Karolina Turek
In January 2025, the Lifetime network premiered the thriller The Bear Lake Murders, a nifty sort-of 80’s style slasher film that was exceedingly entertaining. You can check out our review here. The movie also gave actress Magalie her first major role in which she excelled. You’d never know that Magalie is actually French-Canadian and worked hard to master an American accent. More on that in the interview. Hotchka had the opportunity to get to know Magalie a little better in our interview with the actress as The Bear Lake Murders is set to premiere on the Lifetime Movie Network on Thursday, March 13.
— CD: Can you give us just a brief insight into your life growing up in Quebec? Were you always interested in acting? Did you attend acting school or classes?
★ M: Growing up in Quebec was a great experience. I am the youngest of two older sisters. I grew up in a St-Nicolas home near the St-Lawrence River and the forest on the south shore of Québec City. I had a great upbringing. My dad was a psychiatrist and my mother is still a visual artist. I believe I inherited their best traits! Years ago, my mother witnessed a 5-year-old me looking at the weather network and saying, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ I wanted to be on TV! I was also really interested in learning to speak English because I knew I wanted to do Hollywood movies at a very young age. In Québec City, people don’t really speak English so I joined the advanced English program in high school. At 8 I was in my first school play as Puss-in-Boots, at 13 I joined my first acting class at a private acting studio and joined an intensive theatre program during my last year of high school. I attended Cégep (college) in Limoilou and obtained a postsecondary diploma in Languages-Arts, Theatre. Following that I was admitted to George Brown Theatre School in Toronto. It was ‘The Dream’. They let me go after a year because they believed my level of English wasn’t advanced enough to continue. After unsuccessfully auditioning for the French conservatories in Québec, I moved back to Toronto and started my acting career.
— CD: Your IMDb profile also mentions writing and directing. Do you prefer one to the other, or you like all things equally?
★ M: I have a great directing eye. I’ve been coaching actors on their auditions since 2020 with my self-tape company ARTÉFAKT, so directing for film seems like a natural path. Writing is more challenging for me as I’m not trained in professional screenwriting, but I love it. It challenges me and I literally have ten movie ideas in my head. I just gotta write them down! ;)
— CD: Prior to your Lifetime debut, you made quite a few shorts, films and made TV appearances including the American series A Million Little Things. How did your casting for Amish Stud come about?
★ M: In the spring of 2023, I had back-to-back Lifetime auditions. It felt like it was my time! I luckily landed a steamy role in Amish Stud. I was dressed in a tasteful dominatrix outfit and had to kiss American-Canadian actor Luke MacFarlane! It was so cool to work with him and the intimacy coordinator. I had a great time on set. I felt valued and appreciated even though I had a small role.
— CD: How did the part in The Bear Lake Murders come to you? Did you have to go through an audition process, and did you audition for any other roles besides Rebecca?
★ M: I originally had a request for Sienna Hartley, the Influencer. However after reading the breakdown I felt the male lead’s little sister, Rebecca Martins, suited me best. I auditioned for Sienna and asked my agent to push tape me for Rebecca. Casting did an availability check for Rebecca and a few days later, booked me! I was in shock! My role in The Bear Lake Murders is the biggest opportunity of my career. I am so grateful. I’ll remember this experience forever. <3
— CD: Once you were cast, did you and the other actors spend any time together prior to shooting, because you all really seemed to be old friends who had a history together.
★ M: I had dinner with Tom Stevens (‘Roy Martin’) and Blake Williams (‘Brodie Doyle’) the night prior to my first day on set and a dinner on the last day including Mercedes de la Zerda who played ‘Ally Foster’. They were all super welcoming and friendly. I also already knew Brandon Giddens who played ‘Miles’ from a previous shoot I did in Vancouver. It did feel like we had been friends for a while on this set. Blake booked another Movie of the Week in Kelowna last December and expressed the cast wasn’t as unified as the cast of Bear Lake Murders. We got lucky!
— CD: Where was the movie filmed?
★ M: In Kelowna and Peachland, British Columbia, Canada.
— CD: You played Rebecca perfectly as Sienna’s fangirl. In your own life do you follow any influencers that helped inform your performance?
★ M: I follow American comedian Marina Franklin (@marinayfranklin) and former Cirque du Soleil acrobat Olga Pikhienko (@olgaupsidedown) on Instagram. Olga started following me and liking my gymnastics content a few months ago! I was shocked! She’s so amazing. I’m so thrilled she finds my content entertaining. I also shared one of Marina Franklin’s stand up reels on my IG story and she started following me right away and sent me a DM. SO COOL! I would love to meet Marina and to do circus coaching with Olga. These women rock!
