Huntsville native Bea Santos says she always knew she wanted to be an actor.
At the age of four, she began appearing in local community theatre productions. Her grandmother directed musical theatre at the Anglican church and her father Drew Hutcheson’s hobby is stage acting. Theatre has long been a family pastime.
Now, Santos is making it big in the TV and movie industry and filming all over the world.
“I credit a very special woman from Huntsville for teaching me to act for stage, Stina Nyquist,” she says. “She had a particular fascination with orphans so there was always room for children in her plays. She directed me in several of her plays, I think my first one with her was age eight or nine. She was incredible because she was very patient and she treated me with respect like I was a very serious actor—which I was! Too serious.”
After graduating from high school, Santos attended McGill University where she studied english literature and art history, and was active in the school’s theatre scene.
“It was very important to me to study something outside of acting, even though I already knew I wanted to act professionally before I started university,” she said. “I always wanted to do it. I don’t remember a time before I did. I don’t think I was thinking about it like the way you’re ‘supposed’ to think about a career. Being an actor was just what I was. In terms of knowing that it could be a career, I think a lot of that is luck. I have the best agent I could ask for and I think that’s half the battle in terms of getting work.”
Although Santos now lives and works primarily in Toronto, her work has taken her all over the world including New York City, Los Angeles, Berlin, Winnipeg, and Arkansas.
Over the last few years, Santos has appeared on several television shows including True Detective and is a series regular on Murdoch Mysteries.
In 2018 she landed a major role in Stockholm, a film about the 1973 bank heist and hostage-taking from which the term ‘Stockholm syndrome’ was coined. Santos acted alongside Ethan Hawke, Noomi Repace, and Mark Strong.
She is currently starring in A Very Country Christmas: Homecoming on Netflix, a love story between a single mom and a country music star, played by Greyston Holt.
One of her newest appearances is as a series regular on a new remake of The Hardy Boys, playing Aunt Trudy. The show is a Hulu original and available as of December 4.
When asked about her favourite projects so far Santos said, “I loved making Coconut Hero, a German comedy we shot in Canada. I love making the Christmas movies I do because you just laugh all day long. They’re so happy. I love working on Murdoch because my character is intelligent and funny. And now I’m directing and writing my own films; that’s been an incredible and empowering experience.”
See her full filmography on IMDB here.
Related: From small town to the big screen: Bea Santos is making her mark
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Congratulations Bea. You have made Huntsville so proud. We will be watching for you!