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Seeing your life in lights

Chow visits the Layton biopic set

By: Katherine Dow

Posted: 08/13/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Olivia Chow (right) and Sook-Yin Lee, who portrays her in the movie Smilin' Jack. (TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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A scrum scene is filmed at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Olivia Chow felt a mix of shock, sadness and awe yesterday as Canadian actor Rick Roberts walked onto a Winnipeg movie set looking exactly like her late husband Jack Layton.

"I thought 'Oh my god, it's Jack Layton,' " said Chow.

"It's a bit traumatic, the whole exercise, the whole movie-making. Some part of it is painful, other parts of it is quite joyous. It's funny watching another Olivia, But I think tomorrow they're shooting some hospital scenes. I don't know how I will handle that -- probably pretty traumatic," said Chow.

Chow visited the Manitoba Legislature Building set of Smilin' Jack: The Jack Layton Story Sunday and stood alongside Sook-Yin Lee, the actor who is playing Chow in the CBC television movie. Lee was dressed in character in a black blazer and skirt.

"This is eerie," Chow joked to Lee, as the two posed for pictures.

Chow watched from behind cameras as Roberts, the actor charged with the daunting task of channeling her late husband, delivered a stirring monologue to a crowd of journalists.

"The journalists were way too polite," Chow, a veteran New Democrat MP, later joked as she addressed the media. "Remember, this was just as the election was about to be called. Journalists are very polite people but not at that kind of scrum. So I was able to give some opinions on that."

The film, which will air in early 2013, will chronicle Chow and Layton's love story, as well as Layton's 2011 election campaign, the NDP's most successful federal election in the party's history.

Layton died of cancer last summer, mere months after he became leader of the Opposition.

Chow said she was contacted about the film only three weeks after Layton's death. She consulted on the script and donated pieces of Layton's clothing including his cane, fedora, cuff links and dozens of ties.

Lee, who hosts CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, called the experience of playing Chow 'amazing.' Lee said she connects with Chow's character through their shared cultural identity,

"I think it's all a part of us both being Cantonese and Chinese. I think there's kind of a cultural understanding, and also having been in Canada and both artists. We both sort of strayed from the norm to pursue an art," said Lee.

Laszlo Barna, executive producer of the film, said he is in awe of Chow's strength through the process.

"Olivia is a very generous person. She's not here to say 'Jack wouldn't have said this or that'. I had some trepidations, because there were scenes that we play that bring us back to some painful moments. But she's been handling it amazingly," said Barna.

"It's the story of an ordinary person who is able to step beyond and make a bit of difference in the everyday lives of people -- I think that story needs to be told," said Chow.

katherine.dow@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 13, 2012 A4

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