— CD: You mentioned in your bio that you can cry on cue, and that certainly came in handy when Sienna went all mean girl on Rebecca.
★ M: I didn’t have to cry at that time but I instantly showcased sadness when she rejected me, that’s for sure. Also, director Danny J. Boyle once asked me on set, ‘Can you cry?’, to which I replied proudly, ‘Yes Sir!’. I don’t need fake tears. There’s a scene in the movie where Rebecca finds out Sienna died and she’s crying about it in the bathroom.
— CD: You also do your own stunts, so what was it like being out there on ‘The Point’ with Rebecca’s life in danger?
★ M: Rebecca’s imminent ‘death’ scene was the second scene Blake and I shot together. It was so intense, but I love playing rough. I’m a former competitive gymnast so I am very at ease with action scenes in general. The stunt coordinator was impressed at my performance, so she awarded me a Stunt Canada toque! Blake is also a martial artist so I trusted him not to hurt me accidentally. There’s a moment that he literally lifts me off the ground and walks towards the cliff edge while I kick the air and do my best to get away from him. This young man is hella strong! We definitely sold that scene extremely well.
— CD: I said this movie gave me 80s slasher vibes, and in a way Rebecca is like the ‘final girl’ from those movies!
★ M: I guess so! It’s also why Rebecca is in the story. The audience gets attached to her: she’s cute, fun, kind and pure. Nobody wants her to die.
— CD: When you get your script and read your character’s lines and story arc, do you have complete freedom in interpreting the character, or do you have talks with the director on how he sees the characters playing out in the story? Or does he do a take and then suggests maybe playing that moment in a different way?
★ M: Usually, what Casting books you for is what the character is. Rebecca is pretty straight forward. She is layered but she’s not an overly complex character. In the script she was written very emotional and vulnerable, but Danny the director wanted me to tone that down and play lighter which I ended up doing.
Magalie
— CD: What is the time frame for shooting a Lifetime movie? I know Hallmark can be between 13 and 15 days.
★ M: This movie took 11 days to shoot and I was there for 5. I had no overnight shoots but Mercedes, Tom, Blake, and Brandon had it rough. Acting all day and all night can be exhausting. You normally have up to six takes: two in wide, two in medium close up, two close up, and maybe a special. You gotta be ready to crack a good take on the first or the second try. These shoots go fast. There’s no time to waste or warm up. Actors have to be ready to shine.
— CD: You would not know from watching the movie, but you do speak fluent French and I know coming from Quebec your English would normally still have a bit of an accent. How long did it take you to perfect your American accent, because your French side is undetectable, so kudos on that!
★ M: Thanks so much! I AM STILL WORKING ON ENGLISH CLARITY. My friends and some casting directors call me out often. It’s a forever training-in-progress. I did get coached on my Bear Lake performance and although there’s always room for improvement I am very satisfied with my accent. I am proud of my French-Canadian roots but I don’t want to just play the Francophone gal. I want to be versatile and play native English-speaker roles. This role is a milestone for me and I feel like I proved that I can believably play a native English-speaker.
— CD: Would you say making The Bear Lake Murders was a fun experience?
★ M: It was EPIC.
— CD: Anything coming up you can tell us about? Anything else for Lifetime? Would you consider a Hallmark movie if a part was offered?
★ M: I would love to be hired by Hallmark. I audition for them occasionally. My agent says I’m a little edgy for them, but I can just remove my septum piercing and wear a pink blouse, and voilà!
— CD: What do you hope the future holds for Magalie? Would you like to do more American movies and TV? Theatre work?
★ M: I’m actually working on touring my theatre solo across Canada. I performed ‘Homecumming’ last year at Montreal Fringe and was nominated for Best French Comedy and Best French production. I definitely want to do more Lifetime movies. I’d love to book a #1 role this year or #3, which is usually the Villain or the Best Friend if not a thriller. My ultimate goal is to add a ton of American TV Series credits to my resume so that I can apply for an O-1 visa and audition in the States. Hollywood, here I come!
— CD: We want to thank Magalie for taking the time to answer our questions, and we wish her the best of luck in pursuing those roles and having her career blossom. And hopefully we’ll get to chat again some day soon!
The Bear Lake Murders premieres on Lifetime Movie Network Thursday, March 12 at 8:00 PM, and is available to purchase on iTunes.