Canadian actress Kaitlyn Bernard is becoming well-known for taking on challenging and difficult roles.
Acting from an early age, Bernard has built up an impressive CV that includes cult thriller ‘The Sinners' and Lifetime's ‘A Father's Nightmare' and ‘Homekilling Queen'. She's also starred opposite Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Camilla Luddington in ‘The Healer'. For her latest role, Bernard is tackling the true story of Rachel Jeffs, a woman who is part of a polygamous sect following years of abuse from her own father.
I caught up with Kaitlyn to talk about the movie, find out what its like to play a real person, and to discuss her busy life outside of acting…
You can currently be seen in ‘Surviving My Father: The Rachel Jeffs Story' on Lifetime'. How did you get involved in the project?
I originally heard of Warren Jeffs because of the FBI's most wanted list. When I got the script and I auditioned for the part, I started doing research. I really dived into Rachel's memoir and I was absolutely floored by what goes on behind the scenes in these polygamous sects and all of the trauma that Rachel endured at such a young age, which is a common story for a lot of women and men that are involved in these polygamous communities. It was very inspiring reading her story, and it was a project that I immediately knew that I wanted to be a part of. This story is not only a story about survival, it's a story of resilience and strength and hope.
Did you have any reservations when you were doing your research for the film and considering the part?
No, I didn't have any reservations. I was very nervous because this is my first time portraying a real person and telling a real story that has actually happened and taken place. I definitely felt a lot of pressure to tell the story in a way that was right for Rachel, being that she was the one that endured all of this trauma. I really hope that she's happy with the final product of the film.
This is a horrifying story, but it does have a light at the end of the tunnel. How did you prepare for the sensitivities involved in portraying a real person?
I think it was a lot of research, which I do with with any of the roles that I do but specifically with this one. It was a lot of watching documentaries. There's a documentary on Netflix called ‘Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey' so I dove into that. Reading her memoir and listening to her audiobook as well as she's the one that's narrating her memoir. That was cool to hear her voice telling her story. The cast and crew really made it such a comfortable set to be on being that it was such sensitive material and the pressure of telling someone else's stories. I think that really makes or breaks an experience on set, especially because we're telling such a horrific story. But also, like you said, it's a story of hope and resilience. Having such an amazing cast and crew that really just took on how heavy the material was made all of the difference. Working with Michael Eklund… he's terrifying onscreen, but he was incredibly professional offscreen and just made it so much better to have that kind of connection and camaraderie as opposed to being terrified with him offscreen. It was a very comfortable set to work on.
You read my mind as working with Michael was my next question. He really is terrifying and he does a great job playing Rachel's dad Warren…
He is definitely scary. He does such a good job playing Warren… very creepy. I was very creeped out watching, even though I was in most of the scenes and I knew what was gonna happen.
You've got Britt Robertson in the film too, who has such a rich history on screen. What was it like to work with her?
It was amazing working with Britt. She brings this incredible warmth to set, which again, just really added onto the whole entire experience. I feel like we definitely really connected while filming and I had a great experience with her overall. The entire cast and crew, I can't stress enough how amazing it was to work with everyone on this project.
Your character goes through every kind of emotion and the performance showcases your range as an actor. Aside from the sensitivities around playing a real life person what was your biggest challenge in this role?
I think it was just the tiredness because almost every single scene, it's so emotional and the depth that you have to go to as an actor. This one really challenged me to refine my process in taking care of me as Kaitlyn because when you're off screen, it's sometimes hard to disconnect from the scenes and what's going on, and really just come back to yourself and decompress. Something that I usually do after I film is I go on a little trip. I went up to Nelson BC with my partner. We just played board games and disconnected from the world and our phones. We went off social media for a bit. I think it was definitely an experience of how to keep up that stamina as an actor because it was such an emotional rollercoaster, the journey that the character goes on.
You're a part of the Lifetime family. What's that experience like for you?
It's super exciting. I've done quite a few Lifetime films so I'm pretty familiar with the network. I'm absolutely honoured to be a part of this story and telling such an important story, and just spreading the message of what happens behind the scenes and shedding light on polygamous sects. I'm also hopefully inspiring people that, they can rewrite their future and that's exactly what Rachel does, despite everything that's gone on in her life and everything that's happened to her; she really rewrites her own story, which I think is so inspiring.
When you were portraying Rachel's resilience, is that something that your were able to draw from your own experiences and your own resilience?
For sure. I've definitely had hard periods of times in my life especially within the last couple of years, which have been some of the most challenging things that I faced. Coming out on the other end and also getting to be a part of this amazing project was such a treat after the last couple of years that I've had. It was really cool. I definitely drew on a bit of that. I think it's incredible how the character, despite everything around religion, she maintains faith. I think that's something that I really strive for. I'm not an overly religious person, but it was very inspiring playing Rachel.
I want to talk a little bit about your life outside of acting. You wanted to be a marine biologist when you were younger but you're now pursuing acting. How did that happen ?
I would've been in high school when I was thinking about doing marine biology. I am a huge ocean advocate. I love the ocean. I'm a certified open water scuba diver. I love being in the water and I've always been super fascinated by sea creatures. My favourite animals are sharks. One of my dreams is to dive with hammerhead sharks; I absolutely love them. That's why I wanted to get into marine biology. Super random and definitely not really in line with act ing at all, but the ocean's still one of my biggest passions to this day. Whenever I'm traveling, I always try and get in the water, whether it be surfing or diving. I'm always on the beach.
When did you start thinking that you wanted to become an actor?
You know, it's funny 'cause I feel like a lot of actors usually have a project or a movie that they watch and they're like, ‘I want to do that'. I don't really have one of those cool stories; I wish I did. Acting has always been something that's been a part of my life. I can't remember my life without it. When I was really young, my parents threw me into a bunch of different activities and musical theater happened to be one of them. That just stuck and I started doing musical theater and modeling. Then I went into doing some short films and really found my love in film. It just grew organically from there.
You also founded a charity initiative. Tell me a bit about that…
I shot a film called ‘The Healer', which was shot in Nova Scotia. The director, Paco Arango is a huge philanthropist himself, and he built one of the biggest bone marrow transplant centers in all of Spain. In talking to him and in doing research and going into the hospitals, because I was playing a character with stage four cancer, I was really inspired to help and give back. From that film, I decided to start my own foundation called Just Breathe where all the proceeds go towards kids living with cancer specifically Canadian Cancer Society's Camp Good Times. That is a camp for kids with living with cancer, where they can just be kids. They have medical supervision. I struggled with stuff when I was younger that prevented me from just being a kid. I felt that it was super important to give back in that way.' The Healer, a hundred percent of the proceeds from the film actually go back to kids living with serious illnesses. It was just a incredible experience overall to be part of such an amazing initiative and that's what really inspired me to give back.
Between the acting, the scuba diving and the foundation… that's really impressive… How do you fit everything in?
I don't know… a Google calendar? (laughs) I'm not sure. I try to stay organised. I have a lot of really great supports in my life that help if there's ever anything that needs to get done that I don't have time for. I'm super grateful to have those people in my life. I just try and stay organised.
Christmas is knocking around the corner. Are you gonna get a break over the holidays or have you got more projects lined up? What's the next few months looking like?
I'm probably gonna take a break during the winter season. There's a couple of projects that I'm potentially up for. I can't say what they are, but I've been auditioning lots and I'm sure there's something exciting coming my way. For now, I'm just enjoying the holiday season with my parents and my sister, and dogs.
Find out more about ‘Surviving My Father: The Rachel Jeffs Story' at https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/surviving-my-father-the-rachel-jeffs-story.
