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Monday, March 18, 2024

20 questions with Catherine Lough Haggquist

Meet Vancouver-based actor and entrepreneur, Catherine Lough Haggquist.

Meet Catherine Lough Haggquist

The diverse career of Catherine Lough Haggquist can be summed up through words, stories, and images.

With over 125 acting credits on film and television, Catherine is most familiar to audiences for her three seasons as Inspector Nora Harris on the made-in-Vancouver sci-fi favourite, Continuum.

When she isn’t working in it, Catherine is also a tireless supporter of the film and television industry. She is the longtime founder of BizBooks.net  – which originated as a Gastown store in 1996 and now operates online and on location at community industry events – and is an instructor at On the Mic Training and The Drama Class.

A former National Councillor of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and Vice President on Union of BC Performers executive board, Catherine was recently honoured by UBCP/ACTRA with a life membership for her industry dedication and support.

Visit Catherine Lough Haggquist online at CatLH.com or follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

20 Questions with Catherine Lough Haggquist

1. Your first job.

My first jobs were babysitting and newspaper routes. I started doing both around the same time. Interestingly, they taught me different things.

With babysitting, the kids were often in bed when I arrived so I was really being paid for what I knew – what to do in case of emergency. With the paper routes, I was making money a different way – because of what I physically did.

From these experiences, I realized that there were two ways to earn money and that I like a balance of both approaches. I maintain that balance today – with BizBooks.net and my teaching being about what I know and can offer, and my acting being about what I can do.

2. The job you always wanted as a child?

“Queen” always seemed like a great gig! That said, when I look back on playing with my brothers and our friends, my version was always less “princess-y” and more “benevolent dictator”.

3. Your pet peeve.

One of my biggest pet peeves is hypocrisy. I have a very hard time when I see people say one thing and behave in the opposite way. I find it especially challenging when these people try to justify their actions with what they claim are beliefs that – to my reading – they are misinterpreting.

4. Your hero.

My husband, Neil, is my hero. I have never met anyone who is more naturally curious about or committed to what is important to other people. He is kind and generous to his family, friends and anyone he encounters in his day. He inspires me on a daily basis.

5. Your biggest indulgence.

Shoes. Seems silly and kind of a cliché, but I have size 11 feet and so it can sometimes be challenging to get shoes my size. As we work long days on set, I maintain a bit of a collection that I can then rent to shows to ensure that I am always in comfortable, yet stylish, footwear. Life is too short for shoes that don’t fit.

6. One thing no one knows about you.

I am addicted to the Real Housewives series. All cities. I try to justify it as “character study” but my husband isn’t buying it.

7. Three things you would want with you on a deserted island.

Neil, sunscreen, and a guide to what is edible.

8. The one word your best friend would use to describe you.

Kind.

9. If you were not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing?

Probably Law. I definitely think.

10. Hero or villain?

Hero … all the way.

11. Your life’s motto/mantra.

I love the Maya Angelou quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

12. Your favourite movie?

There are too many movies I love to really consider one a favourite.  That said, there two movies I can never change the channel from if I happen to land on either one of them: The Princes Bride and The Sound of Music get me every time.

13. The last book you read.

The last book I read was The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. I found it just a great and inspiring call to action for starting things that scare you and as another great quote goes, “All the best things in life are on the other side of fear.”

I find it too easy to stay on the path of least resistance or to procrastinate but Mel’s approach has really challenged me to start some new projects this year and I am very excited by that and grateful to my friend AnneMarie who recommended the book to me at exactly the right time!

14. If you were a cartoon character what cartoon character would you be?

While I have been told I remind people of Babs Bunny, most days I feel like Brian from Family Guy.

15. What will it say on your grave marker?

>Nevertheless, she persisted.

16. Who would you most like to have dinner with?

I would love to have dinner with both of my grandmothers who have passed. I saw them very little as a child and as an adult I now have so many questions about their lives I would love to ask.

17. Your idea of happiness.

My favourite time of the year is the week or so between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. My idea of happiness is filling that week with relaxed visits with family and friends to visit and eat. Bliss.

18. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your twenty-year-old self?

Take more risks with things you are not immediately good at. It is too easy to go on the paths of least resistance but there were many things I felt embarrassed exploring because I had no natural aptitude – some sports, music, and technical things. If I had it to do over, I would have forced myself to stick with those things because I was interested in them and to not abandon them because they didn’t come naturally to me.

19. The one thing in your life that makes you most proud.

I am most proud of any contribution I may have made to the wonderful women my two Bonus-Daughters have become. I am so grateful to their dad and their mom for letting me play a role in the development and maturation of two incredible forces of nature who are now passing on their incredible character to their own children.

20. To be or not to be?

To be – as many things to as many people as possible!

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