WATSON ROSE: Art Is Where History Meets Imagination, And It's a Large Part Of What Makes Us Human

Watson Rose is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, and writer who portrayed one of the strongest characters in the series The Way Home – Susanna Augustin – a woman who longed for more freedom and to be who she wanted to be, but was born in the wrong time. The actress believes that despite some changes, the world still continues to dictate and punish people for their self-expression.

In addition to her dramatic role as Susanna, Watson is closely connected to the world of comedy – she performed in the improvised musical comedy theater The 11 O’clock Number, which played a significant role in her development not only as an actress but also as a person. Improvisation helped her become a more confident actress and individual.

In the future, Watson envisions herself not only as an actress but also as a screenwriter – she has completed work on the script for her own feature film and has already begun collaborating with a producer on its production. Watson candidly shared with Drive Music Media about her acting journey, the roles she would never portray on screen, the role of improvisation in acting, her part in The Way Home, and her work on her own film script.

Interviewer: You are the woman that Susanna Augustin dreamed of becoming in The Way Home, but she couldn’t realize her passion for writing within her time. What was this role like for you? If you were Susanna and found yourself outside of your own time, what would you do?

Watson: I’m not sure I’m the woman Susanna would want to be – I think if she lived in our time, she would be a doctor or psychologist or social worker – but I do think I represent the choices and freedom she longed for. It was an honour to play Susanna and to tell her story. She is such a complex and deeply human character, and there is such a conflict inside of her: does she submit to the world and be what is expected of her, or does she live as her authentic self and lose her community, flawed as they may be, as a result? It’s an impossible and incredibly demoralizing situation for someone to be in, and it’s unfortunately a situation we’re seeing become more prevalent again across the world as communities begin to dictate and penalize how individuals express themselves in public. I honestly don’t know how Susanna would react to being in another time – I think it would depend on the era she ended up in and the community in that time. Though she’s an independent woman, deep down, Susanna craves someone who understands her, who sees the real her. I think she would go looking for a community, or that person.

Interviewer: What did you focus on the most to fully convey her state of mind and portray such a strong character, showing her evolution from silence to voice?

Watson: A lot of my work on Susanna was physical, because to me, she is the personification of a corset. She’s a woman contained, constantly fighting to breathe against the rigidity of the society that is oppressing her. So I really found Susanna by understanding how she moves, carries herself; how her posture affects her energy and essence. Costume can be so effective in bringing a character to life, and in this case, with this character, the second I had my corset laced, I WAS Susanna. And it was incredibly freeing to discover how she changes in the few scenes where she’s not in a corset, such as in the Season 2 heist at Lingermore. I was able to find much more freedom and fluidity in her movement that was exacerbated by the fact that she was behaving in open rebellion of societal norms.

Interviewer: You have a degree in acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Do you think actors who never received formal education in this field can still become professional actors who truly connect with audiences? Can empathy, dedication, and talent serve as a foundation for success in acting without formal training? What distinguishes actors with professional education from those who enter the industry without a degree?

Watson: I don’t necessarily think that talent should be part of the conversation, because there are plenty of talented people who simply don’t have the drive to become successful artists. It’s truly about drive: are you driven to be the best actor possible, or are you simply happy if you’re booking? Are you always looking for areas in which you can improve, build your toolbelt, discover something new about yourself as a person or artist? I don’t think that going to theatre school will be the determining factor of your success: it can certainly help or even speed up that process for some individuals. But ultimately, your career is what you make of it; whether you have an education in acting or not, it’s how you approach the industry and the craft that will determine your journey.

Interviewer: Tell us about your participation in the improvised musical comedy ensemble The 11 O’Clock Number. What were your first steps in this theater? What role does improvisation play in both theater and the film industry? Which of your improvisations – on screen or in theater – has stayed with you forever, and why?

Watson: I’ve always loved comedy – I grew up watching SNL and Monty Python and everything Mel Brooks was working on – but until university, I was nervous about getting involved. It didn’t feel like people would take me seriously as an actor if I focused on comedy. But when I got to university, I found that people didn’t take me seriously anyways. I’d moved from out of province, I was doing the general drama program instead of the acting-focused program, and so my peers largely saw me as “not-a-serious-actor” anyways. I needed to find community, and I knew a few people who did the 11 O’Clock number, so I started going to their open workshops. For me, that was freedom. Throwing things at the wall, trying and failing, and ultimately, making people laugh. I think that experience in improv made me not only a more confident actor, but also a more confidant person. I cared less what people thought of me, felt more empowered to speak my mind, to be a voice in the room. It also forced me to make more specific choices with the characters I create, which has been the biggest takeaway for me in the industry. But nothing I’ve done has been harder or more rewarding than comedy.

Interviewer: What was your audition for the role of Susanna Augustin like?

Watson: My audition for Susanna was honestly an enjoyable one, because I didn’t think I’d stand a chance booking it. The breakdown had her listed as being older than I was, I didn’t have any large film credits yet, so I really didn’t think I had a shot. But that was ultimately the key: I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, or fulfil anyone’s vision of who she was, I was discovering the character for myself. I felt a very quick affinity for Susanna, so the audition was fun: I was able to be curious and really play with my coach without getting in my head about a result.

