Keegan Connor Tracy: Interview

Review by Clint Morris

Interview with Final Destination 2 actor, Keegan Connor Tracy

Love or loathe them, there’s no denying that Teen Horror flicks can kick-start the vocation of a good number of nascent young actors.

Think Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Josh Hartnett, and even renowned Jamie Lee Curtis (who made her mark playing the beset babysitter, Laurie Strode, in the classic “Halloween”) They’ve all started in adolescent horror films and gone on too much better things.

Actress Keegan Connor Tracy is hoping her new role, in Final Destination 2, will propel her to the sovereignty of leeway. Judging by the favourable reception the film – sequel to the 2000 hit about a group of teens who cheat death only to have demise come chasing them – her wish might just come true.

But as Tracy tells Clint Morris, horror films weren’t even something she was initially interested in...

Keegan with her double

“I hadn't actually seen the first one when the called me with the role”, confesses the young actress. “But as soon as I got to Vancouver - I was in LA - I rented it and was pleasantly surprised. I quite liked it!”

“I'm sort of a film snob and really prefer more serious or comedic projects - but this was really fun, like a roller coaster and I'd certainly do it again.

“Especially if it was a movie like The Ring, which I thought really mastered the art of a 'serious' horror flick. I think Final Destination 2 was a different genre – like the popcorn horror flick, just a lot of fun and gags.”

In it, Tracy plays the sceptic of the ensemble, Kat, whose not buying any of the hype into this death scheme. “Kat is a self-absorbed PR exec who doesn't care a whole lot about the others - well, until the thing starts to look like it's really true and then she jumps on the bandwagon.” explains Keegan.

The question therefore remains, is Tracy anything like her unbelieving character? “I wish I weren't and I try not to be but there are some weird little idiosyncrasies I have. Like I hate when a hearse drives by me on the highway.”

Tracy explains that a lot of what she did with her character didn’t end up in the finished film. “I tried to really build a character with Kat and a lot of little behaviours I tried to put in didn't make it - which always happens. Like I tried to build a strange sexuality with Rory - which would have been creepily weird - maybe too much so!”.

Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, Tracy attended Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where she originally studied business. Kat says it was a conscious decision to supplement her eventual career with some knowledge.“It was never actually a change - it was always what I was going to do - I just wanted to have a solid educational foundation behind me - I love learning.”

The erudition hasn’t stopped though – she recently learnt how to build a production company from the ground up, called ‘Drama Queen Productions’. “I'm trying to finish a script I've been working on forever and also a documentary that I have to shoot in Ontario whenever I finally get a chance.” she explains.

Tracy also studies martial arts. “I studied Pankration which was wild - I haven't really gotten to use it in films, but it would be great if I could - I love harness work and all that crazy 'Matrix' stuff.”

Since Final Destination 2, Tracy had the chance to work on another film in her Native, Canada. “I just finished an incredible film in Canada directed by Mina Shum currently titled Chinese Checkers, which is a 'fake' name because there are legal proceedings which prohibit me from talking about it - but it'll be a great film and I can't wait 'till we can openly discuss it - soon I hope.”

Meantime, she says she’s happy she did Final Destination 2. “I think it was just fun to do something in this genre which I hadn't really ever done. It was like a bit of a break - not big emotional scenes - just a fun little romp though a really trippy premise.

“It was great to do all the prosthetic work and car crashes - quite a departure from the usual for me. I thought it was wild having the 'double' made of me - quite an experience being covered in goo and having an exact replica made of my head!” she laughs.

Final Destination 2 is now screening nationally.

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