Heated Rivalry actor Robbie G.K. has a long-standing connection to P.E.I.
CBC
Before the world saw Robbie G.K. serving up smoothies on screen as Kip Grady in the hit TV series Heated Rivalry, many Islanders saw him on stage at the Confederation Centre of the Arts, performing in the Charlottetown Festival.
G.K., who's originally from Mississauga, Ont., spent several summers on P.E.I., and appeared in productions like Mama Mia!, Jesus Christ Superstar, Alice Through the Looking-Glass and — of course — Anne of Green Gables.
"I remember the first summer I was coming to work at Charlottetown Festival, and everyone was kind of telling me that there's just something special about the Island and something special about Charlottetown," G.K. told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Steve Bruce.
"I had done a fair amount of travelling up until that point so I didn't really believe everyone, and then once I got there and spent a summer there I really fell in love."
G.K. said having steady summer gigs with the Confederation Centre and being part of the Charlottetown Festival was "massive" at that point in his career.
"Though my world is kind of getting very big all of a sudden right now it seems, it's nice to have some comfort coming from the Island and people celebrating the work," he said, noting that the kind messages he's received from Islanders are lovely to read.
"I wouldn't have this opportunity without the support and guidance and mentorship that I received at the Confed Centre."
Prior to Heated Rivalry, G.K. said he decided to move away from focusing on musical theatre and "really wanted to put all my eggs in the TV and film basket."
Living in Toronto, he juggled on-screen work with a sales job. When the opportunity to audition for Heated Rivalry came up, he took it.
"It was an interesting take on … a very told story, but it was coming at it from a completely different angle and a very human and kind of love-infused angle," he said.
"Having grown up playing competitive sports as well as growing up doing theatre, I've seen kind of both sides of this story and I was just very grateful that Jacob Tierney and Brendan [Brady] — who are the producers of the show — chose me for the role."
Although G.K. said he saw the script's potential, he "definitely couldn't anticipate the way it's been received."
"It's all the stars aligning," he said, pointing to a combination of factors like source material, writing, filming, lighting and acting.
When the crew got to set and started filming, G.K. said he could feel the care and quality that the whole team was taking with Heated Rivalry. He said he remembers seeing some initial edits and thinking to himself, "This looks like a world-class show."
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