Being a badass is hard on the body, according to Luvia Petersen.
“At the end of a day of shooting, I reach for Epsom salts and a glass of wine,” said Petersen, who has portrayed 2077 terrorist Jasmine Garza on Continuum since the time travel procedural premiered in 2012.
“That’s my cure.”
As the hard-edged Garza, the Vancouver-based actress has reveled in beats made famous by actresses such as Linda Hamilton, Kate Mulgrew, and Sigourney Weaver: ferocity, independence, self-reliance, ass-kicking.
“It is tough on the body, but I love it,” she says.
Petersen’s adeptness at ass-kicking hasn’t gone unnoticed by her peers. Petersen is a nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series at the Canadian Screen Awards — one of the few acting nominations for a production filmed west of the Rockies.
The awards will be handed out this week in Toronto.
Petersen is still trying to come to terms with the attention.
“It would be so much easier if I was talking about myself in the third person,” she said, laughing. “Like, ‘There’s this actress I know, she’s been working really hard for 10 years and she’s being recognized and it’s a crazy experience for her but she’s going to go, enjoy the experience, and probably come back the exact same person that she was when she left, but her face will be tired from all of the smiling.’”
Petersen — who is co-owner of Liquid Amber Tattoo on Powell Street — will walk the CSA red carpet in style, her girlfriend on her arm. “I’m really lucky because I live above a woman who is in the film industry, and she’s agreed to dress me,” said Petersen. “I don’t know what that means, but I think I’m in good hands.”
The Canadian Screen Awards gala will be broadcast on CBC on March 9. Petersen is up against Cheri Maracle (Blackstone), Claudia Black (Haven), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Orphan Black) and Priscilla Faia (Rookie Blue.)
Continuum returns to Showcase for its third season March 16 (psst: if you’re a fan of Continuum and/or of the fan-dubbed Grand Empress of Sci-Fi, you won’t want to miss next week’s Reel People).
