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Standing in for Gracepoint stars is full-time job for Victoria actor

When Karen Brelsford declares “Gracepoint is my life,” she shouldn’t be confused with one of those superfans who can’t seem to get enough of David Tennant, Anna Gunn, Nick Nolte and their co-stars on the Fox series shooting here.
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Karen Brelsford is working 12-hour days on Gracepoint but is enjoying every minute.

When Karen Brelsford declares “Gracepoint is my life,” she shouldn’t be confused with one of those superfans who can’t seem to get enough of David Tennant, Anna Gunn, Nick Nolte and their co-stars on the Fox series shooting here.

She was simply referring to how consuming her four-month stint as a stand-in and occasional photo-double on the U.S. remake of the British crime drama Broadchurch has become.

“It’s the longest stand-in gig I’ve ever done,” says the Victoria actor, who has worked about 12 hours a day, five days a week on the 10-part series since January. “It’s a big time commitment.”

Not that she’s complaining. Indeed, Brelsford, who studied at New York’s Academy of Dramatic Arts, is no stranger to putting in long hours on creative projects she’d move mountains to do.

Although it’s “a great place to work ... and they’re totally supportive,” the 30-something actor left her day job as a server at Brentwood Bay Lodge to commit herself to the long-term shoot.

While she can’t get into specifics to honour the integrity of the show produced by Shine America, Brelsford says cast and crew have been both welcoming and professional. “We’re all here to do a job,” she says. “Most of the main actors have been really kind and friendly on their own time, introducing themselves.”

In addition to being a “utility stand-in” who substitutes for actors off-camera during time-consuming lighting and camera setups, Brelsford works as an on-camera photo double when required. She is generally cast as such because of characteristics such as matching height, hair colour or skin tone.

“You need to have stamina and always be at the ready,” she explains. “You want to be there before they call the second team, and staying out of the way.”

If she wraps in time, Brelsford also resumes her recurring role as Princess Ebba, a key royal in Sin City’s Kingdom of Thrones, the local improv troupe’s production set in the Middle Ages. The improvised serial unfolds Tuesday nights at Victoria Event Centre, where royalty and peasants populate the stage and Game of Thrones meets Whose Line Is It Anyway? “I always keep my costume in the trunk of the car just in case,” Brelsford says.

You’d think her Sin City role would stand her in good stead for a current Gracepoint episode helmed by David Petrarca. He directed two Game of Thrones episodes, after all.

Brelsford’s other recent brush with royalty was impersonating Princess Kate — one of a list of special skills that includes “horror film scream” on her acting resumé. Her royal impersonation can be seen in Episode 3 (viewable at aptn.ca) of She Kills Me, the comedy series that airs on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

While Brelsford has had roles on several film and TV productions shot here, including Spooksville, Eureka, Two4One and Stonados, and on local stages in The Odd Couple, with Atomic Vaudeville and The Derwin Blanshard Show, she’s often called upon as a stand-in and photo double.

Her recent gigs include standing in for Andie MacDowell on Cedar Cove and as Katie Cassidy’s “hand-double” in the thriller Kill For Me.

Brelsford says her matching wardrobes for Gracepoint these days have often been upstaged by winterwear given some unseasonably bad weather. “We bring tons of layers, and we’re using lots of Hot Shots,” she says. “Those foot-warmers and hand-warmers seem to be a staple.”

While the inclement weather, including high winds, has added production challenges, Brelsford remains optimistic.

“We know the sunny, warmer weather’s coming,” she says. “Spring is here, right?”


RUSHES: The good people of Gracepoint apparently don’t get as hot and bothered about zoning issues as the residents of Oak Bay, the municipality’s mayor, Nils Jensen, recently discovered.

Jensen and four councillors — John Herbert, Kevin Murdoch, Tara Ney and Cairine Green — volunteered to play fictional versions of themselves in a council scene filmed at a local church.

Jensen was amused to learn crew members outnumbered Gracepoint townsfolk on the set depicting a meeting place similar to one at Monterey Centre.

“Ours are rarely boring in Oak Bay. Any time we have a zoning change, we generally have a full house. This was anything but,” said Jensen. The scene featured a professional actor as the meeting chairman, and Kevin Zegers as Owen Burke, a reporter.

“I have a greater appreciation for the complexity of filmmaking, and the talent it takes to put this jigsaw puzzle together,” Jensen said.

“We felt like we were in a beehive with all these people buzzing around, and then it’s just you, the actor, director and cameras. In a few seconds it went from crazy-busy to calm and relaxed.”