That certain something
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"Inherent likability is not something you can put on," says Schitt's Creek creator and costar Dan Levy (David Rose) on the subject of Annie Murphy. "Instantly I knew I could throw a lot at Annie and she could handle it, because she has that special something."
Daydream believer
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Annie Murphy, who cites Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Amy Poehler, and Kristin Wiig as some of her dream costars, tells Watch in our January-February 2020 cover story that it's "pretty spooky" to be auditioning again. "I'm trying to look at it as a great adventure as opposed to a scary hellscape of uncertainty," she admits.
Blossoming ambition
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Fun Fact: Annie Murphy wrote the lyrics to her character's cult hit "A Little Bit Alexis," which her husband Menno Versteeg and her friend Nixon Boyd, both of the Canadian rock band Hollerado, produced. Though it was to be a spoof, Murphy tells Watch in our January-February 2020 cover story that she "secretly wanted to make a banger."
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Inspired by various reality TV stars, Annie Murphy's Alexis Rose often bends her wrists as if holding an imaginary purse, she tells Watch in our February 2020 cover story. It's a move she describes as "a T-Rex playing piano at an old-timey saloon."
She's got this
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Photography by Christopher Ross | Styled by Sasha Charnin Morrison
Annie Murphy possesses the sky-high level of self-awareness required to play a character who has none, says Schitt's Creek writer and producer David West Read: "Ten seconds of her awkwardly walking out a door is as great as anything we could write."
Dramatic underpinnings
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Photography by Christopher Ross | Styled by Sasha Charnin Morrison
Noting that the best comedy is really comedy and drama combined, Catherine O'Hara says she knew Annie Murphy had what it took from the start. "You have to have a sense of humor about life, and about yourself. Annie knows how to walk that line."
Magic moment
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"I'm going to take it to my grave as one of my favorite things I ever got to do," says director Jordan Canning of filming the cringey scene that turned Annie Murphy's song "A Little Bit Alexis" into an overnight sensation.
VIDEO: Annie Murphy And Schitt's Creek Castmates Dish On Song "A Little Bit Alexis"
Genuinely nice
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Photography by Christopher Ross | Styled by Sasha Charnin Morrison
"Unlike so many actors," says Eugene Levy, Annie Murphy's dad on Schitt's Creek, "Annie doesn't possess what my wife calls the 'Look at Me' gene. She likes the simple things in life: a good meal, a good time with friends. She likes to be at the back of the crowd, watching someone else at the front."
Pretty impressive
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"I'm in awe of what she can do," says Eugene Levy, who, not unlike his Schitt's Creek wife Catherine O'Hara, says he loves Annie Murphy like a daughter. "It's her timing, her physicality, her delivery, it's the whole package."
Historically significant
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Fun Fact: Annie Murphy, who grew up in Ottawa, Canada, is an only child whose mother taught English as a second language, while her father was a speechwriter.
Appreciation for the arts
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Annie Murphy tells Watch that in her earliest years she's experienced "this weird panic about only getting one life," but found solace in books, in acting, and in the black-and-white movies introduced to her by her father, especially 1950's Harvey.
Escape into entertainment
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Fun fact: On her 32nd birthday, Annie Murphy had an outline of Elwood P. Dowd, Jimmy Stewart's character in Harvey, tattooed on her wrist. The film holds special meaning to her.
"Harvey has always been such a safe, wonderful place for me to go," Anne Murphy tells us. "It's about leading with kindness and awe, and really believing in something. That you're never totally alone, even though it looks like you are sometimes."
Brighter days
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Photography by Christopher Ross | Styled by Sasha Charnin Morrison
Annie Murphy, who explains that she suffers from depression, is hoping to help destigmatize mental health issues. "Depression has nothing to do with failure or success.," she shares with Watch. "It's the weight of being human that just catches up to you sometimes."
Parting gift
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Photography by Christopher Ross | Styled by Sasha Charnin Morrison
Though the filming of Schitt's Creek's has ended, self-confidence, says Annie Murphy, is an Alexis Rose quality she'd like to take with her: "That extra bit of belief in yourself goes a long way. Just being a supporter of yourself, that's a valuable thing to try to achieve." Words to live by.
Originally published in Watch Magazine, January-February 2020.
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Schitt's Creek streams on the Pop Now app, plus Netflix and CW Seed. Catch past episodes on Comedy Central too! Check local listings.
