Sophie Tweed-Simmons has come home to sing country.
The daughter of former Playboy model and Newfoundland native Shannon Tweed and Kiss rocker Gene Simmons recently spent five days in Sudbury filming a co-starring role in Country Crush, a musical written by Andrew Cymek, a Toronto director, actor, editor and visual effects whiz.
“I just liked (the project) because it combines two things I’m really passionate about, which is singing and acting. Also, it’s a Canadian production and I feel a strong connection to my mom’s side of the family and I’m still a citizen, so it’s about time I did something Canadian,” said Tweed-Simmons, who also holds U.S. citizenship.
“I do spend quite a bit of time in Toronto, but I’ve never been this far north,” she added, referring to Sudbury.
Tweed-Simmons, 22, has previously starred alongside her rock star dad and actress mom in the reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels on A&E and Shannon and Sophie on W Network, as well as playing small roles in a handful of independent U.S. films.
Besides singing — she was a contestant on a season of The X Factor — Tweed-Simmons has also created her own “all-size” fashion line for The Style Club.
Tweed-Simmons said she was also drawn to Country Crush because of the concept: a musical featuring country music.
“There’s so many people that enjoy country music. It’s just not something Hollywood has caught on to yet, but I think they definitely will,” she said.
“I had to audition just like everyone else and I’m sure there were a couple of hundred people that auditioned for the part,” she added.
She plays Ainsley, the best friend of the film’s heroine Nancy (B.C. country music singer-songwriter Madeline Merlo).
Degrassi alumnus Munro Chambers plays Charlie, Nancy’s love interest, and U.S. country music star Jana Kramer lends her voice while playing Charlie’s mother.
Producer Nick Baillie said the film is already generating buzz in Nashville, the epicentre of country music in the U.S.
“Musicals have become popular but to do a country music musical . . . it’s a very unique thing and it’s going to appeal to a wide audience out there,” Baillie said.
Baillie said filming in Sudbury and Parry Sound allowed the production to take advantage of incentives from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, which requires Canadian content, including cast members like Tweed-Simmons.
“She really impressed us with her ability to sing country music. She comes from a great pedigree, of course,” Baillie said.
Tweed-Simmons said she likes playing the “bad girl” role of Ainsley.
“(Ainsley) is a little bit dark. She’s kind of sneaky in the way she does things and that’s definitely different than who I am in life. So it was a bit of a struggle and I did work with an acting coach to make sure I got her right,” she said.
“Basically, my acting coach just had me do an exercise where I practised insulting people for three days and I was so bad at it. She was like, ‘Have you ever thrown an insult?’ And I was like, ‘No, not really.’ This character is not afraid to say things to her face and she’s all about herself, which is very different than me.”
