Tag Archives: Melanie Scrofano

Dani Kind sounds off on her memorable Wynonna Earp and Workin’ Moms roles

Just how tight were lips on the set of Wynonna Earp during Melanie Scrofano’s pregnancy? So tight that Dani Kind read fake scripts when she was auditioning for the role of Mercedes Gardner.

“They wrote these fake sides for Mercedes … she was even named something else,” Kind tells us on the line from Toronto. “She was this character who owned a bar with her brother and her brother was this big sleaze. She ended up handing her brother his own ass.” And while we’d love to have seen that project come to light, we’re loving Kind’s real role on Wynonna, that of Mercedes Gardner. A fellow former bad girl of Purgatory, Mercedes has evolved from real estate baron to flesh-eating monster after being possessed. Now Mercedes and Beth (Meghan Heffern) have captured two of three seals, meaning the future of the world is in jeopardy.

We spoke to Kind about Wynonna Earp, the role of Anne, the wonderfully caustic, heartbreaking character she plays on CBC’s Workin’ Moms and … playing Tori Spelling’s stand-in!?

We were delayed a bit in our chat because you were going through some wig fittings. I guess that’s for Season 2 of Workin’ Moms?
Dani Kind: Yes! It’s crazy. It feels like it’s come around so fast. I got two months off working on Workin’ Moms and then I booked the Wynonna job. And then I got two months off from Wynonna and I get to go back to Workin’ Moms.

I couldn’t let our chat go by without asking you about a credit on your IMDB page. It says you were a stand-in for Tori Spelling in Mind Over Murder?
[Laughs.] I was. I grew up in Ottawa and there is a production company there that just pumps out movies of the week. That’s kind of where I started. I got some parts and some lead roles. I was kicking around in Ottawa doing jobs and one of them was to be her stand-in for two movies. She asked me to come back for the second movie that she ended up coming and doing. She’s amazing. She was the coolest chick and has the greatest sense of humour. I know she has a whole celebrity image and stuff, but I was like, ‘I could hang with her.’ She has the exact same potty humour as me.

How did you score the role of Anne on Workin’ Moms?
I did a self-tape audition and then got a call that [creator and showrunner] Catherine [Reitman] had gone back to L.A. after doing some casting in Toronto. They asked me to do a callback Skype session with them in L.A., so I did another audition with them over Skype. Then, I flew out to L.A. to do a chemistry read. There were a bunch of women all reading for several parts. Then they called a few weeks later and said I’d gotten the part.

Did Workin’ Moms open the door for you to play Mercedes on Wynonna Earp or did you still have to audition?
I still auditioned. I went in to see casting, but the sides were totally different because everything was so locked down about Melanie [Scrofano] being pregnant. They wrote these fake sides for Mercedes … she was even named something else. She was this character who owned a bar with her brother and her brother was this big sleaze. She ended up handing her brother his own ass. I reamed him out during one scene and I felt great about the audition. The sides they wrote were so great. I got a call later saying I’d gotten the part, but I had no idea I’d be on as much as I’ve been on. I thought I’d only be on a couple of episodes.

It’s so awesome that you auditioned using fake sides.
I know! I got the [real] script and I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, what’s happening?’ Also, for the longest time, Mel didn’t look pregnant. She’s one of those women who turn around and you’d like, ‘Wait, what?! You’re pregnant?!’ She was so stunning and her body is so petite. I actually had people on-set talk to me and some of them thought she was wearing a fake belly.

How ironic is it you’re on two shows featuring pregnant women?
I know! And, when I got pregnant, I was asked what I was going to do. Everyone is so scared they’re going to lose their jobs and careers. It’s so not the case.

Before Mercedes was possessed, I really liked her attitude and not caring what people thought of her.
You don’t see men apologizing for chicks that they’ve slept with. There is so much about male characters on TV that women have had to identify with for so long and now it’s being shown that, ‘No, we’re three-dimensional human beings who also sleep around and get drunk and have fun and it’s cool.’ It’s so refreshing and so great.

Is it a bit of a challenge to play a character enrobed in black with your face obscured? You have to use body language instead of your face.
I had a lot of questions for Emily as we were shooting and she was like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know!’ I think that, per episode, I was finding her. We all were. As wardrobe was, as hair and makeup was. Thank God for my acting coaches because they really helped me. This is super-specific work and when you’re working in sci-fi, you have to ask questions and just try stuff out.

Is it important to have answers to questions when you’re playing a role?
I do, especially for a character who is as complicated as this one. And, especially because I thought I was playing Mercedes and would be playing Mercedes all season. And then I find out I’m a different character. I grilled Emily as much as I could, and that really helped. Workin’ Moms is a little bit different because I don’t have to but up Catherine’s ass about Anne because there is so much about Anne that I understand and love. And because Catherine has been so smart about the way she writes it, I can see all of the characters in her. And then it’s just about getting really personal with myself and asking the tough questions.

