TV stars court international audience in bid for global breakout

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This article was published 08/10/2011 (5143 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Already established in her home province of Quebec, francophone actress Karine Vanasse set her sights on launching a big screen career in the English-language market and beyond.

She found an agent to help her break into English Canada and the United States and scored her first anglophone leading role outside Quebec with the upcoming low-budget Canadian indie film “I’m Yours.”

But the lanky brunette says it’s a small-screen role on the big-budget ABC series “Pan Am” that’s proving to be the real key to her bid for global stardom, noting that early international sales have already introduced her to audiences overseas.

“I did a movie in France last (year) … and they already knew about ‘Pan Am’ — it’s been sold everywhere in the world,” said Vanasse, whose Canadian film credits include 2009’s “Polytechnique” and the just-released bilingual comedy “French Immersion.”

“Hopefully the show will work internationally and if it allows me to have a more international career… it’s great to see that’s possible.”

The vast overseas market for North American TV offers a lucrative launching pad for actors hoping to be known for more than just small-screen characters, said Elisha Cuthbert, the Canadian star of ABC’s “Happy Endings.”

The Calgary-born actress says that’s why she’s just as concerned about cultivating a foreign following for her ensemble sitcom as she is about netting solid U.S. ratings.

“On a worldwide scale as opposed to just the United States — which is a huge deal — I would think that our international appeal is more important,” Cuthbert said in a recent interview while promoting the U.S. series, which airs on Citytv in Canada.

She pointed to the global impact of her long-running spy serial “24,” which scored a healthy international fanbase with its mix of political espionage and family drama.

“’24’ is what I can kind of relate to — that being such a worldwide success, it opened up the doors to do film (and was) useful in selling smaller films on an international scale,” said Cuthbert, whose big screen vehicles have included “The Girl Next Door,” “House of Wax” and “Old School.”

“I do not underestimate the power of the world seeing the show and liking it and enjoying it because it does definitely makes it a lot easier to go out and do other projects.”

“The more countries we’re in, the better all around.”

Indications are that the foreign sales market is booming. Last month, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes predicted his company would double overseas business in four years as its pay TV networks and shows become more broadly distributed.

And the most recent gathering of MIPCOM, an annual industry event in Cannes geared towards program sales to large European broadcasters, saw a growing prominence of digital platforms hungry for North American content.

“Mad Men” star Jon Hamm said he was astounded to learn of his show’s reach when he went on a press tour last year to France and Germany.

“I think we’re in something like 70 countries or something, I don’t know the exact numbers but it was eye-opening to me because I was like, ‘Holy cow, Turkey! Really? Awesome. Israel? Great,'” Hamm said during a recent stop in Toronto to promote a big-screen romantic dramedy, “Friends With Kids.”

“That’s kind of the world that we live in obviously — that entertainment is global now. It’s not specifically one territory or another, necessarily.”

Film and TV star Rob Lowe says he’s still best known overseas for his movie roles, but adds his hit TV dramas “The West Wing” and “Brothers and Sisters” have increased his international profile significantly.

“Right now in Italy ‘Brothers and Sisters’ is all anybody wants to talk to me about, same in France. In the U.K. all they want to talk about is ‘The West Wing,'” noted Lowe, who currently co-stars on the NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation.”

“It’s an unbelievable launching point for people that the world community has no relationship with.”

Lowe notes there are also more and more international alliances being formed to fund movies, making the global appeal of onscreen talent all the more important when it comes time to sell the film.

“Partnerships as you see are the key everywhere now, I mean even big studios with gigantic coffers are looking to partner with other people,” he said.

Hamm, whose “Mad Men” success ushered in big screen roles in “The Town” and “Bridesmaids” says the changing nature of TV has also helped small-screen stars transition to film, and back again.

Acclaimed writing and ambitious storylines on TV rival those on the big screen, while the shorter seasons of specialty networks make it much easier for an actor to even attempt to juggle a dual career.

“It becomes far more attractive to you when you can actually do that and then go do something else and you’re not stuck doing this one character for eight months, nine months out of the year … and then all everybody knows of you is, ‘Oh, you’re that guy,’ ” said Hamm.