Little Bit Zombie – Crystal Lowe

Horror and zombie fans loved the release of Canada’s latest zombie flick: “A Little Bit Zombie”, starring Vancouver actress and one of Hollywood’s most in-demand ‘Scream Queens’, Crystal Lowe. Fresh off winning the award for Best Feature Film at the Canadian Film Fest, and the Gold Remi Award for Best Dark Comedy at the Houston International Film Festival, “A Little Bit Zombie” has become a smash hit on the indie film festival circuit and in theatres across Canada.

“A Little Bit Zombie” provides a new twist on the romantic-comedy-zombie genre that has solidified its status as a new cult classic. The film follows the adventures of a mild-mannered HR manager (Kristopher Turner) who becomes infected with a virus during a weekend get-away with his fiancée, sister, and best friend. He must elude the obsessed zombie hunter hot on his trail while he attempts to fulfill his new desire for brains and avoid the wrath of his bridezilla-to-be played by Crystal. Other cast includes Kristen Hager (Being Human), Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil: Afterlife), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary), and Stephen McHattie (Watchmen). “A Little Bit Zombie” was co-written by Christopher Bond (‘Evil Dead: The Musical’) and Trevor Martin.

Crystal is currently filming a series lead role in SPACE TV’s original mythological/action series “PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD”. Crystal plays Toby Nance, a young cool PHD scientist who is Evan Crosses’ right hand girl. Set in Vancouver against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, the 13-episode, one-hour series is produced in association with Omni Film Productions (DEFYING GRAVITY, ARCTIC AIR). A North American spin-off of the hit U.K. television series, “PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD” follows a specialized team of animal experts and scientists that investigates the appearance of temporal anomalies and battles both prehistoric and futuristic creatures. The cast features a bevy of established genre heavyweights such as Niall Matter (EUREKA, 90210, MELROSE PLACE) as the enterprising inventor and visionary hero Evan Cross, and Sara Canning (SUPERNATURAL, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, SMALLVILLE) as Dylan Weir, predator attack expert and specialist in animal behavior. Existing fans of the PRIMEVAL brand and the SPACE audience alike are sure to be excited by the imminent crossover from the original series into the NEW WORLD.

Last fall, audiences saw Crystal star opposite Ryan Robbins at The 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival in Kimani Ray Smith’s short “Suffer”. The short film thrills as kidnapped professional fighter, Logan O’Connor (Robbins) is thrown into an underground fighting tournament where he must save himself from cannibals or risk being served up for dinner. The film has already won “Best Horror Short” at the 2011 Action On Film Festival.

‘Suffer’ Trailer

Crystal is well known for many of her starring roles in the horror genre which include blockbuster features such as “Killer Mountain”, “Yeti: Curse of The Snow Demon”, “Wrong Turn 2”, “Black Christmas”, “Snakes On A Plane”, “Masters of Horror”, “Scary Movie 4”, “Final Destination 3”, and “Children of The Corn: Revelations” just to name a few. The former model is also easily recognizable from her starring role as Vala Kandorian on the final season of “Smallville”, and continues to showcase different sides of her work through strong and interesting characters on TV and in film. Another recent project include Crystal starring opposite Rick Schroder as Piper / Peaches in the CMT movie about an ex-wrestler (Schroder) who tries to keep his family’s down-and-out southern wrestling school in business. Crystal can also be seen in a recent episode of “The Haunting Hour”, where she played the role of a high fashion photographer with an evil side that will take your soul if you’re not lucky.

Aside from her busy acting career, Crystal has gone into business, opening up her own restaurant called Hyde; a Tim Burton inspired room of oddity serving food and drink by leading mixologists that never disappoint. The restaurant is located on Vancouver’s trendy Main Street.