Let’s close out talking a bit about Workin’ Moms. Anne is such a wonderful, galvanizing character. She made a tough decision to have an abortion last season.
You do see abortion storylines on TV, but it’s a woman who is hard done by or finds herself in this situation. They’re never portrayed as anything positive, it’s always associated with some negative thing. What I didn’t know is that one of the top percentages of women who get abortions are married women with children. I didn’t know that. Catherine was so graceful about the storyline at the beginning of the season. She asked me about it and wanted to check in and see if I could represent it. I said, ‘Absolutely.’ The way she wrote it was so beautiful but also, ‘Yes, of course, this is a decision that [Anne and Lionel] would make together as a couple.’ It just made sense and I felt really proud to tell that storyline.

Did you feel like, when you were in production on Season 1, you had something special?
There were moments when a camera woman or someone in the props department would be emotional during a scene. There was stuff happening that, especially for a comedy, that felt really grounded. Everything felt so real and Catherine was so specific in her choices about cast and crew … it really starts from the top and trickles down. I want to do everything I can to make this dream of her what she wants it to be.

You were incredibly active on social media during Season 1 of Workin’ Moms.
I just think it’s cool if somebody tweets about the show. Some people ask me stuff … why wouldn’t I respond? People are being incredibly kind and are genuinely invested in it. We put a lot of work into the show—Workin’ Moms and Wynonna Earp—and I feel like that interaction makes a lot of sense.

Wynonna Earp airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

Season 2 of Workin’ Moms is in production now. Season 1 is being rebroadcast on Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBC.

Workin’ Moms images courtesy of CBC.

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Wynonna Earp sounds off: A conversation with Melanie Scrofano

Anyone who has access to social media—and fans of Wynonna Earp do—knows the Season 2 return episode previews have been fantastic. Count us in on the praise-heaping. Showrunner Emily Andras and her writing team have advanced the plot—Super-creepy new monsters! A laboratory! New characters!—while keeping our core of favourites intact.

And while Friday’s first episode—”Steel Bars and Stone Walls,” airing at 10 p.m. ET on Space—is full of snark, fights and The Peacemaker, there are quiet moments too. When we catch up with Wynonna, Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), Haught (Katherine Barrell) and Doc (Tim Rozon), they’re plotting to save Dolls from the clutches of Agent Lucado (Kate Drummond). With the curse stronger than ever, Black Badge intrigue, gobs of goo still hanging around, and new evils to contend with, Season 2 is going to be jam-packed.

We spoke to Melanie Scrofano for some help sorting it all out.

I’m really loving the tone of Season 2 so far. Friday’s return, “Steel Bars and Stone Walls,” features plenty of slow-motion hair flipping and strutting.
Melanie Scrofano: Really?! Already? Oh, I do. I DO.

As an actress, forget about the lines written … is it hard to get the hair flip just right?
MS: No, because there is so much hair and none of it is mine. I’m just trying to, like, ‘Get off!’ I’m so used to doing that in real life. Sometimes I just do it, and other times in the script it will say, ‘Super, sexy, hair porn.’ Something like that, but better, because it’s Emily.

There is so much to address in Season 2. First is the goo that was absorbed into Waverly. Anything you can say about the goo at this point?
MS: The thing about goo is … [looks at network publicist] … it just goos up your life. You just never know how long it will be in your life.

I not going to spoil anything about Friday’s first episode, but we do get a little more background into Dolls and why Lucado [Kate Drummond] feels the way she does towards him. Can you comment?
MS: It’s safe to say Dolls has got a lot more complexity than any of us realize and it will also play to our strengths as a team. It definitely makes things harder and he has a lot to deal with on his own. Just like Wynonna kind of sucks at the beginning at her job, but the things that are a mess about her, like her instinct rather than being polished, is what gives the team its edge. I think we can say it’s the same with Dolls.

Where is Wynonna’s state of mind at the beginning of Season 2? Her attitude suggests she thinks she’s a pretty big deal.
MS: Given everything that happened at the end of Season 1 and the mountain she’s up against, she’s puffing out her chest and is going, ‘I don’t know if I can do this, but I have to.’ Part of the reason everything is so fast-paced is because she can’t slow down to think because she’ll have a meltdown if she thinks about what she’s done and what’s happened.


Wynonna doesn’t have time to choose. She’s like, ‘Boys are important and everything, but I have to save the world! So, sorry for your feelings, and I’m going to do my best but I’ve got a job to do.’


There’s a lot going on in the first episode back. The team is going after Dolls, so we’re introduced to a new setting in the lab and a couple of new characters and new monsters.
MS: Any monsters that we come across don’t just come and go. They are all tied together in some way.

