Mason Temple was living paycheque to paycheque from various theatre gigs in Vancouver, when he got his big break – a starring role in an upcoming Netflix show. If that sounds straight out of a Hollywood movie too good to be true, well, Temple can’t believe it either.
Temple, who grew up in Fort St. John and graduated from North Peace Secondary in 2014, appears in all 10 episodes of the upcoming comedy series Ginny & Georgia, which starts streaming Feb. 24.
“I took a leap of faith, said no to theatre jobs, and this actually happened. It’s indescribable," Temple says. "I see this in the movies but didn’t know this kind of thing actually happened."
The show follows 15-year-old teenager Ginny and her 30-year-old mom Georgia, "who try to put down roots in a picturesque town after years on the run," according to Netflix. Temple features in the supporting cast as Hunter Chen, a guitar-playing love interest.
"It's like Gilmore Girls with a dark twist, and a mom who’d do anything to protect her children," said Temple.
The show filmed in Toronto in the fall of 2019. Temple has yet to see any of the finished episodes, and can’t wait to get a glimpse.
He and his castmates often joked about the time they met, and whether they actually filmed a show together because of how much time had passed.
“Post production was delayed a bit due to Covid and everything, so nobody knew when it would come out,” he said. “It was a confusing time, but we’re all relieved that press is now happening.”
The show is undoubtedly the biggest project Temple has worked on and, as the cliché goes, his big break.
But the story of how he got to this point is just as interesting as the show itself.
Temple first started acting in Stage North theatre productions in Fort St. John. His first play was A Christmas Story, where he played the character Schwartz.
After appearing in a number of productions with Stage North in junior high, he formed a theatre group called Spectacular Chair Factory with other NPSS studentsin 2012.
The troupe performed in a number of theatre festivals, including a play that Temple wrote called Hallways, a high school that stirred up quite the commotion but also earned Temple the win in the Peace River Zone for Theatre BC’s 2013 Mainstage festival.
Temple graduated in 2014 and moved to Vancouver, where he studied theatre at the Studio 58 Acting Conservatory out of Langara College. Temple said he was living as a starving artist for five years before this opportunity came along, and submitted a self-audition tape to the show creators in Los Angeles.
“I was thinking of what I should play for a song in the audition. Being from Fort St. John, I thought I could use something that has that small, rural town feel,” Temple said. "I settled on singing ‘The Shallow’ and ‘Wagon Wheel’, and that ended up catching their attention."
Even though the show is finished and about to come out, Temple still can’t believe his good luck.
“I booked Ginny & Georgia two years out of graduating from theatre school. I know people who don’t get a proper shot for 10 years after school," he said. "I am nothing but grateful and humbled by this, and thankful for all the support I’ve had along the way. This is the biggest show I’ve ever been on, it’s a crazy project, and it feels wild to be in it.”
Email reporter Dillon Giancola at sports@ahnfsj.ca.
