Entertainment

This Actress is Replacing Brad Pitt. Yes, Really.

by Marisa LaScala

12 Monkeys was a turning point in Brad Pitt’s career. It pivoted him from square roles that traded on his classic good looks (like Legends of the Fall) to roles that let him be a lot weirder and more out there (like Fight Club). After all, his part in 12 Monkeys, Jeffrey Goines, was a mental patient/animal rights activist with severe daddy issues surrounding his math-genius father. So, now that Syfy is turning the movie into a TV show, which debuts January 16, which actor is going to get to shed his beefcake image and get all crazy to play Brad Pitt’s part in 12 Monkeys ?

Trick question: It’s a woman this time! Jeffrey Goines has been transformed into Jennifer Goines, which is completely awesome in and of itself. But, even better, it looks like 12 Monkeys' Jennifer Goines is also going to be the brilliant mathematician — not her father. Hooray for girl math geeks! I hope they let her be as deranged as Brad Pitt’s character was in the movie, too. Math geniuses or otherwise, it never hurts to have more eccentric female characters on television.

So, to answer the original question, who gets to play the Goines role this time around? The part goes to Emily Hampshire, who’s no stranger to the folks in Canada, and here’s what you need to know about her.

She’s In Two Shows At Once

And by “at once,” I mean, “pretty much at exactly the same time." Hampshire also co-stars in Schitt’s Creek, a Canadian comedy that debuted on January 13, just a few days before 12 Monkeys. The show is about a wealthy couple — played by Christopher Guest comedy superstars Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara — who lose their money and have to return to a town called Schitt’s Creek, which they once purchased as a joke. Hampshire plays Stevie Budd, a deadpan motel clerk.

She’s Been Nominated for a Bunch of Canadian Awards

The Genie and Gemini awards may not be as well known as the Emmys or the Golden Globes — at least not in the States — but, if they were, we’d all be sick of how many nominations Hampshire has received by now. Both awards are given out by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. For film (the Genies), Hampshire has already been nominated for them three times for her roles in Snow Cake, Blood, and A Problem with Fear. She actually brought home a television award (the Geminis), for being a part of the ensemble behind Made in Canada, and was nominated one other time for Ruby Gloom. We’ll see if 12 Monkeys or Schitt’s Creek will add to her pile of trophies.

Then There’s This

Awards and acclaim is great and all, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that she was Sean Astin’s love interest on Boy Meets World.

But At Least She Looks Nothing Like This

Every actor deserves to create his or her own brand of crazy, right?

Just Watch Out for Bumble

Bumble is Hampton's stuffed Yeti, and he seems to pop up all over Hampshire’s Twitter and Instagram feeds. He may be spotted somewhere else in the wild, too, for eagle-eyed viewers. Let me know if you catch it.

Images: Gavin Bond/Syfy; Giphy