Tatiana Maslany rose to fame playing 17 characters at once on Orphan Black — so it’s no surprise that her career has been equally as versatile. The trend continues for 2026: a recurring guest star role in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, an Apple TV dark comedy (Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed), a crime thriller with Steve Buscemi (The Only Living Pickpocket in New York), premiering at Sundance this winter, and more horror. We chatted with the actor, who starred alongside fellow Canadian Rossif Sutherland in the horror film Keeper, about her love of the genre, filming small and all things Osgood Perkins.
Keeper was your second Perkins film in the same year. What was that like?
We actually shot Keeper before we shot The Monkey, and both films were tonally very different. There are different kinds of horror and elements of dark comedy in both of them but very much expressed differently. The ethos on Oz’s [Perkins] sets is always the same, with playfulness, experimentation and curiosity. Everybody in the crew and cast brings their ideas, and he is very open and adaptive about how people are seeing their characters or the scenes.
What stood out to you about this experience?
I got to work with my very best friend, Tess [Degenstein], who I have been friends with since we were 7 and 9. She is in The Monkey too. She and I would make movies when we were kids so it felt very surreal to get to play with her.
And you’ll be back with Perkins again for The Young People, out this year.
Yes, and again, it’s a totally different film, and I think that’s what I love about Oz. He does not settle into anything comfortable for himself. His most comfortable place is just working. Other than that, he changes it up visually, comedically and thematically. He’s always working around the idea of death, but does it through all these different angles.
FAST FACTS
Name: Tatiana Maslany
Historic win: The first Canadian to win an Emmy in a major category for a Canadian production
Fave spots in the city: Issho Bakery and Mama Loves You Vintage
Superhero roots: Joined the Marvel universe as She-Hulk in 2022
Your career has spanned indie films to big budget productions — what did you learn from the lower budget element of Keeper?
It keeps things really tight. You have to shoot very quickly and make quick decisions, but I think what was so striking to me was the reminder of what you can do with very little. You can still take time and find and create things in the moment. I think people get stuck on bigger and bigger budgets because they think it gives them freedom, but I felt like we had a lot of freedom. That was a really good reminder for me. I’m grateful I got to feel and experience it again because I have done a lot of big budget stuff that feels like a machine, and the money element is only thing anyone is thinking about.
You worked on another horror project that’s premiering soon; what excites you about the genre?
Next in Line is a really exciting queer horror film I was part of, directed by Danny Dolan, who is one of the most amazing choreographers and performers I’ve ever seen. I was so excited to get to work with him and got to incorporate dance into that piece. For me, horror is a great way to express the biggest feelings and go to the extremes. You get to play with the real-life fear that we feel all the time in the world and all the uncertainty and horror and exorcise and explore it instead of letting it suffocate you.
You’ve taken so many opportunities to speak out about causes you care about. It’s not something many people in the public eye choose to do; what motivates you to do so?
I feel like I have a responsibility to, since I have a platform. For example, since this is a Canadian publication, I would emphasize that Mark Carney continues to support Israel both financially, morally and verbally, and even in terms of legislation and deciding where Canadians’ tax money goes. If I’m not talking about that, and voicing my opposition, I don’t know what the point of me having a platform is.
