'Schitt's Creek' alum Emily Hampshire leads 'The Rig,' one of the most popular shows on Prime Video

"As Canadians, we're so self-conscious about seeming like we have tall poppy syndrome or something, being proud of anything we do," the actor said

Emily Hampshire in The Rig Season 2 (Amazon MGM Studios)
Emily Hampshire in The Rig Season 2 (Amazon MGM Studios)

Among the most popular shows on Prime Video right now in Canada, the U.S. and the UK is The Rig, back with a second season that is bigger in scope and bolder in its storytelling. Starring beloved Canadian actor and Schitt's Creek alum Emily Hampshire, after the first season cliffhanger Rose (Hampshire), Magnus (Iain Glen), Fulmer (Martin Compston) and the rest of the crew are brought to the Arctic, which wasn't just a surprise for the show's characters, but the cast as well.

"Quite literally, we had no idea where we were going," Hampshire told Yahoo Canada. "At the end of Season 1 we're left with this cliffhanger, we're on a helicopter and we don't know where we're going, and as actors, ... we actually thought we were going to Hawaii. ... Not only did the writers say that, but our wrap party was Hawaiian themed."

"Then [we] found out we were going to the Arctic, which is nothing like Hawaii. However, I realized that was a way better choice, because I'm Canadian. I feel comfortable in big coats. I can act cold because I have a lot of sense memory of that."

Spoilers for The Rig Season 2 included beyond this point

One of the most impactful moments of The Rig Season 2 is Rose's resurrection scene. After Rose has a fatal gunshot wound she's quickly healed due to the Ancestor, after Rose chose to infect herself, which allowed her to be brought back to life.

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For Hampshire, luckily she was warned before reading the scene where Rose dies that she wasn't being killed off the show, with the actor highlighting that she enjoyed her character's leadership arc in Season 2.

"I felt like Rose's storyline this season was so great, and especially for me personally, I felt like this thing of her becoming a leader was sort of lining up with my real life, at the time where I was trying to figure stuff out about being a leader or a boss in my own career, and new stuff that I'm doing," Hampshire said. "So it felt very art imitating life, in a great way."

While The Rig really relies on its heavy sci-fi elements, massive scope and impressive sets, production design and visual effects, it also integrates topics like climate change and environmental damage relevant to our reality.

"I think that comes from David Macpherson, the writer, creator of the show, his background is all in environmental stuff, and he knows a lot about it and cares deeply about it, but also, his father worked on a rig and in the oil industry," Hampshire shared. "And so I think it's really this balanced perspective of, it's not preachy at all ... it's just telling you, these are the facts."

"I love this line from Season 1, my character says, 'If we keep punching holes in the earth, eventually it's going to punch back.' That's how things work and I think it's really special to have something like this now that just lays it out really honestly. ... It's science fiction, ... but there's a truth to it at its core."

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Looking forward for hopefully a Season 3 of the popular show, Hampshire would like to see a new season that doesn't start "mere minutes" after the end of Season 2, particularly because The Rig needs time in between seasons to be produced, largely due to elements like the visual effects. The actor also really enjoyed the underwater elements of Season 2, which she would be interested in revisiting in a future season of the show.

Actors Dan Levy, left, and Emily Hampshire, stars of
Actors Dan Levy, left, and Emily Hampshire, stars of "Schitt's Creek," laugh while posing in Toronto on Monday, November 23, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

From The Rig to Schitt's Creek, and films like Caitlin Cronenberg's Humane and Molly McGlynn's Fitting In, Hampshire has had an impressive career to date, playing a variety of different characters. In terms of what appeals to Hampshire about taking on a new project and new roles, it's about stepping into something different from who she is personally.

"I've realized it's really different from a lot of my actor friends, and I've only realized that recently, that I like to choose parts that will give me something I don't have," Hampshire shared.

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"So like Stevie from Schitt's Creek, people usually, when they meet me, are freaked out or disappointed that I am not at all like Stevie. But what I love about Stevie is that she's so chill and laid back, and she doesn't feel like she has to go forward for anybody, and I don't have that. So when I play Stevie, I always feel like I'm getting kind of a vacation from myself."

Reflecting back on Schitt's Creek, which became an international sensation, it's also an example of how Canadians have a history of being more hesitant to really embrace our homegrown entertainment, particularly before it achieves international success.

"No one was paying attention to Schitt's Creek at the beginning, especially in Canada," Hampshire said. "So much so that on our first day ... or second day of filming, we all remember this very well, it was when we were doing the exteriors and this truck drove by, and this guy screamed, 'Eat a dick Eugene,' out at Eugene [Levy] because we were shooting in their neighbourhood."

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"When it became popular, and in Season 5, the whole town would come, they'd be behind the monitor, ordering pizza. ... The evolution of the town, the real town, actually liking us being there was nice."

Hampshire added that Canadians tend to only start loving a Canadian project "when it's loved everywhere else."

"As Canadians, we're so self-conscious about seeming like we have tall poppy syndrome or something, being proud of anything we do," she said. "And I still have my mother's voice in my head like, 'Nobody likes somebody with a big head.' But there's a balance."

"When I signed on to [Schitt's Creek] I thought, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, this is going to be big. Nobody was really watching. And then it was only when we were done, ... when me and Annie [Murphy] did not have jobs, ... did it kind of blow up, which I think was very Schitt's Creek-ian. ... And then we go to the SAG Awards and Nicole Kidman's asking if she can take a picture with us, which was crazy."

When asked if she would return to play Stevie again in any sort of future Schitt's Creek project, after rumours have been swirling for a while about a possible reboot or movie, Hampshire's ready for whatever Dan Levy could have up his sleeve.

"I might, as they say in Scotland, take the piss out of him," she said. "I might be like, 'Oh, I don't know. I'd play Alexis maybe, but not Stevie.' I'll freak him out for a bit, and then I'll say yes, of course."