Yvonne Chapman

Interview by Blaine Schlechter for I'm Here With Magazine

Your life has been a bit of a whirlwind the last couple of months…tell us about how it’s been going and how you’ve been able to stay so composed?

When you’re filming, it’s just you and the cast and crew so it feels as though what your making is just yours. Then the show is released, and it doesn’t belong to you anymore, it belongs to the audience – to the fans. It’s nerve wrecking and exciting because you just hope that people like what you’ve done. But there’s also a sense of relief, because there’s nothing more you can do. That’s not to say I don’t get my moments of apprehension from it all…I’m watching these episodes and seeing it all put together at the same time as everyone else! Every Monday I’m nervous seeing myself, and what my performance turned out to be. But I’ve talked myself down from the nerves by accepting that it’s made, and now the reactions will be what they will be. I’m incredibly proud of what we made. I just hope we get to do it again!

Street Legal airs on CBC. Everybody in Canada has grown up watching CBC. It’s a place where shows tend to become part of Canadian folklore – like Sesame Street to Hockey Night in Canada to Beachcombers to Heartland. How does it feel to now forever be a part of the CBC family?

Amazing! I grew up watching CBC, and I am a proud Canadian. Most of my past work has been for US productions. I love working on those, but it’s special to be able to work on Canadian made content, telling Canadian stories. With the amount of content available now, it’s easy to get lost in the mass. It’s important that we support local artists, and the work that we do here at home because we deserve our place in it all and to have our voices heard and stories told. And I am incredibly humbled and grateful for the support my home town Calgary has shown me. Calgary has come out rallying behind the show! The artistic community here has shown me huge support – it’s floored me. I’m so thankful.

You play lawyer Mina Lee. Mina is described as ‘a behind the scenes specialist who uses her sharp mind for research and strategy’. Using 3 words how would you describe Mina?

Mercurial, introspective and empathetic. She really cares about her work and the people in her life. And sometimes, as you’ll see it’s hard for her to separate that from the work. There is a saying from Michaela Chung, that I feel really encapsulates Mina. The quote is “Don’t underestimate me because I’m quiet. I know more than I say, think more than I speak and observe more than you know.” But, not to say that she’s not willing to speak up… 100% she will. But her preference is to be behind the scenes. It’s where her strength is, and where she believes she can make the most impact and difference. But when she needs to, she will come out fighting.

As we’ve seen in the first few episodes.

That’s right, and as you can see, that’s not where she’s most comfortable. She’s gets a bit nervous doing that, but she can do it when she needs to. It’s something she’s learning to be better at, and she’ll make progress in it.

So your sitting around, your phone buzzes, you get the call or text saying you’ve booked the role of Mina. After you hang up…what’s the first thing you did?

My mom was with me in Vancouver at the time. And my agents played a bit of a trick on me! I’ve been through a few of these situations where I’ve screen tested for something and it’s between me and one or two other girls for a lead role; and from my experience…because up till now I didn’t land any of those roles (laughs), when both my agent and manager are calling it’s not good news. So, I got the call and they were both on it and didn’t sound that happy and I was like ‘oh shit, bad news again’ (laughs). They said, ‘We’ve got some bad news…you’re going to have to leave Vancouver for a bit…but good news you got the role and you’re going to Montreal”. “You guys…I hate you” I thought (laughs). So, I was sad, then quickly ecstatically happy. They gave me emotional whiplash. I think I was just blubbering on the phone, just not being sensical at all with what I was trying to ask them. I got off the phone and I told my mom saying “Mom…I finally got a job! I got a series regular role!” and she said, “…what does that mean?” (laughs) She didn’t understand, which is entirely fair. People who aren’t in this business shouldn’t be expected to know what a series regular vs a principal or guest star role means. It’s just not her world. So, it was a good few minutes of me explaining to her the situation and then she said “Oh, great! Street Legal! I remember Streel Legal! You have a job! That’s great!” and then we freaked out with excitement.

That’s great you got to share that moment with your mom, a moment I’m sure you won’t forget. Speaking of moments…during filming, did you have any “wow…pinch me…is this really happening” moments?

The first day, because I was super nervous and couldn’t believe I was doing this. Fun fact, my first day (of filming) is seen in episodes three and four, because we were block shooting. Another moment I won’t forget was near the end. There are scenes where Cynthia and I are more in the background and as we were sitting there talking about the show, she turned to me and said, ‘I really hope this is everything for you as it was for me’ and that really hit me. It meant a lot coming from her; and not to speak for her but I think she has been, more so than any of us, on an emotional roller coaster. This show and her role are something that she never thought she’d get the chance to do again. Not only was she coming back from the original series as the star of the reboot, but she’s also an Executive Producer on the show. She has been such a force of positivity and creative energy. We owe her a lot for the example she set for us all and the encouraging environment she helped create on set. So, her words really hit me and suddenly, I was like “ok…I’m going to cry.” I cried a lot during filming – in a good way! I am just so happy I got to be a part of this.

I read that you are quite skilled in boxing and Muay Thai. Is this true and if so…can we maybe hope to see an action movie in your future?

Oh my God…please!! I’d love to be a super hero. Marvel is making their first Asian superhero movie “Shang Chi”! Maybe they’ll let me be in the background, punching something (laughs).

Do you train in it?

I do, and there are boxing bags at my gym, so I make up my own workouts. Occasionally I’ll go to a boxing gym to get trained in technique, or to learn some new moves. What’s nice is that I was able to use it in Street Legal! I posted myself boxing on my Instagram, and the producers liked it and added a punching bag in the RDL office. It’s great, because it added a bit more of me to Mina.

That’s our time, congrats again Yvonne and as a fan, we all have our fingers crossed for a Season 2 of Street Legal.

Thank you so much for doing this!