Interviewer: What was the most challenging part of filming The Way Home, and what was the easiest? Which scene was most important to you and why?

Watson: For me, the hardest part about filming was just getting comfortable on set. I had a lot of imposter syndrome at first, and it was overwhelming to be working with so many actors I admired so much. But the entire team of The Way Home, from the cast to the crew to the production team, are incredibly warm, kind people, so those feelings didn’t last very long. The scene that was most important to me was in Season 2, when Susanna said goodbye to Kat (ed. – Chyler Leigh) in her cellar after her failed attempt at time travel. It was a hard, emotional scene – she’d been so hopeful that it might work, and it was hard to get through because my heart was breaking from the pain of that loss.

Even though Susanna never saw what 2024 looked like, she’d allowed her heart to want something that didn’t come to be, and that’s incredibly painful. But at the same time, she’s trying desperately to give herself hope, and more importantly, to give Kat hope that she’ll be okay. Susanna is a healer, and she focuses more on what the people she loves need than what she herself needs; in that moment, she couldn’t bear the thought of Kat worrying about her. So it was a complex, difficult scene that beautifully expressed exactly who Susanna is. And Chyler is an incredible actor to work with, which made it even harder to film – we couldn’t stop crying.

Interviewer: How do you see the on-screen relationship between Kat and Susanna? Susanna is a woman ahead of her time – strong-willed, willing to save lives on horseback, break rules, and openly defend the «white witch», even trying to take the mob’s fury upon herself. Many have noticed that Susanna’s attitude toward Kat goes beyond friendship or family ties. Are these just fan theories and speculation?

Watson: I’m not going to define who Susanna is, because she hasn’t had the language or opportunity to define herself and I don’t know that she ever will. I’m not particularly interested in how other people see Susanna, or how they want to define her – I personally think we spend far too much time thinking about how other people present themselves or what box they fit into. Susanna is a woman ahead of her time simply because she doesn’t fit into the incredibly narrow box of what a “woman” was and how she should behave in the 1800s. In terms of her relationship with Kat, Kat is the only person who has ever seen that Susanna’s desire for more than a “woman’s” life – meaning, a life with no rights, no voice, limited opportunity, little freedom – and understood that it’s not crazy to want more. Their relationship is wholly unique and deeply complex: it’s intimate and tender and full of respect and passion and curiosity. But again, Susanna doesn’t have the language or perspective to understand what that means, because she’s only experienced the reality of the world she lives in.

Interviewer: What role would you never agree to play, and why? And what role would you love to play? Why?

Watson: That’s honestly a really difficult question for me to answer, because it would depend entirely on the context. For example, there are some biopics that the subjects have not signed off on because it digs into traumatizing pieces of their lives – I would never want to be part of a project where the subject could be hurt by the material. Sometimes projects have scenes with sex or nudity that add to the story and heighten the stakes; other projects have unjustified nudity or sex that isn’t there for any reason but to shock the audience. We also live in a very politically polarized time, and there are certain messages currently being spread that I vehemently disagree with and wouldn’t want to uplift or perpetuate. So in terms of what I wouldn’t do, it’s a case-by-case basis. But for dream roles, I’ve always wanted to play Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing; Toby in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam series; if I did a biopic, I would want to play Katharine Hepburn, Annie Lennox or Gilda Radner; and I would give my left kidney to be on SNL in any capacity.

Interviewer: What projects are you currently working on? Where will fans see Watson Rose next? 

Watson: I’ve got a few film projects coming up in 2025 with no specific release details yet, but in the meantime, I recently completed my first feature film script and am working with a producer to film it in 2026! Selling a film script was one of my goals for the year, as I often edit screenplays for other writers but haven’t tackled a feature myself. I’m also collaborating on a pitch for a Toronto-based sit-com series. So there is more writing in my future in both the film and comedy scene, so I’ve got a lot to look forward to. 

Interviewer: What word best describes your artistic journey, and what is your mission as an actress? Why this word? 

Watson: Tenacity. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career; I’ve struggled with my mental health over the years and haven’t had the easiest time building community, as I’ve moved around so much in my professional career. I was ready to quit the industry in 2023 because I wasn’t fulfilled by the opportunities I was receiving. But every time I fall, I get back up more determined to forge my own path and stop waiting for things to happen. I consider myself to be a storyteller rather than an actress – I know, it’s annoying – simply because I don’t see myself being an actor forever. I just know I have stories I want to tell, stories I want to consume, and that stories have always been the strongest foundation in my life. My mission is to be open and curious to the beauty and hardship of the world, and to bring audiences the complex, nuanced, and deeply human stories that allow us to connect through empathy. Art is where history meets imagination, and it’s a large part of what makes us human: I can’t picture my life without it.

Pictures were provided by Watson Rose. The photos from the TV series are taken from The Hallmark Channel