I am XX, Hear Me Roar-- An Interview with Kathleen Robertson
Life works in mysterious ways. Take, for instance, actress Kathleen Robertson. An already established actress in Canada, Robertson made the bold decision to move to Los Angeles in the mid-'90s and almost immediately landed herself a recurring role on the FOX hit "Beverly Hills, 90210." Audiences quickly took a liking to her character, Clare Arnold, and what was supposed to be a five-episode gig soon turned into a two-season contract.
Flash forward to the year 2002. The new Aaron Spelling of primetime, David E. Kelley, was adding yet another FOX series to his name, a female empowerment drama about three young women who work in a male-dominated San Francisco law film entitled "Girls Club." Robertson was cast as one of the show's three leading ladies, a part Hollywood was quick to dub as the biggest break in her career. However, "Girls Club" didn't follow in the footsteps of Kelley's other creations ("Ally McBeal" and "Boston Public"), and as fast as it made its debut on the FOX network it disappeared. Robertson's "lucky break" on a show almost everyone considered to be a guaranteed success had fallen through.
"My family always asks me, 'how do you do this?'," a groggy Robertson states. "'All the deception, having 'sure things' fall apart, losing financing on projects...' It's hard working in this business."
It's late Tuesday morning. Robertson's coming down with the same cold everyone she knows has, fighting off flu-like symptoms as we speak. We were supposed to have done this interview on Monday but Robertson was just too sick to talk. It's obvious as we speak that she should probably be sleeping-- or at least snuggled up in her bed drinking some tea-- but being the professional she is Robertson rescheduled our interview for the next day. Granted the interview got pushed back 15 minutes (she needed some time to get herself together), but never-the-less Robertson is doing the interview and being very apologetic about having to reschedule. Her professionalism is noted, and it's easy to see why the actress has found success both in Canada and here in the States.
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Robertson grew up in a small town clueless to how she was going to fulfill her dream of working in the entertainment industry. As a child she took dance lessons every night after school, something Robertson looks back on as being her "first step into that other world out there." From dance classes, Robertson soon moved on to staring in local plays before landing a small guest appearance on the series "My Secret Identity," which starred a young Jerry O'Connell.
Latest Articles