and Steeles area was based partly on her father’s career, she’s keen to point out that the whole family loved the country as well. “I love the people here. They’re very chill and friendly.”
She speaks very highly of her close-knit Thornhill neighbourhood, especially the benefits of living around the corner from the Promenade Mall.
“I love the Promenade!” she enthuses. “They’ve put in all these great stores like BCBG and Aritzia.” It’s quite clear, like most girls her age, shopping is among her hobbies. She also loves to read and keep in shape by taking classes at the local gym.
“Do you know what else I love?” she asks rhetorically, “Rainbow Cinemas. On Toonie Tuesday you can go to the movies for, like, four dollars.”
Being English, a love of Indian food is a must. The Reillys always order takeout from the Indian Kitchen, at Yonge and Clark. “The butter chicken is amazing there,” she says.
The family home on Theodore Place — which Reilly describes as being different from her home in England, what with all the open spaces and modern design — sounds like the perfect environment for a budding actress to hone her craft.
Her father, a writer and composer, spends his time these days working on screenplays, her mother concentrates on the production side of the industry. Her 25-year-old brother, is a DJ, among a host of other things. And of course, Reilly’s two “wiener dogs,” Bodie and Alfie, serve as great sounding boards when she is practising scripts.
While Reilly decided to postpone university indefinitely, instead focusing on acting classes and taking up smaller TV roles in lesser-known series, like Beautiful People and Runaway, she did attend her last two years of high school at Toronto’s private Havergal College.
“It was kind of like the movies for me,” she says of her experience, “with all the lunch tables and cliques and stuff. The school uniform was like a Britney Spears outfit!” Spoken like a true actress.
On Sept. 6, Reilly will debut her latest (and perhaps most significant project to date), Pontypool, amidst all the hustle and bustle of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). “I’m really excited about TIFF,” she says, “I’m not a big partyer, but I can’t wait to see the screening and hang out with friends.”
An edge-of-your-seat thriller, she’s mum on the plot. “I don’t want to give too much away,” she quips excitedly. Set in a radio station in a small town, the film begins with news of a series of violent incidents caused by a virus within the English language. Sounds bizarre? It’s not surprising, considering the film comes from acclaimed Canadian director Bruce McDonald.
Famed for such cult flicks as Highway 61, and, most recently, The Tracey Fragments, McDonald called Reilly to take the role of one of the main characters, Laurel Ann, after working with her on a made-for-TV pilot last year.
“The set can be such a crazy place, and Bruce [McDonald] being there makes it so much easier,” she says of working alongside the coveted Kingston, Ont., born filmmaker.
The best thing about the project? “It was all in one location and shot in sequence, which never happens in film. It’s great for an actor to shoot in sequence.”
The second best thing? That one location was in Toronto, a few streets away from her apartment.
The convenient commute was indeed a blessing, but had she not gotten the part, it could have been a curse.
“How terrible it would have been if I didn’t get the part,” she says. “I would have had to watch them film the movie from my front window every day.”
She does admit that she doesn’t fancy watching herself on-screen. “I know some people find it very beneficial for critiquing, but I find it very difficult. I end up looking at how my face moves instead of what I’m doing. You can’t always be constructive in your criticisms.”
Regardless of her process, the
future looks bright for Georgina
Reilly. With a few future projects
in the works, she is most certainly
one to watch. Wherever the
future takes her, chances are
she’ll always enjoy coming home
for a trip to the Indian Kitchen for
her favourite butter chicken. 
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