Page 19 - Real Style June 2018

REIGN
$4,000 and thought ‘This is why people do it!’” Skarsten says with a laugh.
So, how did this bombshell transition from artsy Canadian preteen to a talented star in her own right? At first, her mother was adamant about keeping acting and life in the spotlight as just a hobby, to be balanced with school and other activities. However Skarsten, who attended Toronto’s Claude Watson School for the Arts as
a young girl, had bigger plans
in mind. The budding thespian later booked her breakout
role as Dinah Lance on The
WB adventure series Birds of Prey, which aired from 2002 to 2003. As a teenager, Skarsten moved to Los Angeles for the part, where she discovered that television “was a business,” and not just a youthful interest of hers.
Overwhelmed by L.A and still very young, Skarsten moved home to Canada and enrolled
at Queen’s University, where she studied English Literature and Classical Studies. But as fate would have it, this wasn’t the last that Skarsten would see of Hollywood fame.
“I went back after, with $800 in my pocket. I lived in my car, cleaned houses, did the whole nine yards, and it was then that I realized that if I am willing to do this, then I must really love acting,” she shares. Two years after her auspicious move, the script flipped for Skarsten, who started getting steady work. Since then, she has played Tamsin on Lost Girl, appeared as Leah in the Aaron Sorkin film Molly’s Game and can now be spotted as Poppy Langmore on W Network/Bravo’s Imposters, in addition to her time on Reign.
While her characters may be different from each other, they all offered Skarsten a chance to depict strong women. Valkyrie and bounty hunter Tamsin was an edgy femme fatale on
a sci-fi series, and Poppy is a polished, refined woman who is the sister of Marianne Rendón’s character, artist Jules.
On the dark comedy Imposters, Skarsten stars alongside former Real Style cover girl Inbar Lavi. Whether working with Lavi and the Imposters cast or looking back to her previous roles, Skarsten is quick to count her blessings.
“I have been fortunate enough to play a lot of very headstrong, independent female characters, who have spanned the scope of time and space.
I’ve always admired actresses who are very much the masters of their own destiny and their careers,” she says.
Away from the screen, Skarsten describes herself as an “occupational extrovert,” who is outgoing on set but needs quiet time to recharge her batteries. So, how does she spend her downtime?
“I love to draw and paint. That’s my first love,” Skarsten shares. Also, she is currently mastering the language of
love (and Canada’s second official language), partly due
to a love interest of her own. “I’m learning French, because my boyfriend is French- and I’m also Canadian, so I should already know French!” she says.
Whether she’s dressed as
a royal or playing a bounty hunter, Skarsten is certainly
a Canadian darling to keep on your radar. All hail this queen, because her moment in the spotlight is just starting.
IMPOSTERS
BIRDS OF PREY
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