Arts & Culture

Jennifer Spence is a Canadian actor who stars on Scottish crime drama series “Traces.

Photo courtesy BritBox

Canadian actor finds starring role overseas

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 12:12 PDT, Tue April 5, 2022

Last Updated: 3:14 PDT, Mon April 25, 2022

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Our City Tonight recently caught up with Jennifer Spence, an award-winning Canadian actor born in Toronto who now lives with her husband in Vancouver.

Spence is currently one of the main stars of Traces, the Scottish crime drama series available on BritBox in North America. She plays Kathy Torrance, an American professor of forensic anthropology at the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science and Anatomy.

Spence has also worked on The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, Life Sentence, Beyond, Van Helsing, Frequency, The Killing, Motive, Supernatural, Stargate Universe, and Exes & Ohs.

How did a Canadian actor end up overseas working in a United Kingdom (U.K.) TV series?

I love this story because I owe my dad dinner, and I owe my agent too. As a teenager my dad was insistent that I get my U.K. passport—he was born in Leeds. He encouraged me to apply for a U.K. passport so that I could work anywhere in Europe. So, he did all the paperwork and the application, which is quite an arduous process. I got it and fast forward to years later, my agent knew that I could work there so she sent out my demo to a few casting directors in London explaining that her client could work there. Andy Pryor saw my demo and asked me to tape for Traces, and miraculously it worked out.

What is great about this show is that it is a team of strong women characters all working together to solve crimes. We were hooked from the (beginning) so can you tell us a bit about Season 2 without giving too much away?

In Season 2 we go deeper for everybody. I was really happy because my character Kathy got to explore a lot, and I feel she really meets her edge this season. There is a lot of discomfort and a lot of growth—as a viewer of television, that’s what I like to watch. I like to see the struggle, the fail, and then the triumph ultimately. It was a real pleasure to dive deeper and explore those parts. All the characters get to do that, and you get to see that across the board.

What is the biggest difference you have found working in the U.K. on a TV series versus working here in North America?

I have always loved U.K. television and have been a fan of it since I was a kid watching with my folks growing up. It was truly an honour to get to be a part of one of those shows. In terms of working on set, there is a fun difference. In the U.K., everyone is so polite. Not to say Canadians are a bunch of animals, it’s just funny because there’s a big difference in how some of the crew talk to each other. One day we were shooting and there was a bunch of noise outside. The inside assistant director (AD) was radioing to the AD outside: “I don’t suppose you could ask them to be quiet please,” while here we know the tone would be more like: “Tell them to shut up, we need to start now.” More direct I suppose, but that’s just how it is.

Season 2 of Traces is available now on BritBox.

For the full video interview, click here.

Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins are contributing writers to the Richmond Sentinel.