Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Zero Chill’s Grace Beedie

Grace Beedie is scoring a perfect ten for her breakout role as figure skater Kayla MacBentley in Netflix’s Zero Chill. After her twin brother is recruited to play at a prestigious hockey academy overseas, Kayla must leave behind everything she knows.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Grace about Zero Chill, what it’s like starring in her first role as a series lead, and how she connected with her character.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Grace: I was in second grade and was asked to be in a school musical. At the time, you were picked from music class and had to solo. I can still remember the feeling of stepping onto my mark and looking at the pianist. I was about to sing and when I started doing it, I knew I had to do this forever.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Grace: I’d say my family. I’m the youngest of three, so I feel like I’ve always had people to look up to and to learn from. I’ve gotten to learn from a lot of people, and it has all helped me be a better storyteller because having empathy for people is what I do.

PC: Speaking of being a storyteller, you have a new series out now. Tell us about Zero Chill, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Grace: What drew me to this was the fact that I was a competitive figure skater myself. My agent texted me and he was like, “Hey, remind me what your skating experience is.” I was like, “Is there an audition where I have to skate?” He was like, “Yeah.” I was like, “Okay, I have to do this. I’m experienced in figure skating.”

Zero Chill is a coming-of-age story about Kayla MacBentley, who is the character that I play. She’s an aspiring figure skater whose twin brother is a very talented hockey player who gets recruited to play in the UK. As a result, Kayla has to leave her whole life in Canada and her skating partner behind, and start over as a fifteen-year-old, trying to find her way and herself in a new country.

PC: Not only are you the lead in this series, but this is also your first role as a series regular. Did you feel any pressure heading into this project? How did you prepare?
Grace: I did. I felt a sense of responsibility, but at the same time, I felt like I was able to handle it. I knew that I could skate and I had confidence in my acting ability. It really helped me go into this like, “This is something I’ve never done before, but it doesn’t mean I can’t do it.” So, I think bringing that in helped me prepare. I knew my mom and my dad were going to come visit me. I also had the support of my friends and people on my skating team growing up. That support really helped.

PC: Did anything surprise you about the experience? What’s been the biggest takeaway thus far?
Grace: I actually surprised myself with how much I was able to deal with, because like I said, I had no idea what it would be like. I was going to England. I’d never lived there before, and I’d never been a series regular. I was actually surprised with how I rose to the occasion and how I got it done.

PC: Your character has a lot of really interesting dynamics with the rest of the characters. Which was your favorite to explore in Season 1 and why?
Grace: I really loved exploring my relationship with Dakota [Taylor], who plays Mac, because neither of us are twins, but both of us really wanted to tell that story truthfully. I have friends who are twins, and it doesn’t come across as something that feels familiar; it can really put people off. Dakota and I really worked hard to try and tell an authentic story of two siblings who love each other but are also trying to find themselves, especially in their own family and how they’re constantly compared.

PC: If you had to describe the first season in a hashtag, what would it be?
Grace: That’s such a good question. Honestly, the first thing that I thought of was #zerochill, but that doesn’t make sense because it’s the name of the show, but it’s so fun. I’m going to say #nochill because there’s so much going on all the time. When we all first got the first episode and were reading it together, we closed it and were like, “How is that one episode?” It’s #jampacked.

PC: What are you most excited for fans to see? What do you hope they take away after seeing it?
Grace: I’m really excited to see two sports represented in a show and to also tell the story of a figure skater from a figure skater’s perspective—I don’t think that that’s something you find a lot. I hope that people leave the show feeling inspired to follow whatever it is that speaks to them, whether it’s figure skating or not, or whether it’s hockey or not. I think this show can really help people to connect with themselves and pursue whatever they want.

PC: It sounds like you and the cast got really close. How did you all build that bond so quickly?
Grace: Honestly, we all became friends instantly from the first dinner that we had together. Then, Dakota, Jade [Ma], and I took a train from London up to Sheffield. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour train ride and we talked the whole time. We started coming up with different storylines, like, “What about this relationship with this character? What would that be like?”

Honestly, we all got super close from training because we all skated together for nine weeks leading up to shooting. We’d get into the cab together every morning and go to work. Also, Jade and I were neighbors. All of us wanted to have true relationships on screen as well as off screen.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Grace: I don’t feel guilty about any of the shows that I watch. Oh my goodness—this isn’t a guilty pleasure, but I love Bridgerton. That’s one of my favorite shows. Alex Rider on Amazon Prime is also one of my favorite shows. Those are two great ones.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Grace: Devil Wears Prada.

PC: Favorite book?
Grace: Divergent.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Grace: Legally Blonde.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Grace: INXS.

To keep up with Grace, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Zero Chill today.

Photo Credit: Karolina Turek