A Woman You Should Meet: Meghan Heffern

In town to catch a few TIFF films and take part in a couple after parties, Meghan Heffern is fresh off the movie The F Word. With a cast that included Daniel Radcliffe and Adam Driver and set locations that included pretty much every corner of Toronto, the actress has nothing but good things to say of the experience. Now, working on a forward-thinking CWC show Backpackers, she’s talking about knitting cafes, dark films and a no-holds-barred trip to Europe.

Photos by – Franco Deleo

I hear you’re in town. How’s your day so far?

Good. I’m recovering from pre-TIFF festivities.

It’s an exciting time to be in Toronto.

Very exciting. I’m hoping to see a few movies. Fingers crossed. I really want to see Backcountry, my friend Adam MacDonald directed it. Also, Maps to the Stars but I think that’s a little bit of a pipe dream, I heard it’s already sold out.

Congratulations on The F Word.

Thanks!

I have to ask: every time I look it up, the movie comes up as What If. What’s the deal?

Yes, it’s What If everywhere else in the world except for Canada. We’re special, we have a sense of humour and we can handle the…[laughs]

The F word.

Exactly.

Tell me about your character Tabby.

She is one of Chantry’s (played by Zoe Kazan) coworkers, confidante, friend, just one of the girls that she comes to when she’s going through confusing times with her buddy Wallace.

I read about the CWSeed show Backpackers. Can you explain the plot to me? It kind of threw me for a loop.

[Laughs] I know! The show is about this couple and I play the lady side of it. They’re about to get married after being together for a really long time. They’ve never really dated anyone else. My character Beth decides that they need to go on separate backpacking trips to Europe and experience everything that they have never experienced before and then come back together with no regrets to get married. They start to do that but the fiancé regrets it and travels through Europe trying to find my character.

That’s kind of sweet. I was wondering how it was going to work out when I read that they’re travelling separately, which I assume means a no-holds-barred trip?

It was very no-holds-barred. Beth had a great time.

What do you think of that concept? Is that something that you would suggest in a relationship?

I can understand the reasoning if you’ve only had one experience your whole life, I can understand wanting to see if there’s something more. But I’m not sure it would work in real life and I’m not sure if it’s going to work out on the show either. People will just have to watch and find out.

What’s coming up for you?

I’m currently shooting a movie calledA Sunday Kind Of Love which is another wonderful little romantic indie film. I hope to be doing the festival circuit with it next year, but we’ll see how that goes.

Have fun doing the TIFF circuit this year. Good for you having the stamina.

I know! I save it up all year long. Usually the first week is a lot of parties and that kind of stuff then the last little while I just try to see movie after movie after movie. You’ll probably catch me at the Bell Light Box. I’ll be there a lot!

Obviously, it has a fantastic cast with Kazan, Daniel Radcliffe and Adam Driver. What was the cast dynamic like while filming?

It was great. Everyone was really humble and fun to work with. It was an easy set. No complaints.

The movie was almost completely filmed in Toronto. How was it?

Amazing. I wish I could film everything in Toronto. I think the movie makes Toronto look so beautiful. I mean, we all already know it is, but now everyone else in the world does too. And the film showcases the entire city, which I thought was really great. I like that we didn’t keep it to just one specific, touristy area. I really loved shooting at The Purple Purl café on Queen Street East, which is also a knitting studio. That was my favourite spot. We also shot in an animation studio downtown, which was really cool. It was around Wellington Street.

Was there anything you were looking forward to when you found out you’d be shooting in the city?

Well, I was already here, but I was really happy about it. I love just really love being a part of movies that use Toronto for Toronto. I did a movie called Chloe that did the same thing with Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore…and now this one with Daniel Radcliffe. I think it’s really interesting bringing a few key American or British names up and really showcasing Toronto, showcasing the talent that Toronto has with Canadian directors and producers. I always love being a part of projects like that.

I was actually going to ask you about Chloe because I think it has darker subject matter than The F Word. How was the filming process on a movie like that?

Just a little bit of a difference! [Laughs] It was crazy subject matter. All my scenes were with Liam Neeson and it was amazing. I loved shooting with him. He’s very tall. When you first meet him, you’re kind of intimidated, but he’s great and so lovely. We actually had to stand in an embrace for about an hour to do a still photo shoot and every time I’d look up I’d be like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Liam Neeson.’

Between the two kinds of films, the two different genres, which do you prefer to work on?

I have a great time doing comedies. I think doing romantic comedies are really fun and they’re the kind of movies I love to watch, but thrillers are just so cool to shoot. I love to do both but I definitely love watching the romcoms.