While I know that I should instantly be talking about Providence Falls, my mind won’t let me. I will always think of Katie Stevens and The Bold Type together. I know that she has other roles. But her character of Jane Sloan on The Bold Type changed lives and encouraged women in the most positive way to test for the BRCA gene.
The BRCA genes “are tumor suppressor genes that play a crucial role in DNA repair and preventing uncontrolled cell growth, which can lead to cancer. Mutations in these genes can significantly increase the risk of developing breast, ovarian, prostate, and other cancers.” Her character on The Bold Type was positive for it.
While I didn’t think I would bring it up when Katie Stevens and Lachlan Quarmby showed up on my screen, there was something in me that knew that I needed to tell her thank you. Several people in my life (as well as myself) took medical action after Jane Sloan did. So, seeing her on the screen, the thank you just fell out of my mouth.
It’s kind of funny that in my life, I have interviewed a lot of people, and so many haven’t scared me (in a good way), but these two did. Katie Stevens and Lachlan Quarmby.
While I could talk to Katie forever – as I have so many questions about her career – I also knew that I wanted to talk to Lachlan. If you’ve watched Providence Falls and haven’t developed a crush on Quarmby, I’d like to know your secret.
Providence Falls is a three-part movie event on Hallmark, and the first movie aired this past weekend. Providence Falls: Chance of a Lifetime had Quarmby’s character of Liam, returning to earth to right a wrong from the 1800s. The wrong? He stole Cora’s (Stevens) heart from her soulmate, therefore needing to make sure that she falls in love with her soulmate so she can achieve what she is meant to have achieved.
While it is a period piece as it has two timelines, one in the 1840s and one in the present day. Each timeline is important, but what impressed me was the romance in both timelines and the chemistry between these two. The choice of what roles to take on has to be a big one for actors, so I asked, “What made you want to be involved in Providence Falls?”
Without hesitation, Stevens said, “I love love. I’m, I’m a big, you know, I’m a fan of romance. I’m a fan of rom-coms. It’s always been my dream to do films like this. It’s kind of the things I initially fell in love with as a viewer.”
As soon as she said, “fell in love with as a viewer, I smiled and couldn’t help but wonder what movies she fell in love with, but I didn’t ask.
She continued, “To then bring those to life on screen is a gift. I’ve also always wanted to do a period piece. So the fact that this kind of melds every genre and all the different, you know, sci-fi, there’s mystery, there’s kind of a supernatural element to it, period piece, romance.”
And for Lachlan, “I just thought, that’s a really cool character. Like, I was really attracted to this dilemma that this guy faces and how fun it was.”
His accent is intoxicating. “He’s kind of disgruntled all the time. Got an Irish accent, it just seemed like so much fun. Then I, when I got into it, I was just so pleasantly surprised by how much more love was being put into the whole project, script, the way they were going to shoot it, and everything. Working with Katie was just a dream come true.”
The two have a lot of chemistry on and off the screen, and if you’ve watched Providence Falls, you know that the way their characters interact, you’re spending all your time screaming at the screen for them to just get together. But we’re left relying on fate to bring them together.
FATE?
So, do they believe in fate? And if they do, do they believe that fate gets it right? They both looked at each other, and I wonder what they will say. Lachlan takes the lead and replies, “I thought about this a lot because Liam has to fight against fate so much. And the interesting question of, like, if fate was telling you that you’re no good, would you actively work against it to prove that you are good?”
He continues to speak, Katie and I both looking at him for an answer. He says, “Or would you double down and say, well, I’m going to do whatever I want since you’re not on my side anyway? To be honest, I don’t have the answer to that. I just think it’s a really interesting question. Like, if you knew that, what would you do? “
Katie answers, “I don’t think that anyone’s fate is fixed. I think, you know, I think about my own life and how many decisions I made, a different one would have, would have gone in a different direction. So I think your fate is kind of something that, like you choose the paths that you go down, and those paths will lead you to what’s meant for you. I don’t know if it’s just like a fixed thing and I don’t think that your destiny is just like you’re along for the ride. I think that we’re all kind of active in what happens to us.”
I’d asked Evan Roderick the same question, and it’s interesting to me how each has answered it. Roderick had said, “I think I used to believe in fate a lot more than I do now. But I don’t know. It’s hard to say because sometimes things happen in life and the dots are connected in a way that you can’t help but think that there’s something more to everything.”
1840’s Anyone?
Providence Falls had to have made them think of fate, since it is such a huge part of the story. I want to talk about their characters’ romantic evolution, but I see I have about thirty seconds left, so I ask if they could survive in 1840s Ireland.
Lachlan immediately starts shaking his head and says, “No.”
Katie chimes in, “As a woman, absolutely not.”
I am trying my best to refrain from laughing because they answered so quickly, and their facial expressions made me know that their answers were so set. I loved it, but I also knew I would never survive that, so I understood it.
They both laugh, and Lachlan says, “Especially not at the poverty level that my character Liam is from. Absolutely not.”
Katie says, “I wouldn’t survive in the corsets alone. But no way they were fun to wear for the time that I had to wear them. But I knew at the end of the day, they were going to be off. And I was back to being comfortable.”
And as I sit there, knowing I should say my goodbyes, I ask, “Who do you think is right for Cora, Finn, or Liam?”
“I can’t say that. That would give it all away.” Katie replies.
“Finn, for sure,” Lachlan says. I love the certainty he has on his face – the ship that should win has chosen him.
And as the last syllable comes out of his mouth, Katie says, “I’m just team Cora. Whoever, whoever makes her the happiest.”
Somehow that answer is perfect – because shouldn’t we all be rooting for ourselves? Or in her case, in the character that she plays?
Providence Falls: Chance of a Lifetime is streaming now on Hallmark+. Providence Falls: An Impossible Promise premieres this Saturday, August 9th, on The Hallmark Channel.
