|
|
|
 |
|
Belinda Metz: Actor Singer Songwriter Choreographer Dancer
Thursday, June 25, 1998
What about Belinda Metz? Edmonton singer now spending much of her time acting By NEAL WATSON -- Edmonton Sun
Belinda Metz could have been a great trivia question for aficionados of the local entertainment scene. The two-part query could have gone like this: Name the Edmonton native who had a mid-'80s hit with What About Me? Part 2 would have required the knowledgeable player to furnish the name of the singer's brother, and his role in the local entertainment business. But a great question like this depends upon its subject's experience as a one-hit wonder followed by a quick descent into oblivion. Sadly, for those who relish a trivia challenge of this magnitude, Belinda Metz does not fit the bill. What About Me faded from playlists years ago, but Metz, albeit in her second show-biz incarnation as an actress, is still a going concern. (Older brother Don, for those who had trouble with Part 2, is the driving force behind busy Aquila Productions and is currently working with Danny Hooper on a new country show). A while back Metz, who had been on a sabbatical from the concert scene, opened a show for Jesse Cook, playing new material that was a long way stylistically from What About Me. The reception was good, and Metz found herself informing people of her now-dormant recording career. A record called What About Me, she reminded them. "They said, 'That was you?' " Metz recalls, laughing. "Yes,'' she told them, admitting, "it's a different vibe." But a different vibe is nothing new for the lively Metz, 38, who, bravely, considering the attitude of the business toward female actors, lists her age on her bio.
Acting was once a different vibe. Likewise all the voice-overs she has done, album co-production and now even writing. Work in front of the camera is now her primary gig and it not only pays the bills, but provides, on occasion anyway, a measure of creative satisfaction. Back in her home town shooting the TV series Mentors, Metz's credits take the better part of a page of her bio, everything from guest stints on ENG and Goosebumps to four seasons on Kung Fu. Admittedly, there have been those acting jobs that just pay the bills, but Metz thinks she is getting close to nailing a big one. "I'm at a crossroads right now in my career," she says. "I'm on the runway." Even so, lately there have been disappointments - she lost a part in a major CBC drama set for fall, and after wowing the producers for a CBS movie of the week, she ended up losing the role when the network insisted on casting Adrienne Barbeau. The good news is that Metz considers Mentors, in which she plays the mother of a young boy whose computer genius is sufficient that he somehow downloads the regular genius likes of Albert Einstein and Alexander Graham Bell into his bedroom, one of those inspiring gems. The series, created by local filmmaker Josh Miller, is shooting through next month and has already hosted Tony Award-winner Len Cariou, who played Alexander Graham Bell. Canadian actress Lisa Jakub, who played Robin Williams' daughter in Mrs. Doubtfire and Randy Quaid's daughter in Independence Day, is currently starring as Joan of Arc. Metz will be only too happy to hang out in town if the show is picked up and remains in production locally - big ifs considering the state of the local film industry. But before she contemplates a lengthy stay, Metz has plans to be in Vancouver next week to read for a part in a new movie from a major TV producer. So it puts her back on the runway - more of that crossroads business she was talking about. The same could be said of her personal life. Engaged to Juergen Merz, the massage therapist for USA Hockey, and mother of three-year-old Amelia, Metz splits her time between Vancouver, Nashville, Colorado and Los Angeles. The couple have yet to set a date. Lately, she has been trying to find the time and the means to revive her recording career. Her songwriting never stopped and the material is more mature, she believes. Ready to taxi down the runway, it sounds like show-biz oblivion isn't in the cards for Metz. Trivia lovers will just have to move on. This article was taken from the Jam! TV archive. |
