Canada's Vampiress
By Katherine Monk, Canwest News ServiceMarch 20, 2009 11:02 AM
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Canada+Vampiress/1409722/story.html

Rachelle Lefevre doesn't want to sound like a walking cliche, but she really is "over the moon" these days thanks to the imminent start of New Moon, the latest instalment in Stephanie Meyer's 'tweener vampire sensation.'

Lefevre landed the role of "evil vampire Victoria" in the original Twilight, and come March 23, she'll be back on the west coast when camera goes up on the new movie's Vancouver shoot.

Lefevre likes working in her home and native land. Born and raised in Montreal as the daughter of an English teacher and psychologist, Lefevre has a long resume that includes smaller parts in U.S. and Canadian episodics, but it's her role in Twilight - which hits DVD March 21 - and the forthcoming New Moon that really set her star aflame.

Even though Victoria doesn't occupy large swaths of screen time, Lefevre says she's been enjoying the best of both worlds since she faced down Kristen Stewart's Bella Swan in a rogue baseball match.

"I don't even feel famous," Lefevre says from her home in Los Angeles. "And that's good. I feel like I'm a part of something with a huge fan base and that's entirely different. It's not about me at all. It's about the work that Stephenie Meyer created, so while I may be photographed at a Twilight party, I'm not stopped on the streets of Los Angeles."

Lefevre says she still has her own life, and her own privacy, and she's smart and wise enough to know just how valuable those intangibles are.

"The way I look at it is that I don't have to experience any of the downs that famous people have. I can hang out with my new puppy and my boyfriend, play Wii tennis, and be a real person."

Lefevre's insight into the empty vessel of fame is the result of her grounded upbringing with well-adjusted and educated parents, as well as her Canadian identity, she says.

"I'm not criticizing the States at all. But when you're raised in Canada, you're brought up with a different appreciation of difference. We have the mosaic model instead of embracing this general trend of assimilation - where people are encouraged to believe in the same things," she says.

"I was taught to be inquisitive about people and to respect their uniqueness."

When you realize everyone is different, and everyone has intrinsic social value, Lefevre says the drive for fame loses its urgency because the need to stand out from the uniform masses disappears.

The other upside of her Canadian upbringing relates directly to her craft.

Lefevre says acting demands a surrender of self, and a desire to explore the other perspectives and value systems - two ideals built right into the Canadian experience.

"I remember when we were shooting the big vampire baseball game, and I had this impulse to run my fingers down Nikki Reed's leg - like a creepy bug. I didn't do it on the first take because I thought about it too much and censored myself," says Lefevre, who actually wrote Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke a letter explaining her long-standing vampire fixation and her deep desire for the role.

"We learn to suppress negative impulses, which is good - unless you're playing an evil vampire. Victoria does not censor herself, so it's been really liberating to play a character who just says what's she's feeling."

Lefevre says she even solicited her psychologist mother for some professional advice on the symptoms of various psychoses.

"I wanted Victoria to be playful and powerful, but not a sociopath. There's no pathology to her evil. I think she's just an example of what happens when you have absolute power: It corrupts absolutely," she says.

"And let's face it: If you were more powerful than every other person on the planet, you'd start looking at everyone else as inferior beings. Victoria also sees humans as food, too, which doesn't help with the empathy."

Victoria's role gets a little heftier in New Moon as she seeks to avenge Bella Swan for the death of her lover, James, but Lefevre says it's not about the cumulative screen time. She just feels lucky to be a part of such a great project.

"I've been fascinated by vampires for a long time," says Lefevre.

Immortality and the ability to outwit death is appealing to any mere mortal, but the real attraction behind New Moon and the entire Twilight saga is epic romance, says Lefevre.

"When you're in your teens and tweens, you don't really understand all these strange feelings that you have. One year, a boy beats up on you. The next year, he gives you butterflies and you think he's cute," says Lefevre.

"Sure, (vampirism) is about sexuality, but these books help young people explore that sexuality in a safe way."

The other attraction is plain as day: "The dark side can be fascinating. And for Bella and Edward, there is no happily ever after," says Lefevre. "In that way, the series is a lot like real life."

Twilight hits DVD March 20. New Moon is tentatively slated for a November 2009 release.