Mallory Is Back: Actress Jessica Amlee Reprises Role On Calgary-shot ...

Advertisement oopStory continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Skip to Content FP West: Energy Insider: Go behind the oilpatch's closed doors in our subscriber-exclusive newsletter. Sign up now » FP West: Energy Insider: Go behind the oilpatch's closed doors in our subscriber-exclusive newsletter. Sign up now » Subscribe for $0.50/week Search calgaryherald.com Perform search

• Subscribe
  • FAQ
  • My Account
  • Manage My Subscription
• News
  • Local News
    • Crime
  • Politics
  • True Crime
  • National
  • World
  • Weather
  • Archives
• Business
  • Energy
  • Local Business
  • Real Estate
    • First-Time Homebuyers
  • Commercial Real Estate
  • FP Markets
  • FP Headlines
  • FP Money
  • Technology
    • Gaming
    • Science
    • Space
  • Small Business
  • Alberta's Top Employers
• Sports
  • Calgary Flames
    • NHL
    • PWHL
    • More Hockey
  • Calgary Stampeders
    • CFL
    • NFL
  • Calgary Cavalry
  • Calgary Roughnecks
  • Spruce Meadows
  • Soccer
    • International Soccer
    • MLS
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Golf
    • Golf Videos
  • Curling
  • Rodeo-Chucks
  • Tennis
  • Auto Racing
• Opinion
  • Columnists
  • Letters
  • Editorials
  • Send us an Opinion Column or Letter
• Arts
  • Local Arts
  • Movies
    • Movie Listings
  • Television
    • TV Listings
  • Theatre
  • Music
  • Celebrity
  • Books
• Life
  • Health
    • Women
    • Men
    • Sexual Health
    • Diet & Fitness
    • Family & Child
  • Special Sections
    • Calgary Fall Home Show
    • Encore Lifestyles
  • Food
  • Homes
    • New Homes
    • Condos
    • Rec Properties
    • Calgary Homes & Design
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Parenting
  • Relationships
  • Advice
  • Horoscopes
  • Royals
  • Travel
    • Ski & Snowboard
    • Travel Alberta
    • Travel Canada
    • Travel USA
    • Travel International
    • Cruises
    • Travel Essentials
  • Savings
  • Contests
  • Readers' Choice
• Lives Told
• Tails Told
• Shopping
• Upcoming Events
• Newsletters
• Puzzmo
• Diversions
  • Puzzles
    • New York Times Crossword
  • Comics
• Driving
  • Vehicle Research
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Gear Guide
• Vitality Alberta
  • Work Well
• ePaper
• Obituaries
  • Browse Notices
  • Place an Obituary
  • Place an In Memoriam
• Classifieds
  • Browse Listings
  • Place an Ad
  • Business Card Directory
  • Celebrations
  • Real Estate Marketplace
  • Pet Posts & Adoptions
  • Working
  • This Week's Flyers
• Business Ads
• Advertising
  • Advertising With Us
  • Advertising Solutions
  • Postmedia Ad Manager
  • Sponsorship Requests
• Manage Print Subscription

• Profile
• Settings
• My Subscriptions
• Saved Articles
• My Offers
• Newsletters
• Customer Service
• FAQ
• Sign Out

• News
• Business
• Sports
• Opinion
• Arts
• Life
• Shopping
• Upcoming Events
• Newsletters
• Puzzmo
• Driving
• ePaper
• Obituaries
• Classifieds
• Business Ads
• Manage Print Subscription

Advertisement 1This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Breadcrumb Trail Links

1. Home
2. Television

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

On Feb. 1, Heartland’s Facebook page posted a picture of a young woman whose face was mostly obscured by clapperboards.

Sign In or Create an Account

Email AddressContinueor View more offersArticle content

It linked to the CBC series’ official blog, which teased the return of a “past favourite” for the Feb. 12 episode of CBC’s family drama. It did not take much detective work for fans to figure it out. For one, many recognized actress Jessica Amlee, who played gossipy neighbour Mallory Wells from 2007 to 2013, hiding behind those clapperboards. For another, the now 22-year-old actress is one of the few, if not only, major cast member to have left Heartland during its 10-season run.

Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentArticle content

So it’s not surprising that the announcement, later confirmed with a more direct post, was met with no shortage of social-media giddiness from Heartland’s devout fans. It ranged from the grandmotherly (“Our little Mallory has gone and all grew up on us.”) to the wistful (“I have waited so long for this moment”) to straight-up rapturous (“OMG! OMG! OMG!.)

Article contentNoon News Roundup

Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.

• There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

Sign Up

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

Thanks for signing up!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Noon News Roundup will soon be in your inbox.

