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Lauren Holly makes little stories come alive.

Photo courtesy Taconic Pictures

Famous actor takes on unique role

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 2:46 PDT, Fri September 26, 2025

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Lauren Holly has been part of the big screen and small screen landscape of film and television for over 30 years. She has been in a lot of great shows and a lot of great movies. Her new movie is called Loathe Thy Neighbour. It opened in cinemas in August. Currently residing in Toronto, it was a great pleasure to interview Lauren Holly on Our City Tonight.

OCT: Lauren, you’ve been involved in film for a long time and for this new movie, not only are you one of the stars, you’re also an executive producer and producer. Can you tell us what it felt like to take on these additional positions behind the camera?

LH: I want to tell a little bit of a story first. At the end of 2022, I went through a family tragedy that was terrible. I started the year 2023 recovering from that and mostly hibernating from everything. Then I realized in the spring of that year that I needed to work. That’s what I needed to do to feel better. But the strike happened and there was no work. A friend of mine called me and said let’s make a short (movie) just as an exercise and we can get creative. I thought if we’re going to make a short movie, we might as well make a full movie. So, we went to the union in Canada, and we got waivers and a micro budget. The thing that’s remarkable is that from the day that we had an idea, we found a location. I had five other friends who were also actors who could not work because of the strike, and their shows were all down. Together we all wrote a script and finished filming everything within seven weeks. It was just supposed to be an exercise with a brunch of creatives living together and making this movie. We did it and unbelievably, it was accepted into the Toronto International Film Festival industry selects. At that point we had a real movie and now it’s coming out in theatres, and we can’t believe it.

OCT: Congratulations. Let’s talk about this film, Loathe Thy Neighbour. We have to say we’ve seen a lot of your work, and we certainly haven’t ever seen you like this before in a movie or a TV show. You are playing a rather curmudgeonly, or cranky is a better word, lady. Tell us about Wanda and her conflict with her new neighbour, a very sensitive young man. In the movie, you call him a yuppie, and they live in very close proximity in this rural setting. Tell us about what viewers can expect with this film.

LH: They are new neighbours and my character, Wanda, is very upset about it. She takes an immediate disliking to him, and it all starts a little bit of a war. To be honest the character Wanda came about because one of the first things we realized is that we only had six people on our crew. We couldn’t have hair and make up and we had no money. I needed to play a character that I did not need to have any hair and make up done so I could take care of it myself. That was how Wanda was born. So, you know, these are the things that producers must figure out when they are pressed.

OCT: It is fascinating to hear the origins of the characters born out of necessity. This Wanda character is definitely a little bit away from what you’re normally used to doing. And on that note, what do you have in the works?

LH: We are almost ready to go out with our next script. This one is something that we’ve taken much more time on and much more care. We want to make movies. I really miss the movies that I made in the 90s. These were the ones with smaller budgets and just good stories. I was always going to the movie theatre but now I’m not really a big fan of these giant CGI superhero movies. I certainly don’t plan my weekends around those types of movies. I’m very excited that recently there have been two smaller budget movies that are coming out one being Naked Gun and Weapons. They are both very different kinds of genres, and I really hope they do well at the box office. I do think people are tired of these giant movies. I want to keep making movies and telling little stories which are character driven. That’s what I like.

OCT: We should again mention the fact that you’re producing and executive producing these films now. It’s all about taking control of the situation. You also have a new film production company called Taconic Pictures. Is there a sense of liberation when you’re creating your own product?

LH: There is a sense of liberation because you’re the one who can make the decisions and it’s about your own taste. Frequently in my career I’ve had to sort of fit myself into someone else’s vision. Now I’m really excited to do things that are my vision. I do feel like I’ve been around a long time, and you were kind to me to say that I’ve been in this industry more than 30 years. The fact is I’ve been doing this for more than 40 years, so I do feel I have had a ton of experience. I have made many movies and so many television series. I have worked with iconic directors, and I just want to take the knowledge that I’ve accumulated, almost by osmosis, and make my own things. To watch the video interview in full go to ourcitytonighttv.com