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Image 1 of 4
Clean Living with Gabrielle Miller
By Adrian Mack
She's a Vegetarian whose middle name is Sunshine. But the star of TV's Corner Gas and Robson Arms is no granola girl.
"Come in," says Gabrielle Miller, opening the door to her loft apartment, a stone's throw (with a weak arm) form Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside.
As she pads across the single open-concept room to a long antique walnut dining table at the far end, Miller pins her hair on top of her head, inadvertently leaving a single lock jutting upward, making her look somewhat child-like - an effect that's enhanced by her large eyes and open face.
Its a little jarring, actually. On first blush, the scene is conspicuously high-end, and entirely appropriate for a beautiful, talented, and successful Canadian actor - which is precisely what Miller is. Starting at 19, she began to show up in the stalwart Vancouver-based productions like "The X-Files", but in the last few years, Miller' career has become jet-fueled. Currently, the 31-year-old Leo Award-winner finds herself in not one, but two breakthrough homegrown series--the gently humane and internationally recognized comedy "Corner Gas" (in which she plays cafe´ owner Lacey Burrows), and the comparatively bittersweet "Robson Arms" (where she plays would-be exercise instructor Bobbi Briggs).
"Corner Gas" is the highest-rated Canadian comedy show in history. And the signs of Miller's success are obvious. This is no starving artist; there's no waitressing gig on the side, and Miller certainly doesn't need the publicity. But the B.C. native has nonetheless decided to give "Shared-VISION" a generous glimpse into her life. She dishes on the unconventional upbringing that equipped her to keep her head in in industry that, frankly, collects heads.
"I'm a really sensitive person," she begins, "and I think I could have been quite easily hurt. But I've also had very supportive people in my life."
Raised with five siblings in a family she cheerfully describes as "hippie" --"Hey, my middle name is Sunshine," she quips--Miller is unequivocal about the source of her well-being.
"Just the spiritual base that I had," she says, "and the lessons my parents taught me when I was younger definitely helped, especially in a business like this one. And then growing up with not very much money and a big family, you have to learn to work together, and you have to figure out how to share."
Miler's mother, father, and stepfather were all (and remain) initiates of Sant Kirpal Singh, an Indian guru who preached the importance of self-knowledge, God-knowledge, and selfless service. She continues, "We didn't have a lot, and my fantasy world and my imagination were really nurtured by my parents. It was a place I could go to and dream. I think that all helped."
The significance of this can be felt in Miller's views on acting itself. She is almost apologetic about what would normally seem to be a fatal absence of competitiveness ("If I'm competitive with anybody, it's myself," she shrugs); she lavishes sincere praise on her peers, particularly "Robson Arms" co-star John Cassini ("He makes walking up stairs look fascinating ," she sighs. "Everything he does is so fresh and alive"); she demonstrates a rare ambivalence about the venue she occupies, eschewing the prominence of film over television and remarking, "I'm not about one or the other. just quality and good stories"; and she does all this while fussing over her interviewers comfort in the face of a schedule that would kill most of us (back to the "Robson Arms" set this afternoon, off to Saskatchewan for "Corner Gas" tomorrow...)
But It also becomes apparent that Miller's grounding is commemorated in the objects around her. There are the cabinets, entertainment unit, and various other furnishings built by Ornamentum, a Vancouver-based company that uses FSC-certified wood and recycled materials. "I just try to focus on being as simple as possible and using companies that use good methods in how they build, "she notes.
And there's the funky "vegetarian deer head" wood carving that hangs on the wall above the dining table, symbolizing Miller's lifelong commitment to a meat-free diet. "I think it would probably take me years of therapy to be able to eat meat," she shudders. "That's kind of my little f-you to hunters," she continues, nodding towards the deer head. "No! I'm just kidding. But I think it's just a beautiful piece of art, and nobody had to die for it." After a beat, she adds, "Except for the tree. I guess you gotta draw the line somewhere."
Then there's the choice of location itself. Miller's character on "Robson Arms" struggles to find a sense of community in Vancouver's West End. Miller herself, meanwhile, has built a solid home with her partner AJ in a neighborhood characterized by degradation, poverty, and suffering. Its on this particular topic that Miller definitely upturns the otherwise reasonable notion that actors tend to be vain dimwits; she is clearly no dilettante roughing it in an "emerging" district.
"You know," she begins, furrowing her brow, "I think everybody should have food, and a place to live, and be taken care of, and ..." She pauses momentarily, fixes her gaze, and the voice drops a semi-tone. "Look at where I live," she sighs. "I don't think this city has enough beds for people that are in trouble. I don't like that people who have problems with mental illness and addiction... don't have anywhere to go. There's no excuse for people to be starving, or beaten, or hurt, or not to have a safety net of any kind."
She continues, "My mom and I just discussed this. We have some sort of draw or spiritual connection to this area. I've lived here on and off, my grandmother lived and died here, my mother sold flowers on East Hastings when I was growing up to support our family..."
Asked if she feels safe in this area, Miller's eyes blaze with emotion."It's funny, peoples' perception of things," she answers. "You know, what scares me is the Friday and Saturday nights at the bars." She Jerks her thumb in the direction of Granville Street, Vancouver's downtown nexus of shiny cars, high-octane dance clubs, and weekly brawls."Thats where I'd be scared to walk at night."
Miller's phone rings, snapping us both out of absorbing discussion. The busy actor has to make her way back to the set, and there's barely been any time to talk about the land Miller recently purchased in the Slocan Valley and the eco-friendly home she plans on building there, the laudable greening of the "Robson Arms" set, or her work with the Vela Microboard Association on behalf of Miller's sister Shanti, who lives with cerebral palsy and who Miller describes as her "hero." But she's disclosed enough to make one thing clear: Gabrielle Miller has inherited a rare sense of balance and humility.
As for the reason she chose to speak with SharedVISION? It turns out that it's a publication that Miller and her family are very familiar with. "It's a magazine that talks about cool stuff, and I knew my mom would be excited about it. I called her. I'm like, 'Mom, guess what?'"