Wonder What It’s Like on the HEARTLAND Set? Star Gives Us a Peek
By Movieguide® Contributor
HEARTLAND just finished shooting for Season 18 on Monday, and Amber Marshall, who plays Amy Fleming, gave viewers a glimpse of how she gets ready for a day of filming.
“So it starts with me getting ready in the morning, heading to set, and of course bringing my fellow co-star Spartan with me and getting ready through hair and makeup and going through all the paces,” she said as she put a guide rope on her horse, Spartan.
At the set, she showed off her trailer.
“This is where I kind of get ready in the morning before I head off,” she said. “We will be going to hair and makeup first, but let’s see what I’m wearing for the day,” Marshall said as she pulled out a blue button-up shirt. “I get a nice pretty shirt and a jean jacket and, of course, some jeans.”
“And then I come to work and cook my own breakfast,” she joked next to the food truck. “I’m just kidding. I don’t do that. These guys are awesome, and they always know what I want, and I’m kind of spoiled here.
After a breakfast of eggs benedict, she headed to hair and makeup.
“Well, now I’m going to get beautified by the most wonderful person in the world. Donna Fuller has been my makeup artist for 18 years. Isn’t that crazy? So we know each other better than anyone. I think she’s like my mama.”
“Now I’m ready for the hair chair,” Marshall said a little while later. “I usually always wash my hair at night…so it’s still wet in the morning, and so Sasha starts by blow drying it and getting me ready for the day. One thing we’ve learned and mastered over the last several years is the side braid that’s kind of an Amy special…”
After hair and makeup, Marshall put on her clothes for the day and headed to set.
Marshall’s life is a lot like her character’s. They both live on a ranch and take care of animals, which makes for a comical moment every now and then.
Movieguide® previously shared what a day in Marshall’s life looks like:
“So I pull on my jeans that are covered in cow poop,” [she said of her morning], “and…sit down to milk my cow, and she’s usually pretty good… I raised her and…I just had her tied, and I don’t have a milking setup or anything…Brought her in, had her in a stall and I just throw a bucket down on the ground to sit on, and then I’m milking her into a bucket, and I’m not a morning person, let me just start by saying that. I’m most brain functionally active at night, so I’m sitting there I’m kind of out of it, and it’s therapeutic, like hand milking is just kind of like, you know, you’re just sitting there…”
Marshall, not thinking properly, turned her cow a certain way, but her cow is particular and only likes to be milked [in a particular] way.
“So I sit down and again I’m kind of out of it, and I start milking her, and she just like for some reason turns, and the way she kicked the milk bucket… it was so comical,” she laughed. “Like this is an episode of HEARTLAND. It really is. It came up and hit the ground and all of the milk…went on my face and my hair.”
HEARTLAND only films in the warmer months, which means the actors have a long winter break. Their filming days are 14 hours long.
Chris Potter plays Tim Fleming in the show and serves as a director.
He said in a CBC blog, “As a Director, I’m actively engaged with a crew and expected to lead them through our day as scheduled. The days are long and can be physically and mentally exhausting depending on location and weather. Somewhat like doing a jigsaw puzzle outside all day.”
Season 18 will air in Canada on Oct. 6. The season will not hit the U.S. until early 2025.
HEARTLAND previously won a Movieguide® Teddy Bear Award® for the episode “Dare to Dream.”
