Michelle spoke with me regarding her experience, career, and her aversion to horror films(!).

Jonathan Stryker: Were did you grow up?

Michelle Morgan: I was born in Calgary, Canada. I’ve lived in Canada my whole life. I also lived in Toronto and Vancouver.

JS: I was in Mississauga some years back. Did you ever live near Caledon?

MM: No. I lived in Mississauga for three years, but not in Caledon. I was actually just up in Collingwood, Ontario skiing in mid-March, but I’ve never been to Caledon. What’s there?

JS: Have you heard of a Canadian horror film called CURTAINS?

MM: No.

JS: It’s one of my favorite horror films. A very creepy scene was filmed there in the mountains.

MM: I’ll have to look for that film. In Collingwood I went snowboarding, too.

JS: I’ve never tried that. It looks like fun. When I was a kid I used to go on snow mobiles. They have a snow mobile in CURTAINS and in an even more obscure Canadian horror film called GHOSTKEEPER, which was shot at Lake Louise and Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

MM: Cool!

JS: All right, enough about Canadian horror films that take place in the snow and have been seen by less people than there are in this room.

MM: (Laughs)

JS: How would you describe your childhood?

MM: It sucked. No, I’m just kidding. (Laughs) My childhood was awesome! I was into snowboarding, and still am of course. I went skiing a lot. When I was in Vancouver I was always riding bikes and we moved a lot. So, I always had to get used to being the new kid all the time if you know what I mean. I really believe that that helped me as an actress. I sort of had to learn how to size people up very quickly and figure out where I fit in with them. I had to learn how to read people and adapt to social situations. I got into acting when I was about 16. I began doing improv. I was on a theater sports team that became the provincial champions, then I got an agent and took it from there.

JS: Was acting something that you strove for early on?

MM: No, before I started acting I think that I wanted to do social work.

JS: Were you a big movie fan?

MM: Well, yeah, sure. But, no more so than the average person. Vancouver is sort of culture starved, you know, it’s all about two words, you and athleticism. But, we really didn’t learn about art or culture or film or anything like that. So, it wasn’t until I went to the University of Toronto that I started to study about the history of film, theater and art.

JS: What were some of the films that impressed you when you were younger?

MM: THE PRINCESS BRIDE was a film that I enjoyed a lot.

JS: How about television?

MM: Well, it isn’t horror, but I loved ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. And THIRTY ROCK. I loved SIX FEET UNDER and THE WIRE. I found it very easy to get hooked on 24. Every Monday night I just had to watch it, which is strange because I generally just rent shows on DVD.

JS: Are you a horror fan?

MM: No, I’m a total chicken, even to this day.

JS: Really? Have you watched DIARY OF THE DEAD?

MM: “No.” (Laughs) Yeah, of course I have, and I like zombie films. But, straight horror I have a really hard time with. If it’s really over-the-top, I can handle that, you know? I like Rob Zombie’s films. But, the ones that are really designed to truly scare you – I have never seen THE EXORCIST.

JS: Is there a scariest-movie-you-have-ever-seen?

MM: I was really chickened-out by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. I loved THE SHINING, which I didn’t find as scary as BLAIR WITCH. But, the final shot of BLAIR WITCH really scared me.

JS: Who are some of the people in the industry you would like to work with?

MM: Oh, God…I would love to work for Tim Burton, Wes Anderson…I want to work with Michael Madsen. I’m a big fan of him. And Cate Blanchett.

JS: How did you get DIARY OF THE DEAD?

MM: My agent called me and asked me if I knew of George’s work. And I did, I liked his zombie films. So, I went and did two auditions that George actually did not attend. So, I didn’t meet him until I was already cast. I had seen NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD, but not DAY.

JS: What was your biggest challenge in making this film?

MM: My character, Debra, is motivated and driven to getting home as soon as possible. The film takes place over a very short period of time, and I wanted to have more character traits in her to come out, to flesh her out a bit more, but there wasn’t enough time.

JS: What’s next for you?

MM: Well, currently I’m continuing my role as Samantha Fleming on “Heartland” which has been picked up for a third season. It’s about a family struggling to run a horse rescue ranch. My character hated and left the farm and moved to New York, then had to come back to the farm and kind of run things. She’s sort of a source of comic relief because she’s really a fish out of water.

JS: Thank you for your time.

MM: Oh, no problem!