Eight-year-old Emma Oliver is fond of acting.
“I just love it,” says Emma, a Cloverdale resident. “Acting is so fun. And I love all the different characters and all the cool sets.”
Now in Grade 3, Emma has been acting since Kindergarten. Her IMDb credits include: Flora & Ulysses (2021), Resident Alien (2021), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), The 100 (2019), Supernatural (2020), X-Files (2018), and many others.
Emma has also won several Joey Awards (the Canadian kids’ version of the Oscars).
“I was always into performing,” says Emma. “I was in dance and I liked being on stage. So, I thought I would give (acting) a try.”
Emma has just started filming scenes in Langley for season three of the Netflix series Snowpiercer. This is also her third year on the show. She says the series has been overwhelmingly positive for her in every way.
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“It is amazing. The cast and crew are so nice.”
And Shanna, Emma’s mom, is also thankful for the consistency a series like Snowpiercer brings.
“(Acting) is definitely very busy,” Shanna explains. “There’s always a lot of driving around and waiting—although with COVID all auditions are being done on Zoom now—but with Snowpiercer, it’s nice to be able to go to the same location.”
Shanna accompanies Emma to every shoot.
“She loves it so much, it makes it worthwhile for me,” says Shanna.
The amount of time acting eats up is astronomical, but because Emma enjoys it so much, Shanna loves to watch her—even with all the downtime on set.
Emma agrees, waiting around is the hardest part, but she uses that time to catch up on any schoolwork she’s missed. She adds she doesn’t miss school-school, but she misses her friends.
“And my friends miss me when I’m gone, when I’m acting.”
“I think that for acting, the kids really do have to love it,” Shanna explains. “Because there’s a lot of sitting around. And even the prep work, there’s so much time involved, if (Emma) didn’t love every part of it, it would be really hard to do.”
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That motivation, Shanna says, is the reason Emma’s in her fourth year of acting at the tender age of eight. Shanna says she used to help with the whole process, but Emma now prepares herself, for the most part, for auditions and shoots.
“I used to be more involved. Making sure she’s ready with her lines and that she knows what’s going on.”
She says the producers/directors don’t really check with the kids.
“They just expect that once you get there, you’re ready to go with everything.”
On Snowpiercer, Emma plays a character named Winnie.
“She’s a Tailie. So she’s all dirty because she’s in the back of the train. But she’s always running around to different parts of the train delivering messages.”
“We’re just thankful for all the great experiences she’s had,” notes Shanna. “And she’s been able to meet a lot of interesting people.”
“I just love the cast of Snowpiercer,” adds Emma. “I love to work with Daveed Diggs, Steven Ogg, and Mickey Sumner.
Emma will be filming scenes for season three until July.
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