Being Erica: Meet Erin Karpluk
Although it aired its first two seasons on Canada's CBC, the time-traveling drama Being Erica is currently being shown in America on Soapnet every Wednesday night at 10PM.
Have you ever wished you could revisit your past and change a certain event to see if the outcome would be different? Or wish that you could straighten out a previous mistake in the hope it would influence your future? That’s the premise behind Being Erica
The recent episode — “Yes We Can” — was a perfect jumping on point for viewers as it nicely re-established the rules for the show, and then broke them as Dr. Tom gives Erica a “do over” day in which nothing she does will have lasting consequences.
In the following interview, Erin Karpluk discusses the evolution of the series and the impact that Erica has had on her own life.
EARTHS MIGHTIEST: Considering you’ve gone back in time to high school and college days, do you ever feel as thought you’re playing different characters?
ERIN KARPLUK: I do. I really find that when I’m with my brother or my family on the show, back in time, I just take on this younger energy. But I, as Erin, even going home at Christmas, I’m a 31-year-old woman, but as soon as I’m home, I’m, like, “Mom, can you do my laundry?” I’m pulled back there, and on the show I think Erica certainly has fun with being back in high school and taking everything in. But I almost have it easier than some of the other actors, certainly the actress that plays young Erica when she’s 12. They [the producers] don’t think I can play 12, so they hired this fantastic actress. But she was a 12-year-old girl who had to play 32, and I thought that she did a fantastic job.
EARTHS MIGHTIEST: Can you describe the difference in tone between season one and season two? Season one seemed a little light-hearted with heavy moments, but season two seems different.
ERIN: It’s the same show, though we do get into the time travel aspect a little more. But I look at the time travel as the catalyst for her learning and growth and development. One thing I have to give credit for regarding the second season is that I remember when I read the pilot, I said, “How many regrets can this woman have? How many times am I in Dr. Tom’s office; where he is the teacher and I am the student? Is it going to be repetitive or stagnant?” But that hasn’t happened. Season two was so much fun to shoot. Erica is more worldly and responsible and accountable in the ways of the time travel and uses her experience from the first season and applies them into the second season. It’s not only in helping and developing herself, but also to help other people. That’s something that’s very fun to play, to see her kind of step outside of herself. Depending on what the particular regret is, that will shape the episode. It’s still the same show, but if it’s dealing with the death of her brother, it’s obviously going to be a bit more heavy than if it’s her singing Britney Spears to try to stand up to a professor.
EARTHS MIGHTIEST: Are there ways this has affected you as a real person?
ERIN: I’ve learned so much from Erica. Just that regrets are the kind of thing that can fester inside of you and you can hang on to for years. It just seems so pointless. There’s one episode where Erica wants to go back and relive a regret, but she realizes that, in fact, it wasn’t a regret at all. It was a hard thing that she had to go through, but given the chance again, she would do it the same. I thought that was interesting in my own life, and it helped me kind of let go of certain things that I may still be hanging on to. I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned from playing Erica, and just as an actor on the show and the experience, is just to let go of things. It’s a lot easier.
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EdGross
2/22/2010