Tuesday, 11 August, 1998

Rowan has lead in Loving Evangeline
By PAT LEE -- Halifax Herald

Hundreds of millions - yes, hundreds of millions - of Harlequin romance novels are gobbled up by readers every year.

Actress Kelly Rowan has never been bitten by the Harlequin bug but understands why others are such fans of the genre.

"I think people always want to be entertained and it takes them away from their day-to-day life," says Rowan, who just happens to be contributing to the Harlequin empire herself, this time in the form of a TV movie adaptation of one of the romantic novels. "We all want a little romance in our lives."

Rowan is in Nova Scotia these days starring in Loving Evangeline, the third and final Harlequin movie being filmed in the province this summer.

She plays Evangeline (Evie) Shaw, a marina owner who finds herself embroiled in a mystery and romance after one of her rental boats explodes, killing Kevin Cannon (Karl Bury).

Kevin's brother, computer big-wig Robert played by Nick Mancuso, soon arrives at the marina to investigate the death.

And, of course, along the way Robert and Evie get the hots for each other.

"We don't start off on the best foot, ... then we look at each other one day and go 'Hey, you're kind of cute,'" Rowan said in an interview earlier this week while on a break from shooting scenes in the Agricola Street area of Halifax.

The film has also been shooting in Chester, off McNabs Island, in Eastern Passage, Bedford, Burnside in Dartmouth and Shad Bay. Production wraps up Aug.13.

In the film, produced by Alliance Communications and Halifax's Second Wave Productions for CTV and Showtime in the U.S., Sheri Belafonte appears as Mancuso's secretary and Winston Reckert is the head of one of Robert's factories.

Rowan said she was attracted to the film and the role of Evie because her character gives as good as she gets in her dealings with the high-powered Robert.

"The interesting thing that's developed during this is that the two of them banter back and forth," the affable actress said. "The reason why Nick's character finds Evie interesting is that he's (the head of) this big corporation and she's like, 'whatever.' She doesn't really take any crap from him. She stands toe to toe with him.

"Also what's interesting about this script is that there's some romance and humor in there, which is nice to do. I get a lot of dramatic stuff."

Some of Rowan's more "dramatic stuff" has included playing a psycho in the 1993 TV movie Adrift, for which she won a Gemini in 1994.

Rowan said talking about her Gemini, the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy for television work, is like opening a "can of worms." Instead of the award leading to a deluge of work in Canada, she seemed to have been struck by the Curse of the Gemini (an often-heard complaint by winners of the award) and had to go south of the border for jobs.

"I didn't work for a year in Canada after I got the Gemini," Rowan said, without any apparent bitterness. "I don't know why that is."

If Rowan was indeed struck with the curse, it has seemingly worn off since she's been a busy acting bee in Canada and the U.S. over the last few years.

She has appeared in the big screen's 187 opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Hook, Candyman 2 and Assassins. Her television credits include appearances in Michael Hayes, Lonesome Dove and The Outer Limits.

Rowan will also be seen next year in Three to Tango with Neve Campbell and Dylan McDermott, and has completed a pilot for NBC called Cold Feet, which may or may not appear on next season's schedule.

She was also in Vancouver earlier this year to appear in an episode of DaVinci's Inquest, a new CBC series for this fall.

"I haven't been home since March - it's been a bit crazy," Rowan said about her recent hectic schedule.

As for her next project after leaving Nova Scotia, it will be a little more self-indulgent.

"I'm going to go sit in my new cafe chairs I bought before I left," she said.
 

Source: Jam!ShowBiz                                                                  <<Back