Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Lauren McCann

Lauren McCann is making the transition from the classroom to the screen. The former elementary school teacher taught her students to always play, explore, and dream, and she’s taking those life lessons and applying them to her craft. We recently spoke with Lauren to learn more about her journey into the industry, creating her own opportunities, and how she’s fighting against being typecast in her new project, Girl Boxer.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Lauren: It began when I was very young. I started oil painting lessons when I was seven years old. My love of studio arts continued with my heading into CEGEP, a two-year preparatory college/university program unique to Quebec, where I received a degree in studio arts. My undergraduate degree was in education, and I later went on to get my master’s degree in art education while teaching. I pursued a PhD where I researched how the arts can enhance young children’s early literacy skills.

I have always been aware of the beauty of the world—the simple details that we may overlook. That plastic bag scene from American Beauty—I feel that and see that all the time. And as a teacher, I love human connection and living moments with others. In the past, I relived these moments in art class, painting. Today acting and directing have taken over and come to me naturally.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Lauren: I question the wording of “career.” [laughs] But I know I am where I am supposed to be at this moment in time. I believe I will have an acting/filmmaking career. It is simply a question of the right moment with the right project. It is very difficult for me to name one person who has influenced my career. All the teachers, advisors, coaches, friends, and family members who simply support me in the decisions and choices I make have helped me get where I am today. No one is able to accomplish large tasks alone, and if you can find people that raise you, you can’t ask for more.

PC: You’re a former kindergarten teacher. How has that transition been, going from education to the arts?
Lauren: Easy. If you ask any teacher, they will tell you that teaching is an art in itself. I make the comparison to teaching and acting very often. As a teacher, especially one of young children, you must always live in the moment. Sure, you have a plan as to what should happen, but you never know with kids! You have to stay open and truthful with them or they will see right through you. You have to have natural reactions to anything that comes your way. This is very similar to scene work as an actor. You will have an idea of where the scene is going, but if you are living in the moment and not playing what you believe should happen, you can discover beautiful things about the human condition and the relationships of the characters.

I also believe teaching has helped me develop my ideas about directing. Having directed only one project, it is obviously still growing. When you are an educator, you have a common goal for your class to achieve, but with thirty different individuals and personalities in your group, the approach you take with each student will be different depending on their needs and who they are as a person. Classroom management works much like a film set with a cast and crew looking to create a movie together. Each individual must be approached in a different manner. When I was a teacher, my goal was always to have my students love school. I wanted them to feel safe and cared for. If I was able to create an environment where they felt free to take chances with their learning, play openly, and want to come back the next day, I felt I had done my job. This is the idea I hold with me going into any project as a director.

PC: What was the biggest lesson you learned teaching young children that you’ve been able to apply to your career?
Lauren: To continue to play, explore, and dream. When you are with young children, you see how these three elements are a continued part of their lives. As adults, we are quick to forget. I have the ability to be childlike—a distinction from being childish.

PC: You’re also a mother of two. Is that ever a challenge to balance? How do you do it?
Lauren: Yes! [laughs] They say it takes a village, but I have a city. I have wheeled a stroller with a two-month-old into my agent’s office and run to auditions and back. Friends have met me outside of doors and walked one or two kids—depends on the school day—around the block. I don’t have regular help with the kids, and with our families living outside of the US, we make our family around us.

Also, if you want work done, ask a mom. When the baby naps, I know I have about an hour and a half to get my work in, so the blinders are on and I push through until the final moments. I wrote the first draft of Girl Boxer during one of those nap times! Setting realistic goals, making a schedule, and trying as best I can to stick to it helps move things on.

PC: Tell us about Girl Boxer and the inspiration behind the film.
Lauren: It started with the dichotomy I have as an actor between my “type” and who I am in real life. I am a former teacher and a mother of two, but as far as casting and “type” goes, I play hard, calculated, often criminal women. I wanted to play a role where a woman is seen at times as soft and nurturing but also strong, hard, and cold if needed.

These roles do not come around often, so I wrote one myself—the antihero but a woman. Since the age of about eight, I have been a fan of boxing/fighting movies. I have wonderful memories of sitting with my dad on the floor and watching Rocky. Even though it is aggressive and bloody, it is also beautiful at the same time. I am a big Guy Ritchie fan, and his dark, sharp esthetic appeals to me. I mixed all these ingredients and made myself a TV pilot!

PC: You also have some additional projects attached to your name. Is there anything you can tell us about these?
Lauren: Just before the world went on lockdown, I wrapped on my first feature film called The Mantle, where I play Lucifer. The breakdown was asking for a large man. Because there are few roles for women with this absolute sense of power, I often will look through breakdowns for men, and who is more powerful than the devil herself?

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Lauren: I watched Jersey Shore Season 1 as I was working full time in the classroom and then attending doctorate classes at night full time. After a workday, I needed to be fed something that did not have me think. My husband used to say, “My future doctor of a wife is losing her IQ slowly each minute!” [laughs]

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Lauren: I love Mary Poppins.

PC: Favorite book?
Lauren: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Lauren: Come From Away, proud Canadian.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Lauren: I have an eclectic taste in music. As a family, we blast music and clean the house. The songs range from Metallica, Parliament Funkadelic, or Wilson Pickett. Maybe people would be surprised to find old ska and reggae. I hung around the ska revival scene back in the day.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Lauren: Elizabeth Moss or Margot Robbie.

To keep up with Lauren, follow her on Instagram.

Photo Credit: Ed Shin/span>