Primeval New World's Angelika "Ange" Finch (Miranda Frigon). Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.
For a business to grow and succeed, it needs someone in charge who is not only savvy when dealing with dollars and cents, but also skilled at managing employees as well as handling customers and not afraid to take advantage of a business opportunity.
In Primeval: New World, Angelika “Ange” Finch is such a person. Over the past few years she has handled the daily running of micro-tech genius Evan Cross’ company, Cross Photonics. Not surprisingly, Ange and Evan became close friends, but then a personal tragedy began pulling him in another direction. Evan has since been using his company and its resources to combat “Anomalies” or cracks in time that allow dangerous prehistoric creatures into our modern day world. Despite this “obsession,” Ange has continued to stick by Evan’s side, but for how long? Her loyalty has complicated her personal and professional lives, as actress Miranda Frigon, who plays Ange, explains.
“Ange is a career woman and represents women in their 30s who aren’t married, haven’t had kids and are quite ambitious, which is scarily similar to myself,” jokes the actress. “She has a hard edge to her, for sure, and she gets the job done, but at the same time there’s a softness to her. I think Ange just wants the same as any other woman wants, which is to be loved, cherished and all those things.
“When it comes to her relationship with Evan [Niall Matter], ever since his wife Brooke was killed six years ago, Ange has been there as his support, his best friend and his business partner, and they’ve had this growing relationship/friendship. The two of them have been teammates, and for Ange that was almost better. In one of the episodes, she remarks that even when he was married, she and Evan were the real team. I think Ange really believes that, and that their partnership is what’s truly important.
The always level-headed Ange (Miranda Frigon) deals with another sitatuon at Cross Photonics. Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.
“As the show progresses, we see that perhaps Evan hasn’t as yet come to terms with his wife’s death, and part of my character’s journey is discovering whether or not anything serious is ever going to happen with her and Evan. Ange is the CFO (chief financial officer) of his company - at one time his dream. Evan then veers off and starts chasing after these Anomalies, which represent Brooke, who was killed by one of the creatures that came though an Anomaly.
“Ange starts to think, ‘That seems to be what’s really important to him, whereas for the past six years I’ve been building this company that I believed was important to the both of us.’ She then begins to question why she’s spent all this time doing what’s she’s been doing and becomes angry with herself for staying so long in a relationship that may or may not ever happen. What I love about Ange is that she has the strength I admire in women. Like my character, I’m a strong Alpha female, too, but underneath all the drive and ambition, I’m also incredibly sensitive and need love just like the next person.
Having appeared in numerous TV commercials as a child, Frigon eventually moved to Vancouver over 13 years ago to pursue an acting career. Not long after arriving in town, she booked her first recurring role as Veronica in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids; The TV Show, and later went on to help save the world as Tech Agent Susan Carver in the UPN spy series Jake 2.0. The actress’ credits also include several made-for-TV movies as well as guest-starring roles on such shows as The 4400, Tru Calling, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Dexter and Emily Owens, M.D. It was thanks to Primeval: New World executive producer/in-house director Martin Wood that she became involved in the original casting process for the fledgling series.
“I was in Los Angeles when I got a call to come to Vancouver and read for New World, and then I found out that Martin Wood was involved with it,” recalls Frigon. “I had worked with him about five years ago on an episode of Sanctuary and it was such a blast. So I went in for Primeval and auditioned, not knowing until much later that he’d actually requested me. I originally read for the part of Dylan Weir [which Sara Canning subsequently booked] and when I went in to test for the role, they asked me if I could read for the Ange role as well.
Connor Temple (Andrew Lee Potts, from the UK Primeval TV series) and Ange (Miranda Frigon) in the New World series opener "The New World." Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.
“When I got the [audition] sides I thought, ‘Wow, I love the Dylan character, but this [Ange] role is much more like me.’ I just had a feeling about this character, you know? So I tested for both and they [the producers] subsequently ‘tortured’ me for about a week-and-a-half,” she says with a chuckle, “but then I got a call offering me the part of Ange. I happened to fit into that role a little bit better and it all worked out.
“Martin directed our opening episode [The New World] and it was fantastic to work with him again. I was really thrilled about that as well as excited about Ange being my ‘oyster.’ I had 13 episodes to help create this character, including her back story and emotional journey. On top of that, I loved just coming to the set and meeting the rest of the cast along with the wonderful crew working around us. Everyone is so amazing and I’ve enjoyed making new relationships with them, not only as people but as our characters, too. We’ve been hanging out together and going out after work, meeting for a drink, having dinner, etc. We did a lot of that at the beginning of the shoot and it really helped established our dynamic both onscreen and off.”
A spin-off of the hit UK Primeval series, Primeval: New World has its own team of Vancouver-based Anomaly experts/investigators being led by Evan. Although she is busy handling the business and financial sides of Cross Photonics, Ange still interacts with the team involved in the companies “extra curricular” Anomaly-fighting activities.
