This fall, Tonya Lee Williams will the join the cast of the CBC’s The Border for its third season where she’ll play an agent working for the US Department of Homeland Security. The actress took some time to discuss her upcoming role on The Border and the progress that she sees in the Canadian television industry.

Congratulations on joining The Border. Can you tell us a little bit about the role and when you start filming?

I’m so excited…it’ll be recurring. [I play] Constance Meade. I just started shooting last week actually. I had just left Toronto a few weeks and went to New Mexico because I keep a place there to just chill and I had gotten there two of three days and my agent called saying “oh you booked this part, you need to be in Washington in two days!” I hadn’t even unpacked my suitcase yet and just got in the car and went back to the airport.

I’m sure your fans would like to know if you’ll still be on Y&R?

Yes, I’m recurring on Y&R. I love that [arrangement] and they seem to love that. I just wanted more freedom in my life. The first fifteen years on Y&R was completely committed to the show and I loved that but I took those three years off because I need space and time…and rest! And now coming back and being able to do that with the understanding from Y&R that I can do other things has made it so much more enjoyable for me. The two jobs are not going to be overwhelming. In fact, I’m still auditioning for other things and I’m on hold for something else.

You mentioned your place in New Mexico, I assume you’ve got one in Toronto and L.A. Where would you consider your home base?

I would say my base is much more L.A. The others are important for me too. I also have a place in Paris. I love going there as well. I love the freedom. I remember the day I told my mom that I had booked Y&R, this was way back in 1990, her one piece of advice for me was “now, try and stay with this show!” And I did! I need the freedom to know that I can go to different places and do different things. Even where I live. I don’t like staying in the same place for too long.

You may live in other places, but you’ve stayed active in Canada and founded local projects like the ReelWorld Film Festival and the Gospel Jubilee. Did this factor into your decision when you choose a Canadian series like The Border?

It did…a little bit. I’m an actor and I love working. The kind of actors that inspire me are the people like Michael Caine and if you ever listen to him talk, he thinks of himself as an actor for hire. He goes “if someone gives me a gig, I take it!” I really always wanted to move ego out of the way when I work. I’m like a trade’s person. Unless it’s a role that’s horrific…does no justice for women or for black people anywhere.

I like the variety of doing different things. I think that’s why we get into this business as actors. I’ve been so blessed to play a character like Olivia Winters. I mean as a black actress, it’s not often you get roles where they’re professionals and are eloquent and upstanding citizens within the community. And then to play this [character on The Border], which is a senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent…I mean, over the last couple of years we have had the most amount of attention to black people being in the political arena and the fact that Obama won is really making shows look at black actors in these [senior political] roles completely believable. I’m thrilled to be a representative in something like that. It’s a great role and I really enjoy the show. I had been watching it before. In fact, I’m really digging a bunch of Canadian shows right now.

Which ones?

Being Erica! I think it’s really great. When I’m in Toronto, I’ll watch as many Canadian shows as I can such as Wild Horses and Heartland. Remember two or three years ago, we were all bellyaching that there were no dramas and now I’ve gotta say, I applaud all the networks. I think CBC is doing a great job – CTV as well, with Flashpoint.

Yes, but CBS just announced that Flashpoint isn’t on their fall schedule.

Aww…but the fact that it even got on at all! You know how hard it is, even for an American show to make it on network, for even six episodes and the fact that Flashpoint was on for what? A season and a half? I don’t know if Canadians know how huge that is.

The third season of The Border will premiere this September on CBC. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on Global and CBS. The 10th Annual ReelWorld Film Festival takes place in Toronto in April 2010; for more information visit www.reelworld.ca.

© Copyright (c) dose.ca

* This interview was published on Dose.ca, Canada.com and the Postmedia newspapers.

Full Interview (which was made available on Dose.ca’s TV Watercooler blog)

A lot of people credit Y&R as your first soap role, but you were on Generations before that, can you tell us a bit more about that project?
Generations was great but it was only on for about 3 or 4 episodes. It was a very small role to play…with Kristoff [St. John, who plays Neil Winters on Y&R]…I think nothing happens by accident and two years later, Kristoff and I end up on aother show where we’re on for years! It reminds us that there’s a plan out there even if we’re not aware of it. There’s a greater plan out there. I love doing daytime and have always really enjoyed doing it. I love working in television. It suits my personality and I’m just an actor who likes to work, period!

We were talking earlier about different shows filming in Canada that American networks are picking up. Ion airsThe Border in the States along with Durham County. Do you think this model could be applied to daytime?Guiding Light is ending next month and ABC just announced that All My Children is moving to Los Angeles.
My god! I know, there’s so much going on! I spoke to CBC about five years ago that I would love to be a part of them trying to put a daytime soap together. The hard thing about daytime and especially soap operas is that you really need a lot of money up front. And that’s the difficult thing because you’re talking about doing a daily show. It’s so expensive doing a weekly show. You need to know you’ll have the investment of at least three years to get it going. I remember when Aaron Spelling did Sunset Beach, he swung it for three years and then that show ended. And he said it was the hardest thing he ever did…and we’re talking about Aaron Spelling saying that!

So it’s not an easy thing to do, but I just think Canada is so right to do a soap that has the mixture of a British soap and an American soap that we could find our own voice as an “in-between”. A show like Coronation Street but with a Hollywood/American feel.

I would love to see the CBC or whoever wants to do it, grab a hold of all those [Canadian soap] actors…like when you think of the last 20 years of soap operas, there’s got to e at least 20 Canadians that have starred. Wouldn’t it be great to bring back all those Canadian daytime soap stars? Like Gordon Thomson who did Dynasty and then did daytime for awhile. There’s so many of them. It would be great to seek them out and find out what they are doing and lure them back to do a show. People would watch it because lots of Canadians have been on many different soaps and to have them all under one roof as Canadians would be wonderful.

I really hope CBC comes back to you with that idea!
That would be phenomenal!

Things on Y&R are going from one extreme to the next…what has surprised you as of late?
I haven’t had a chance to watch it lately. My life has been Toronto, Jamaica, Barbados, New Mexico, Washington and back! My head is just reeling so I’ve been out of the loop. I’m gonna catch up!

But I’m sure you’ve heard of the stuff going on with Adam and Ashley?  He caused her to lose her baby and then cleaned up the “evidence”.
Yeah you know what…it’s drama at its fittest. Sometimes we have to do extreme things. I’m sure the show is trying to figure out ways to not only keep the fans it has but develop new fans. There’s a lot of competition out there. Not just with other soaps, but there is so much on during the day.

I do like the way Maria Bell thinks though. I like the way she develops story. She has a very similar energy to [the late] Bill Bell senior [her father-in-law]…how he thought about story. You know what was great about soap operas in the old days? Then they could really take their time, almost in real time, and develop a story. But the audience is way too impatient now. They don’t want real time. I think that things are bouncing around because the audience is getting more demanding. They don’t event want to wait three weeks for something to unfold. They want it now – they want it immediate.

Like within a week, Lily found out her husband was a fraud and that she had cancer.
Exactly! But what better way to bring people back together?

Looks like it’s working for them!
The man could have gotten on a boat and gone back to Australia. We had to move quickly!

We’d like to see more of Olivia. Can you tell us what’s coming up with her?
I’ve been away for 8 weeks because of other projects. I did a movie in San Francisco [as well]. I’m hoping that in September they’ll start using me again. The summer tends to be the younger peoples’ storyline so that’s why I tend to book myself a lot of stuff during the summer because I just assume that I’m not a part of the younger peoples’ storyline.

Well we look forward to your debut on The Border and your return to the Y&R.
Thanks!