When speaking on working with
Egoyan, you can tell that she is a fan.
“ A s a d i r e c t o r, E g oy a n c o n s i s t e n t l y
does so many movies that are so good.
I t h i n k h e i s s u c h a r e a l s t o r y t e l l e r. ”
Looking back, the 20-year-old Vancouver native says her high
school experience built character. “I was known as ‘Alexia the
girl with anorexia’,” Fast says of her tall, thin build and desire
to feel sexy. “I switched to a high school that had a special
program, which allowed me to take time off when I was doing
movies. There were people that liked me and there were people
that did not.”
Although Fast was bullied, staying true to herself is a reoccurring theme in her life. She stayed “true to herself ” by attending
the prom. But being bullied as a teenager may have contributed
to her success as an actress, as the dramatic arts became a form
of therapy. Fast often channelled what she was dealing with at
school through her work.
“Acting has been like therapy for me,” she says. “When I acted
out a role, whatever problems I had went away when I was on
set.”
You could call Fast a child prodigy. By the age of seven, she
wrote, directed and starred in the short film The Red Bridge,
which premiered at the Atlantic and Reel to Reel film festivals
in 2002. Her first debut in a feature film was in Fido when she
was 11. The film, featuring Carrie Anne Moss, made her realize
acting was her calling. “I can remember being in character in
a car. It was a natural and organic process. The way I felt in
character gave me a lot of clues that acting was what I wanted
to do with my life.”
Several TV series, Made-for-TV movies and other feature films
prepared her for her breakout role with Tom Cruise in the
critically acclaimed movie Jack Reacher. Fast played the role of
Sandy, a “pretty and seductive siren,” who is involved in setting
up Cruise’s title character. She remembers Cruise being “very
positive and happy on set,” encouraging her role to be understood on camera.
Her latest movie is Queen of the Night, starring Ryan Reynolds
and Rosario Dawson. The Atom Egoyan film is a psychological
thriller that follows Reynolds, who plays Fast’s father, discovering that his abducted daughter could still be alive. When
speaking on working with Egoyan, you can tell that she is a
fan. “As a director, Egoyan consistently does so many movies
that are so good. I think he is such a real storyteller.”
Fast understands that she has built an impressive body of work.
She has an agent but she does not take on any roles until she
feels right about the character. Her maturity and talent has
given her clout and opportunities to work side by side with
some of the top players in the movie industry.
“My characters must have a lot of depth,” she says. “The characters I choose are well written and there needs to be something to connect to. I try to be honest in my performances and
I think that comes across.”
Two Leo Awards, which represent outstanding contributions
to film and television in British Columbia, and a nomination
prove that Fast’s instincts couldn’t be more sharp. In 2010, the
actress received a supporting actress Leo Award for her role opposite Dustin Milligan and Amanda Crew in Carl Bessai’s indie
feature The Repeaters, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto
International Film Festival.