There is also one heck of a fight between Wynonna and another character. How long does it take to choreograph and film a fight scene?
MS: They take all day, and you see them on the schedule and you want to go home. Usually, you don’t have a lot of time to prepare for them and they’re messy. It adds a nice energy to it because you’re phrenetic and you hope that you don’t actually connect and actually punch somebody. Those scenes are very intricate, there are so many pieces, and then you have to land your marks and sell the punches. The scene in Episode 1 probably took six to eight hours.

Who’s the stunt coordinator?
MS: Steve McMichael. He’s incredible. Don’t tell him this, but he could poison my oatmeal and we would have him back for Season 4 because he’s just so good!

One thing that was teased by Emily, and Tim Rozon told me for an upcoming podcast, is the dynamic of having characters in different pairs this season.
MS: Everybody is affected differently by the curse. Wynonna and Officer Haught didn’t work much together last season, so it was interesting to see how that relationship evolved and I found it really fun and touching. I really loved that one. It was interesting to see different perspectives on the curse.

I also get the sense there’s going to be more regarding the love/affection triangle between Wynonna, Dolls and Doc.
MS: Wynonna doesn’t have time to choose. She’s like, ‘Boys are important and everything, but I have to save the world! So, sorry for your feelings, and I’m going to do my best but I’ve got a job to do.’ I like that aspect of it. She doesn’t want to be harsh, but at the same time, the clock is ticking.

Wynonna Earp airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

Image courtesy of Space.

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Link: Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano tackles a new challenge

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano tackles a new challenge
Come January, Wynonna Earp actress Melanie Scrofano will be able to add a new title to her name, that of comic book author. Just like costar Tim Rozon (who plays Doc Holliday), the star of the Syfy series is co-authoring two issues of the Wynonna Earp Legends comic books. She will be writing the issues with Wynonna Earp creator Beau Smith, who has written the character for 20 years. Continue reading.

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Link: Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano previews a finale that will test sisterly bonds

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano previews a finale that will test sisterly bonds
“ I think Wynonna is, as with everything, blissfully unaware. She’s a bit self involved so there’s a few things that might be right in front of her, where as I think Waverly is more in tune with things and has a really good instinct. The last time Wynonna saw Willa she was a pure innocent child, so to her there’s no way that girl could be anything but 100 per cent good, whereas Waverly never quite knew her the same way and wasn’t as close. It is definitely a shock to Wynonna.” Continue reading.

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Wynonna Earp invades Canada in snarky style

After filling up my Twitter feed during its Friday debut on Syfy, Wynonna Earp debuted Monday in Canada on CHCH. One of the interesting things I read during the social media barrage was the comparison folks have made between Wynonna Earp and the dearly-departed Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I certainly get the comparison, and showrunner Emily Andras has mentioned Wynonna and the beloved Buffy in the same sentence. I didn’t watch Buffy at all, so I didn’t have that as a reference during Monday’s debut. Instead, I went in with clear eyes and ready to judge Wynonna on her own merits.

I was very, very impressed. It takes less than a minute to learn Wynonna is headed back to her hometown via bus for her uncle Curtis’ funeral. Moments later, the bus has broken down, a silly girl has ventured into the woods for a pee and Wynona’s unique abilities—and family history—are called upon. She’s the great-great-granddaughter of legendary gunslinger Wyatt Earp and she is fully capable of kicking demon derriere. Good thing, because there are a lot of them; those who Wyatt killed during his time have returned from the dead and Wynonna—with help from sister Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley)—must return the red-eyed beasties from whence they came.

Based on the IDW graphic novels by Beau Smith, the only holdover is Wynonna. Andras and her team concocted the supporting players in Waverly, Agent Dolls (Shamier Anderson), a head demon named Bobo Del Rey (Michael Eklund) and Wyatt’s one-time best bud, Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon). Those players, set in the backwater burg of Purgatory, gives Andras plenty to play with. I watch a lot of television. So much that, as my family can attest, I can often guess what the next line of dialogue or action will be. I couldn’t do that with Wynonna Earp because I never knew what the hell was going to come out of their mouths or what they were going to do next. Wynonna asking if her aunt if her uncle’s body was “intact,” using the promise of coitus as a way to question a ranch hand about Curtis’ death, and a demon literally holding another’s tongue are just three of many snicker-worthy moments.

The pilot episode of a series is usually the weakest because so much needs to be crammed in with regard to the characters and main story, but I didn’t find that here. By the episode’s closing moments viewers picked up Wyatt’s gun, now in Wynonna’s possession, is the only thing that can send them back to hell and they want it. Wynonna can deliver roundhouse kicks with a little extra on them, and Agent Dolls has enlisted Wynonna as a member of his black badge division of the U.S. Marshals to investigate the unexplained. Also? Waverly and Wynonna are quickly becoming a one-two punch in demon-bashing badassery. I’m looking forward to more.

Wynonna Earp airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CHCH.

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