Emmanuelle Vaugier as The Morrigan in the season four Lost Girl episode "Let The Dark Times Roll." Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
In the real world there is a constant battle between good and evil, and the same holds true in the fictional TV world. On the popular Canadian-made supernatural drama series Lost Girl, the two forces locked in this centuries-old conflict are known as the Light and Dark Fae. Leading the local Dark Fae community is Evony Fleurette Marquise a.k.a. The Morrigan. This sexy brunette beauty has the ability to melt and dissolve flesh with a single touch and delights in ruling with a proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. When the Lost Girl producers were looking for an actress to slip into The Morrigan’s stilettoes, they turned to the charming Emmanuelle Vaugier.
“It was a fortunate situation and one where I felt quite flattered,” says Vaugier. “They came to me with the role. So I took a look at the script to see what it was that I had to do as well as if it was something I wanted to do and if I enjoyed the character, and it was all three. It sounded like a really fun role, so I said, ‘Yes,’ and that was the beginning of it all. Originally I was only supposed to be in a few episodes, but it’s turned into many more over four seasons – maybe a fifth, who knows – and it’s really been quite an amazing journey.”
The Morrigan makes her Lost Girl debut in the show’s opening episode It’s a Fae, Fae, Fae, Fae World. When the Fae become aware of a succubus named Bo (Anna Silk), the two factions want the extraordinarily powerful Fae to pledge her allegiance to one side or the other. The Morrigan reluctantly agrees to work with The Ash (Cle Bennett), leader of the Light Fae, and force Bo to align herself. They put her to the test in a fight to the death at an abandoned glass factory, but the outcome is far from what they are expecting. Vaugier chuckles when looking back at shooting her first episode.
The Morrigan (Emmanuelle Vaugier) - up to no good! Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
“I’ll never forget the glass factory in Hamilton [Ontario, Canada],” she says. “We were filming there at night in February. There’s no heating and it was colder inside that structure than it was outside, which is saying a lot. I was in a dress and there’s only so much layering you can do under a dress without it looking like you’re the Michelin man,” jokes the actress. “So that was an interesting first episode that had me rethinking the whole choice of whether or not I really wanted to do this, especially if it was going to be freezing like this all the time, but it was all worth it in the end.
“As far as the character itself, there wasn’t a whole lot of backstory on The Morrigan in the beginning. The show’s producers and writers had no idea where the character was going and no one had any idea that it was going to turn into what it is now. At the start, I think the toughest challenge for me was not playing her as a caricature and some evil mustache-twirling type of villain. She has to be likeable and there has to be something somewhat human about her that makes you love her even though you hate her.
“Initially, The Morrigan was much more of a figurehead for the Dark Fae, but over time, she’s formed alliances and love/hate-type relationships. You’ve witnessed her in weaker moments as well as her stronger moments and you’ve definitely had the opportunity to see more of her vulnerability. The Morrigan has become a very dynamic character and this [fourth] season we’re going to find out more about her past. The storylines on Lost Girl have sort of broadened and deepened and in the process you’re learning a great deal more about how far The Morrigan’s reach is into everyone’s world.”
The Morrigan (Emmanuelle Vaugier) conducts a little business (before pleasure). Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
Both the Light and Dark Fae were deeply disappointed to say the least when Bo chose to remain neutral and not join either side. Throughout the first three seasons of Lost Girl, she risked her life to help others and fight the darker supernatural forces of the world she comes from. She continues to do so in the show’s fourth year with the help of humans Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) and Dr. Lauren Lewis (Zoie Palmer) as well as Fae allies including Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried), Hale (K.C. Collins) and, much to her surprise, Vex (Paul Amos), a sadomasochist Dark Fae who has the power to control the actions of others. He and Bo, in particular, have become thorns in The Morrigan’s side while providing Vaugier with some wonderful onscreen sparring partners.
“Vex and The Morrigan have a very interesting relationship and it’s that love/hate thing where she needs him to a certain degree,” explains the actress. “She can’t get rid of him and I don’t think anyone who watches the show would want us to because he’s so fabulous. When it comes to my character’s relationship with Bo, they start to get closer and form a kind of alliance, which you see in season three. Then, however, Bo double-crosses her and they’re back to where they started. She trusted Bo and let her guard down, and now The Morrigan has to build herself back up. No one messes with her and she has to go back to The Morrigan as we saw her prior to her moment of weakness with Bo.
While there may be some ill will between Vex and The Morrigan as well as Bo and The Morrigan, there is no such animosity behind the cameras.
“Paul Amos and I just laugh out butts off most of the time when we’re together,” admits Vaugier. “He happened to be in London last October at the same time as the MCM Expo [Comic Con], so he came by to see me, Ksenia, Rachel Skarsten [Tamsin] and [Lost Girl executive producer] Jay Firestone and we were like a group of five-year-olds. Paul is such a hoot to hang out with on-set as well as off-set, and then Anna Silk is such a sweetheart and a lot of fun to work with, too. All the Lost Girl castmembers have a terrific rapport with each other and we really get along as people, so whenever we do get to work together we have a great time,” she enthuses.
(L-R): Bo (Anna Silk), Vex (Paul Amos) and The Morrigan (Emmanuelle Vaugier). Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
In addition to being a Dark Fae, The Morrigan is also a leaman sidhe, which means she has the ability to absorb the talents of others. She operates in the human world under the guise of a talent agent and uses the monetary gains from any acquired talents to finance her own dark agenda. The Morrigan continues to exploit humans along with Fae in season four of Lost Girl, beginning in the episode Lovers, Apart. Not wanting to spoil things for those fans that have yet to watch the episode, she hints at what viewers can expect.
“There were just as many shockers for me when I read the script, so I think that the audience will hopefully be very pleased,” says the actress. “I was really excited about the path that they had taken The Morrigan and, again, her new interactions and relationships with different characters. There are so many possibilities with her and they really opened up my character’s world this season. You get to see more of who she is as a person as opposed to just the leader of the Dark Fae. My only complaint is that I wanted to see even more, just because I like working on the show so much. I was absolutely pleased with The Morrigan’s storyline and if we go for a fifth season I’m extremely curious to see how it further develops.”
Vaugier can be seen as Mary Magdalene opposite Lost Girl’s Kris Holden-Ried (as Jordan) and Copper’s Kyle Schmid (as Saul) in the upcoming film Saul: The Journey to Damascus. From comedy to drama, the actress has had the opportunity to stretch her acting muscles in a variety of projects throughout her career, and Lost Girl gives her with yet another outlet in which to showcase her talents.
The Morrigan (Emmanuelle Vaugier) surrounded by her entourage in the season four episode "Let The Dark Times Roll." Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
“One of the things I like the most about the fantasy genre is that you get away with a lot more,” she says. “You can be bigger and bolder; you can really do no wrong as long as you stay within the parameters of the world that you’re in, but it’s a made-up world, which means there are no rules, or very few, and therefore so much more room in which to play.”
Steve Eramo
Season four of Lost Girl airs in Canada on the Showcase Network on Sundays @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST and in the States on Syfy, Mondays (beginning January 13th) @ 8:00 p.m. EST/PST. As noted above, all photos copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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