From Party of Five to Scream, we majorly girl crushed on Neve Campbell back in high school (let’s be honest, we’re still huge fans)! Therefore, we couldn’t resist a chance to sit down with the Canadian beauty in Vancouver, while she was here to launch a very worthy project called Buy a Cup, Give a Cup in partnership with Mott’s Fruitsations and Breakfast Club of Canada. Below, Neve shares more about the project, her motherhood journey and what’s up next professionally. —Rachel Johnston
Tell us more about the collaboration and how it works.
Mott’s Fruitsations and Breakfast Club of Canada started a program called Buy a Cup, Give a Cup. Until March, if you buy a cup of Mott’s Fruitsations, then a cup will be donated to the Breakfast Club of Canada so kids in need can have some breakfast.
How did you become involved and why is this a cause close to your heart?
I was invited to become involved. I learned that one in five kids in Canada go to school hungry each morning which was pretty shocking. So when this project was brought to me, I was really excited to become a part of it. As a mom, obviously it’s very important to me that my kids are happy and healthy and doing well in school so I really appreciate how crucial it is to get a good meal in the morning. It’s unfair to me that some kids don’t get that so I think it’s important that we try and provide that opportunity for everybody.
Do you agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
I do! Apparently 60 per cent of learning at school happens before lunchtime. So if a kid doesn’t have breakfast in the morning, the majority of their learning is going to be hindered. There could also be behavioural challenges and that can affect the classroom as well—so really it’s important that everyone is fed well and that there is a community feel. It’s important that there be equality amongst these children. I know I get grumpy if I don’t have breakfast and I know that if I start out well and take care of myself, it sets the tone for the rest of the day.
You’re a mom of two gorgeous children! How has motherhood changed you?
It’s made my life blossom in a lot of ways. The most beautiful thing about becoming a parent is that you really hand yourself over to something greater than yourself and I think that’s a beautiful thing for any soul to learn. I love my boys to death. We wake up every morning and giggle together and laugh together and eat together and have lots of fun. And yeah, it’s the best job I’ve ever had!
So what made you decide to return to the film scene?
Well, I never really left it. I went to England and spent nine years there and I was doing theatre, film and TV. It just wasn’t seen over here. And that’s when my agents called and said, "Do you care at all about your North American profile?" And so it’s not really that I left creativity, I just did it somewhere else for a little bit. And then coming back, I got pregnant and had Caspian and I wanted to have the first two years of Caspian’s life with him without working too much. So I really took that time out for him and for our family. For me, the balance between motherhood and work is important. I don’t think we should ever place too much on our career because in choosing to have a child we have a responsibility, if we can, to try and spend as much time as possible with them. Especially in the first few years.
What has been your most favourite film or television role to date and why?
The best experience for me was The Company. It was a movie that was very close to my heart, that I created. It was about the world of dance and that was my first world—I was a ballet dancer before I was an actor. So for me to have the opportunity to work with the Joffrey Ballet and start dancing again—I had 10 years off from it—and to have Robert Altman direct, was amazing. And to have the dancers have their first experience in a movie and the crew have that be their first experience witnessing dance—it was magical for all of us.
You were thrust into the spotlight at a young age. What’s the most important lesson you learned as a Hollywood star?
I just consider myself a person so I think the most important lesson I learned is to stay true to myself and to my family and friends. And to be true to my creativity and what I believe in and realize that we’re not changing the world and just to be conscious of things that are going on around us. I guess as a person in the business, to not become so overwhelmed by by that that you lose focus on the bigger issues at hand.
What do you love about being Canadian?
I just love being in Canada! I love this country! Everyone’s so nice. I think that what I’ve always been proud of is the fact that we’re so multicultural. I was first generation Canadian. The majority of my friends growing up were all first generation from all different countries and I was proud of that—I think we were all proud of that. We always wanted to learn about each other’s cultures. The first question we would ask is what are you? where are you from? what’s your culture? what do you know about your family history? It’s really funny to me when I’m in America and I say what are you? People don’t know what I mean. And there are so many people there that don’t even know what they are because their grandparents were born here—they don’t even know the country their family came from. It’s very strange to me. So I’m very proud of how open this country is to other cultures.
What’s up next for you?
I’m in the middle of negotiating the sale of a show that I pitched with a wonderful writer named Jeff Greenstein. He’s worked on Will and Grace and Desperate Housewives and a bunch of other things. He’s a brilliant writer and we came up with an idea and pitched it in Los Angeles. We have two offers on the table right now so we’re just negotiating but that will close soon and then I’ll be producing and acting in that!
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