Missy Peregrym, the star of ABC‘s new cop drama “Rookie Blue,” says there are many times she’s considered walking away from the business.
“I’ve threatened to quit this so many times,” she says.
The challenge, she says, is being an actress and deciding what roles to take or not, and not always having to fall back on sexy to succeed.
“I can’t sell myself to Maxim,” she says, “and turn and tell a young girl you don’t have to dress that way to make it.”
Peregrym started out as a model, and her swimsuit shots have found many fans online.
“It’s not about being in lingerie and talking about sex in an interview,” she says.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being beautiful,” she adds. “I’m not saying hide that, I’m saying do it in a tasteful way, not just sexual and baring my body.”
So she looks for work in movies and TV that is different from simply being a pretty face. Today, she despises a role she took in 2004, playing a hooker in a TV movie about madam Heidi Fleiss.
“I still hate it so much,” she says. “I just don’t feel that’s the route I want to take.”
In “Rookie Blue,” Peregrym is in the lead role of a drama about a new crew of cops on the beat.
The show finished production in December and had been targeted for a midseason slot. However, it was held back and now will launch Thursday at 9 p.m., in the slot that normally has “Grey’s Anatomy.” The show also stars Gregory Smith, Charlotte Sullivan, Enuka Okuma, Travis Milne, Ben Bass and Eric Johnson.
“I thought it could go anywhere with endless possibilities,” she says of the show. “After I met with the team – the producers and the writers – I fell in love with it even more. Everyone had the same vision for the show.”
It’s Peregrym’s first lead series role, though she’s no stranger to television. She spent two seasons on CW’s “Reaper,” was in NBC’s “Heroes” and starred in the film “Stick It.”
Though the delay in getting on the air has been frustrating, she’s grateful for having a good time period, something that probably would not have happened during the season.
“It would be devastating if we didn’t go back for a second season,” she says.
“If I didn’t get the opportunity to go back, it would be really hard to let go and do something else.”
But that’s part of the television game, she admits.
“I love being settled,” she says. “I’m the worst person to be in this job.”
Starting out, she says she had confidence issues, too. “It was hard for me to find my place here,” she says.
She then started getting mail from young girls who said her work in the film “Stick It” got them into gymnastics, or about other roles that helped inspire them, and more importantly, respect themselves.
“I feel like there’s a lot of influence on the other side of things, and not enough on the positive side,” she says. “If I can do that, it’s worth it.”
