Canadian television is full of Joy
After scoring lead roles on two wildly successful television shows, Hélène Joy has become one of the busiest actresses on the Canadian television scene. The Australia-born actress has gained international fan recognition and loads of critical acclaim, including a Gemini Award for her portrayal of Audrey Sweeney in the HBO Canada drama Durham County.
The award-winning series also starring Hugh Dillon and Justin Louis, depicts a homicide detective who moves his wife (Joy) and daughter to suburban Durham County and begins to suspect his new neighbour, also his childhood nemesis, in a string of murders. In 2008, Joy’s outstanding portrayal of Audrey Sweeney, a wife and mother undergoing the physical and emotional pain of dealing with breast cancer, as well as a marriage that’s on the rocks, won her the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. The groundbreaking series was recently named 4th in Maclean’s magazine’s Top 10 TV Shows of the Decade and will be airing its third season later this year.
Joy received another nod from the Geminis for her leading female role in the Citytv series Murdoch Mysteries, also in its third season. In 2006, Joy was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her portrayal of Dr. Julia Ogden. In the 19th century Torontonian police drama, Joy plays a pathologist who aids in the homicide investigations of Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson). The obvious chemistry between Ogden and Murdoch makes for a charming romantic subplot throughout the series.
Coincidentally, while Joy plays the love interest of a homicide detective in both shows, the similarities between her two characters end there. The most obvious difference between her roles is the time periods for which they are set. Joy’s role as Dr. Julia Ogden on Murdoch Mysteries, takes place in 1895 when women were covered head to toe in floor-length skirts and Victorian, poufy-sleeved blouses, accessorized with mens dress ties, and wide brimmed hats. On Durham County, when Audrey Sweeney isn’t stuck in a hospital gown, the modern-day suburban mom dresses casually in jeans, tanks and tees.
As a young, thirty-something actress living in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, Joy’s eclectic style is a far cry from either character. In fact, Joy reveals she is rarely recognized from either show.
“I dress very differently from both of my characters. My style is a little more fashion inspired, and less conservative than Audrey Sweeney,” explains the actress. “I love vintage clothes but not quite as old fashioned as Julia Ogden’s. However, I have gotten right into corsets since shooting Murdoch Mysteries.”
While the avid vintage shopper loves sifting through racks of hand-me-downs to create one of a kind looks, she also feels good about purchasing antiquated pieces because they weren’t mass produced by underpaid children in foreign countries.
“I am not all uptight about every purchase by any means, however, how I shop has changed as I have grown more aware of the issues surrounding clothing manufactures,” explains Joy. “I buy more Canadian and US made. I also buy vintage and I love supporting local designers.”
Joy adores wearing the gorgeous evening gowns by Canadian designers Andy The-Ahn and Carlie Wong to award shows and special events. She also covets Romona Keveza’s exquisite designs and is really into Paul Hardy’s and Brandon R. Dwyer’s spring collections.
Joy has also been known to adorn herself in her own handiwork. During her teenage years, Joy was known for her wild creations and even scored an unconventional nickname as a result.
“I did make clothes a lot as a teenager. I was pretty experimental. My mother had a business at the time called The Curtain Lady, but my friends at school started to call me that too!” reveals Joy. “I used to wrap fabrics around me, belt them, and make clothes out of them. I would also change tops into skirts, and vice versa. I wore a lot of vintage clothes then and my look went from hippy to mod to punk. I was never interested in dressing just one way.”
Although Joy still enjoys mixing up her style, she spends less time focusing on it.
“These days I love clothes that bring out a person’s beauty, as opposed to being an art work that you wear around.”
Born in Perth, Australia, one of the world’s most isolated cities, Joy received quite the culture shock after packing up and moving to Los Angeles, before settling in Canada seven years ago.
“I was pretty new to North American culture and I think I was a little shocked,” she explains. “I was used to pristine beaches and completely unaffected people. For all of L.A.’s beauty, I found it smoggy, dirty and pretentious. I guess I was overwhelmed.”
While all that Hollywood glitter was too much for the budding actress from down under, living in six different cities has given Joy a much different view of the City of Angels.
“I have come to realize that you can’t have everything in one place, but that all places offer something extraordinary. I am quite in love with L.A. these days and California actually feels more like where I am from than anywhere I have been.”
So what does the future hold for this sun-kissed, strawberry blond star? While Joy has had success with film in the past, and continues to pursue those roles, her true passion lies behind the curtains.
“I am really longing to get back on the stage,” explains Joy. “I haven’t done professional theatre since I lived in Australia, but it was my first passion and the reason I became an actor. I mostly want to continue to have the opportunity to play complex, interesting, diverse characters in whatever genre or medium, and to play with great actors along the way. I love the challenge of a new project. That is where the excitement comes from for me.”
For those of you who missed the premiere of Murdoch Mysteries on Sunday, March 14th at 9 p.m. ET/CT/PT (7 p.m. MT) on Citytv, an encore presentation will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (8p.m. CT, 10 p.m. MT) starting March 19.
Photos provided by Susan Findlay
Written by Amy Jessica Weeks
amy@sugarcainent.com
