Looking back at TIFF 2010: actor Emily Hampshire on how the festival has gone for her

Looking back at TIFF 2010: actor Emily Hampshire on how the festival has gone for her

With TIFF wrapping up, Good Neighbours actress Emily Hampshire is ready to let her hair down. When we talked with her on Thursday, she still hasn’t washed her loosely bundled brunette hair since her film premiered on Tuesday. “You can tell, right?” she laughs over coffee at the Bloor Street Diner. “That is clearly hair that has been done and been slept in.” It’s a testament to Hampshire’s whirlwind week that she’s still pulling bobby pins out of her hair Thursday morning. With a candour and bubbly it-girl energy reminiscent of Sienna Miller, the 29-year-old actress reflects on a week in which she finally felt like a movie star.

On red carpet recognition
What I’ve hated about red carpets here has been, most of the time, I’ll walk down the red carpet, and I’m like, “first at the finish line!!!” [shakes her fist in the air in victory]. My two choices are to walk the red carpet like a normal person, and I don’t do any press. Or I’m standing there like the last picked in gym. This year I was being called over for interviews, so I felt like I had a purpose. While walking the red carpet, I’ve gone down to tie my shoe when I didn’t have laces—just to pretend I’m doing something and not just standing there.

On working with best friend, director Jacob Tierney, on Good Neighbours
It’s been really nice to get some recognition for doing things we’ve been doing for a really long time, that people hated! We’ve been in some terrible movies together—Blood!!!

On the mistakes of her first fest
I was doing what I thought you were supposed to do, wear what you were supposed to wear, please the people who were with the movie. So I ended up hating myself at the end of that festival.

On becoming a discriminating swagster
There’s a whole swag culture and I didn’t realize what some of those things entailed. I was like, “Oh my God! It’s Christmas!” But then you see yourself with something you might not be so keen to see yourself smiling like this [grinning and holding it up]. And don’t get me wrong. I love swag. I’ve got tonnes of it. But I’ve been able to say no to more things, just because I felt more confident here.

On having Entertainment Tonight Canada host the Good Neighbours after party
They had this big platform, and this roving camera on a crane, doing interviews. The red carpet—I feel like I’ve been blinded. It felt like the first time TIFF was one of those Hollywood parties you see in InStyle magazine.

On VIP rooms
You will later learn that the VIP rooms are the least fun places. When you can’t get into them, it seems like that’s where you want to be. This year, me, Jacob and Jay [Baruchel] spent the whole time outside, at our own party, outside by the porta-potties, because there was air there, and it was so tiny inside the VIP room.

On navigating the crowds outside the Hotel Intercontinental
The publicist was like, “Do you want to go out the back way?” And I was like, “I really don’t think it’s going to be a problem.” And it was actually the first time someone did take my picture. So it’s interesting to see how things have been changing.