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

Article content

“They would try to keep me off the radar when we were shooting in Millarville,” says Amlee, now back in Los Angeles. “They kept me away from people because they wanted it to be a secret leading to the surprise. I hope that they’re happy I’m back, not ‘Oh no, Mallory’s back. Not this again.’ I hope the audience receives me well because I think the scripts are written really well and I think they’ll like it. I’m excited for the surprise.”

Article content

Not that it’s really a surprise at this point. But while the cat is certainly out of the bag, the exact reason Mallory Wells has returned to the familiar embrace of the Bartlett Ranch remains a bit of a mystery, at least for most of the first of two episodes that deal with the homecoming.

Article contentArticle content

Mallory left the picture early in Season 7 to go to Paris with Jake, the young cowboy she had fallen for. And as many Heartland devotees have deduced on social media, the return does have something to do with her love life, although we won’t reveal details here. But we can say that the first episode begins with Mallory looking very different than she did as a nosy 12-year-0ld neighbour in 2007. 

Article content

“Mallory comes in like a whirlwind,” Amlee says. “She tries to convince everybody that she is doing well, but there’s a lot more under the surface that is happening with her in regards to why she left Paris in the first place and what she left behind there.”

Article content

Article content

Amlee was born in Maple Ridge, B.C. and was a busy child actress before landing the role of Mallory. She played the role from 12 to 18, literally spending her formative years in front of the camera.  But in 2013, she made the tough decision to leave the show.

Article content

“Heartland was very stable, which was great, and it was a great job for a young person but I needed to expand myself and see what I’m made of,” she says. “I felt like I got the hang of Mallory. I needed to challenge myself in other ways.”

Advertisement 1This advertisement has not loaded yet.Trending

1. Speeder fined $428 for going twice the speed limit in southwest playground zone

   News

2. Bell: Danielle Smith's hospitals boss fires back, insists health care has not collapsed

   Columnists
3. Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

4. Calgary boy allegedly kidnapped by dad and taken overseas has been taught to hate his mother, court told

   Crime

5. Bell: Team Trump boosts Alberta independence cause and separatists cheer

   Columnists

6. Opinion: An agonizing choice for Alberta soon at hand

   Opinion

Advertisement 2AdvertisementThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article content

While still a teenager, she trained at the Groundlings school in Los Angeles, which is run by the improvisational comedy troupe that counts Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy as alumni.

Article content

A flurry of auditions followed and she began to win roles, including many that took her far from Mallory Wells. She played the lead in the 2015 TV movie Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story and played a creepy imaginary friend to a tech savant played by India Eisley in the pilot for the TV thriller, Socio.

Article content

“When I first moved here, I was expecting a lot of dirty looks in the casting rooms and I was expecting competitiveness,” Amlee says. “But what I eventually found is that there is a lot of people but everybody here is here for a reason and I feel like we’re all in it together. So it wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be.”

Article content

Last March, she landed a lead role in the Netflix original series, Greenhouse Academy. It’s about a school of elite students enlisted to “thwart an evil plot.” Amlee describes it as Harry Potter meets Degrassi. Over the summer, she shot Greenhouse Academy in Tel Aviv,  playing a juvenile delinquent named Jackie who is recruited after showing a talent for robbing banks.

Article contentArticle content

“The difference between Jackie and Mallory is immense,” Amlee says. “Jackie is super tough, she doesn’t talk to anyone. She will fight someone if she has a problem with them while Mallory will talk it out. Mallory is super-loving and open and tries really hard, where Jackie is more of an introvert with a hard shell to crack.”

Article content

The new series is likely to keep Amlee busy, which means there are no firm plans at this point for Mallory to return beyond the next two episodes. But the actress says she would love to return to the ranch when the timing is right.

Article content

“It’s kind of cheesy because Mallory is coming home, but at the same time I felt like I was able to come home too to a safe, wonderful, fun environment to play with a character I hadn’t played with in awhile,” she says. “I’m so glad that I did it because it just gave me a different perspective. Leaving as a teenager and coming back at 22, I realize now how fortunate I was to be surrounded by these people.”

Article content

Heartland airs Sunday on CBC.

Article contentShare this article in your social network

• 
• 
• 
• 
• Share this Story : Mallory is back: Actress Jessica Amlee reprises role on Calgary-shot Heartland in two-episode arc
  • Copy Link
  • Email
  • X
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr

CommentsYou must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.Create an AccountSign inJoin the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Featured Local SavingsNotice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

OK

You've reached the 20 article limit.

You can manage saved articles in your account.

Subscribe for $0.50/week

and save up to 100 articles!

Looks like you've reached your saved article limit!

You can manage your saved articles in your account and clicking the X located at the bottom right of the article.