“I haven’t had a chance to do too much yet with Sara Canning’s character of [predator expert] Dylan Weir,” says Frigon. “There are a couple of episodes where Ange and Dylan have scenes together, but behind the camera, Sara has become my new close buddy. She is amazing and I love her to death. When it comes to Sara’s character, Dylan is this new beautiful woman who is now Evan’s partner in this self-appointed mission he has taken on. So there’s what you might call some competitiveness between her and Ange and the two of them tend to keep one another at arm’s length, but at the same time I think they’ve found a camaraderie.
Ange Finch (Miranda Frigon) - sexy, smart and a loyal friend as well as a formidable business adversary. Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.
“With Toby Nance (Crystal Lowe), who builds all the gadgets that the team uses to find and analyze the Anomalies, Ange has always been the boss. Toby has a past and initially Ange didn’t think she was someone who she could take seriously. However, as the season goes on, my character realizes, ‘Wow, I have something in common with this girl. She’s committed to her work as well as driven and that’s something I see in me.’ So we find that connection between these two women and I’m so pleased that they’ve grown into that relationship. In fact, I shot some incredible stuff with Crystal yesterday and it was the first time the two of us had a solid, emotional scene together.
“Up to now [early July], Danny Rahim [security/firearms expert Mac Rendell] and I hadn’t had much to do on-set, but in the show’s two-part season finale [The Sound of Thunder, Part 1 & 2], Ange and Mac have a stand-off because he’s a strong individual with strong opinions. It’s nice to have some scenes with Danny. We were inseparable when we first met and the two of us have become really good friends.
“Last but not least there’s Ken Leeds [Geoff Gustafson], who’s the Canadian government liaison with Evan’s team, and his relationship with Ange is one of my favorites. Ken is quirky and bumbling, and the contrast to Ange’s strength and know-it-all boss lady attitude is quite amusing. We get some wonderful comedic moments out of that, and Geoff Gustafson is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. As the season continues to unfold, you’ll see that Ange and Ken become sort of equals. For example, she starts out telling him, ‘Get a haircut,’ or, ‘Don’t say this, don’t say that,’ but little by little they develop a new working relationship.”
There is a new and yet familiar face working on the Primeval: New World set today, none other than Louis Ferreira. The actor, probably best known to Sci-Fi TV fans as Colonel Everett Young on Stargate Universe, is guest-starring as Colonel Hall in the last three episodes of New World.
Ange (Miranda Frigon) in the season one episode "Undone." Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.
“Lou is awesome,” enthuses Frigon. “I’d never met him before, but we kind of got on with each other right away, which I think is important for my character. The dynamic between Colonel Hall and Ange is very neat; he likes her, she likes him, but they both have their own agenda. Lou and I shot some scenes already and we found some fun stuff to play between us, so that was great. He’s hilarious and a joy to work with.”
Although she admires her character’s strength and independence, Frigon is pleased to have been given the opportunity by New World writers to explore other facets of Ange’s personality.
“In our first five episodes we were establishing who these characters are,” notes the actress. “Ange is the boss and there’s a lot of, ‘Evan, get back to the office – we need this new prototype finished.’ However, in episode six [Clean Up On Aisle Three] you see a different side to Ange and a little more of her heart and vulnerability.
“Episode seven [Babes in the Woods] is another of my favorites because I got to take off my character’s high heels, put on a pair of sneakers and go out into the field where I was chased by dinosaurs. I ran my butt off when we shot that one,” she says with a chuckle. “Also, the writers wrote my martial arts into the story and, amongst other things, there’s a scene where Ange is working on a heavy bag with Evan. I was a gymnast as well as martial artist and prior to this, no show had ever written anything like that into the character I was playing, so I was very grateful for that.”
Miranda Frigon as Angelika "Ange" Finch. Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.
In addition to her acting, Frigon is also an accomplished singer/song writer and musician. She is currently working on her latest album, which will be officially released in 2013. Frigon writes music for film and TV as well and, in fact, two of her songs were played on Jake 2.0. Not one to sit still for very long, she also currently appears in the recurring role of Janice Wayne on the popular CBC series Heartland.
“My character is a horse jockey and romantically involved with Tim Fleming, a rack track owner played by Chris Potter,” says Frigon. “Janice stirs things up at the ranch and Tim’s daughters don’t like her. She’s a know-it-all, hard-nosed and kind of an antagonist, but an antagonist with a heart, which seems to be the theme at the moment with the characters I’m playing. She and Ange are rather similar, except we have dinosaurs here on Primeval and horses over on Heartland.”
Having had plenty of experience working on Sci-Fi projects over the years, what does Frigon enjoy most about the genre? “I like that it’s make-believe,” she muses. “It’s fun to create a fantasy world that wouldn’t otherwise exists in our reality, and one with heightened stakes, too, seeing that there’s usually some sort of outside force, whether it’s dinosaurs, monsters, time travel or whatever.
“The thing I enjoy most about the genre, though, is the fans. They’re so loyal and their support is what keeps the shows going. It’s the Sci-Fi fans who write me letters and ask for photos, and I love that.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photos copyright of Bell Media and SPACE, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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