Crystal Lowe was born and raised in Vancouver, and had the opportunity to move with her family to Hong Kong during her adolescent years where she became fluent in Cantonese. She started off her career as a model and won several modeling competitions, and was featured as a centerfold and as a cover model for numerous magazines. She was also a model for the videogames “Need for Speed 2004” and “Fight Night 2004”. She currently splits her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles. In her free time, Crystal dedicates time to her family and French Bulldog, Honey. She adores Burlesque and live entertainment which are showcased weekly at her restaurant.

ASIANCE: Let’s start off with how you got into acting. Was it a hobby that turned into a career? Or was it something that you’ve always wanted to do when you were young?

Crystal: I have always wanted to be an actor. I believe I was about 4 when my mother put me in my first church play and I knew the minute I stepped on stage that this was what I wanted to do.

ASIANCE: You’re the lead role in “A Little Bit Zombie”. How do you feel about being the lead in a series? Now that you’re the lead in a series, do you feel like all of your hard work paid off?

Crystal: It’s been a crazy ride and I have been so fortunate to work as an actor for the last 16 years. Honestly, most people don’t realize how difficult it is to be an actor that can make enough money to support themselves. I am really lucky and blessed to be one of those people.

I feel like having a lead in a series and a film is just icing on the cake and I hope that I can continue to grow and do what I love forever.

ASIANCE: When you found out that you were the lead of “A Little Bit Zombie”, were you excited to get the role? Would you say it fits your acting style? Or did you look to it as a growing experience?

Crystal: When the offer came up I was a bit hesitant at first. I have done a lot of horror and while I love the genre, I also wanted to make sure that it wasn’t the only genre that I was getting to be a part of. My agent urged me to read it and he was 100% right. The script was so funny and unique and as soon as I read it I had to be a part of it. I rarely get to do comedy so I was thrilled and scared to death of the challenge.

Crystal Lowe and her sister via Crystal’s twitter

ASIANCE: You have a restaurant called Hyde, which is located in Vancouver. What made you think of opening a restaurant?

Crystal: It is located on Main and 14th in Vancouver BC. I have always wanted to own a business of my own and I loved the idea of having a place that I would want to go with my friends. It has also given me a platform to dabble in other arts. We are actually having our first sit down dinner live art show next week, which I am extremely excited about. Having a venue that can facilitate this type of thing is rewarding in itself.

ASIANCE: Back to the subject of acting, how do you feel about Asians being represented in the media? Do you feel there aren’t enough being represented in the entertainment industry?

Crystal: If your referring to Hollywood then I can honestly say there are not enough at all. But I feel that sometime we are partially to blame. The Asian community in my experience is a very proud one and we don’t often like to stick our necks out unless we are sure that what we do will succeed. I think because of this not many artists are as encouraged in our culture. I hope that more young people will fall in love with the arts as I have, and pursue their dream. And I hope that we follow the lead of Bollywood and create more content that is seen by North America.

ASIANCE: You also speak Cantonese because you got to live in Hong Kong when you were a teen. Do you plan on expanding your career in Hong Kong when you get the chance? Do you think that Hong Kong and Vancouver are different in any way?

Crystal: I really hope to expand to Hong Kong at some point. I have always felt a need to go back and would love to act in Chinese as I rarely get that opportunity. My character in Primeval is half Chinese and half Scottish, which has been very fun for me, as people often have no idea that I am a mix at all. I think Vancouver and Hong Kong are very different even in our TV content. Most stars in Hong Kong sing dance and act. Here it’s more usual to just pick one!

ASIANCE: At your restaurant, you tend to have live shows and burlesque every week. Do you feel like that your customers enjoy the shows? What kind of talents do you look for when you have your live shows?

Crystal: I love that we have live shows so I can only hope they love them just as much. I am always looking for unique people that push boundaries and that’s usually what we get.

ASIANCE: Are there any upcoming projects that you’re looking forward too? What types of things do you wish to work on if you had an opportunity?

Crystal: I am most excited about a short film that I am producing. I have always wanted to make my own projects and this is a first for me so I am pretty excited.

Visit Crystal’s twitter.com/realcrystallowe

We interviewed Crystal in 2006! See it here!