Orsini, Marina

▪ 1994

      Though she carefully guarded her private life from the public, Marina Orsini was distressed to find that in 1993 she was instantly recognizable on the streets of Montreal as Emilie Bordeleau, the character she portrayed in Quebec's popular television series "Les Filles de Caleb." Orsini's fans had come to love the turn-of-the-century young woman who struggled to leave her home on the farm, educate herself, and pursue a career as a teacher while eventually marrying one of her students. "Les Filles de Caleb" was a success on television in France and was seen on English-language television in Canada under the title "Emilie."

      Orsini was born c. 1968 in Montreal, and she began a modeling career at the age of 15. She was intent, however, upon a television or film career. In 1985 Orsini auditioned for a role in the television series "Lance et Compte," a hockey saga seen in English-speaking Canada as "He Shoots! He Scores!" Though her acting experience consisted of only a few television commercials, director Jean-Claude Lord saw Orsini's potential. He cast her in the role of Suzie Lambert, sister of the main character. The series was successful, and Orsini played the part for two years. Her second television series, "L'Or et le papier," received three Gémeaux awards in 1990, including one for Orsini as best actress.

      Orsini, fluent in French, English, and Italian, appeared in films in Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States. She had roles in two Quebec-made films: L'Emprise (1987), directed by Michel Brault, and La Grenouille et la baleine (1988), directed by Lord. In 1989 she starred as the female lead in Lord's film Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! In her first live stage performance, on Radio-Canada's New Year's Eve show Bye-Bye (1991), she did a spoof of Quebec's rock-and-roll star Marjo—a radical departure from the demure Emilie.

      Orsini, who cultivated an interest in film techniques, dreamed of spending a day behind the camera directing. As an actress she was committed to projecting a responsible image. Performers, she felt, were in a position of power because people related to them and their characters. As a result, she refused roles that did not meet her standards. Her appreciative audiences voted Orsini their favourite female personality of 1992, an honour that merited her a Métrostar award.

      In 1992-93 Orsini made use of her language skills. She did her own dubbing for the English-language version of "Les Filles de Caleb," and she took lessons in the language of the Mohawk for her role in "Shehaweh," a miniseries produced for French-Canadian television. For that part she played a 17th-century Iroquois princess kidnapped by French colonists. She also revived the role of Emilie in "Blanche," the sequel to "Les Filles de Caleb." (DIANE LOIS WAY)

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