Pop Culturalist Chats with Genevieve Buechner

Hailing from Canada (like so many other wonderful actors in Hollywood), Genevieve Buechner has been acting since she was a child. Beginning her career with a much-lauded role in the independent film Saint Monica, Genevieve continued working in a variety of indie films, larger Hollywood movies, and televisions shows (like The CW’s popular show, The 100).

At the moment, you can find Genevieve every week on the addictively wonderful television series, UnREAL. Last year, Lifetime swept critics away when they premiered, UnREAL; it is a show based on reality dating shows that pulls back the curtain to reveal manipulation, deceit, sexism, and much more. Since it’s premiere, it’s only grown in popularity. So, Pop Culturalist was excited to chat with Genevieve Buechner, who plays UnREAL‘s delightfully awkward PA turned producer, Madison.

UnReal Questions

PC: What attracted you to audition for UnREAL?
Genevieve: I was attracted to Madison’s character because she is a quirky and awkward character. I knew it would be a super fun part to portray, and I was right! Madison is very entertaining to play.

PC: The show was created by women and has such strong female leads—a coup considering Hollywood is still very much a male-dominated industry. What is it like working on a female-driven show?
Genevieve: It’s amazing. It’s super fun to work with so many incredible women who are so strong-willed and open-minded. I’ve never worked on anything with such a high percentage of female cast and crew, and, so far, it’s been excellent. Also, having these awesome women working on this show has attracted men who are all wonderfully respectful. Everyone on this show treats each other as equals in their fields. It’s very refreshing.

PC: Your character, Madison, has such an interesting arc on the show from last season to now. In season 1, people pushed her aside or didn’t think of her as much. At the start of this season, Rachel coached her in producing girls in this really great scene where Madison is crying, trying to get Chantal to break on camera, and you think Madison is upset about being conniving, but, really, she relished it. Has Madison actually changed, or do you think she has just always been underestimated and misjudged?
Genevieve: I think it’s a little bit of both. Madison is definitely going through some changes, but at the same time she did want to be a producer on the show for a reason. I think it was always in her, but she was never given the opportunity to show it.

PC: What was your favorite scene to shoot?
Genevieve: Every scene. It’s so hard to pick! I really enjoy doing the scenes where Madison is being somewhat cynical. I also really loved every scene with Madison and Jay. I feel like they gave them some really fun moments together.

PC: If Madison were one of the contestants on the show, what would Quinn et al label her (i.e. “Wifey”, “The Racist”, etc.)?
Genevieve: The stupid one. Miss clueless. Pigtails. Braids McGee. Something like that for sure! Madison isn’t contestant material–unless she revamped her hair, wardrobe, makeup, and personality.

Career Questions

PC: What has been the hardest part about growing up and trying to make a career in acting?
Genevieve: The constant rejection for things out of your control–that’s the hardest part for me. Being told you were great, but they didn’t like your eye color or smile is always awful. I’m used to it now, but that was a very difficult thing to deal with as a kid. It was hard to understand and very discouraging at times. I think it gets easier to handle knowing that it isn’t necessarily a personal thing.

PC: What is your dream role?
Genevieve: I really loved working on sci-fi roles; it’s really exciting. I’ve never had the chance to work on any time period or fantasy roles. I would love to play someone evil in a fantasy world with crazy costumes and sets! I love that whole side of the industry, and I haven’t had too many chances to be involved yet. ONE DAY I WILL!

PC: Is there any other aspect of the industry that you’d like to try someday?
Genevieve: I was recently lucky enough to work on a Jim Henson film, Turkey Hollow. [That] actually kind of leads back to the dream role question because that absolutely was a dream of mine. Jim Henson movies were a huge part of my childhood and a massive part of why I wanted to be an actor. The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth were some of my favorite movies. Working with puppets was a dream of mine for most of my life. So, maybe [I’d also try] puppeteering. I had no idea how much work it was until I got to watch them in person. Bonus fact: I immediately started crying when the puppeteers and puppets were wrapped!

PC: If you weren’t acting, what would you be doing?
Genevieve: I would most likely be in culinary school. I wish I could do both, but culinary school is so intense and there’s no way I would be able to do acting at the same time.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Are there any bands or artists on your playlist that people would be surprised to find?
That’s a tough one. I listen to quite a variety of music. My dad is a musician, Geoff Berner, so my siblings and I grew up listening to everything. The only music I don’t really listen to is pop… the type of music that is played on the radio in every store over and over… I find it very dull. I am going to see Sigur Ros in September, and I’m very excited about that!

Favorite play or musical?
Cats was a favorite of mine as a child. I went as Victoria for Halloween one year when I was little. Now I’m not so sure. Sadly I haven’t had the opportunity to see much theater. Book of Mormon does make me laugh. The last musical I saw was Wicked.

Guilty pleasure movie or TV show?
I feel no guilt for anything I watch! Nobody should! I watch a lot of children’s movies. They just make me happy. I don’t care if I’m an adult–I go to children’s movies at the theater all the time.

Favorite Book?
This isn’t fair. How on earth am I supposed to pick only one? I read a lot. Here’s a very small list: The Lord of the Rings books will always have a special place in my heart, Fight Club, Rant, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, and The Sandman series. This list could go on forever.

Make sure to follow Genevieve on Twitter and Instagram!

Photo Credit: Kyla Hemmelgarn