Natasha Calis earnedher first acting creditsat the tender age of seven.
Since then, she’s appeared on both the large and small screen.
“She was a complex character, with a very fun environment.”
The acting bug bit early
You started acting when you were seven.
How did you get your early start?
Honestly, I was born to do this, as cheesy as that sounds.
I was so fascinated with movies at such an early age, four or five years old.
I was always performing.
I’d suddenly be in the world.
My imagination was always really huge.
They waited until I was old enough to actually ask them to put me into acting.
As soon as I said, “I want to do this,” they agreed.
They had no idea what they were doing, but it all worked out.
Nothing else in the world you’d ever like to do?
I don’t take it for granted that I’ve been acting since the age of seven.
I’m very lucky.
The storylines are different, but have you had a different experience on set or was it similar?
I had the privilege of working with Vanessa Piazza and Julie Puckrin again from “Nurses.”
Vanessa was an executive producer on Season 1.
They’re two of my favorite people in the world.
They’re the best boss ladies, incredible humans.
It was such an honor to be on another one of their shows.
As far as filming goes, “SkyMed” was a completely different vibe.
“Nurses” was all shot in a studio, every single day.
There was so much adventure!
It was challenging, but it was very fun and every day was different.
It was quite spectacular.
I had a really good time being on a show like “SkyMed.”
It really helped bring some grounded and real performances to the actors, as well.
On being Haley Roberts
What drew you to this role?
I really did like the adventure side of it.
I knew it was going to be fun to film with airplanes.
Medical jobs are really fun because it’s life and death.
The stakes are so high.
You almost get to play two different characters.
Zipping off the flight suit and kicking it with the rest of the crew was also a fun aspect.
I got to show a different side of the character.
What was the biggest challenge of this role, for you?
We had to battle some tough things and some exceptionally long days.
That was the most challenging thing as an actor filming it, but it was also fun.
That also helped make it really special and brought out some intense and vulnerable performances.
She had something to hide, but she had to put on a professional face and help people.
Sometimes, those people that she was helping brought back memories of what she was trying to shove down.
That was a really interesting and challenging thing to play.
Luckily, we were all so close on set.
Everybody, cast and crew, became such a family.
We were all away from home.
We all really leaned on each other throughout filming.
We were all living in the same apartment building, which was really fun.
We joked that it was our college dorm room experience, because we would leave our doors unlocked.
We’d all get together or we’d have game nights.
There was a beautiful gym in our building.
We would all do a “SkyMed” spa gym session and let loose.
The girls would do Zumba and the guys would do their strength training.
We all leaned on each other and made sure we were having fun and staying healthy.
We were also really communicative with each other.
We filmed for about five months.
We were all going through the same thing.
It’s very nice that we became so close.
Tell me about game nights with the cast.
With everybody else, I’m not overly competitive.
It’s a healthy amount.
The cast playedthis gamewhich everybody fell in love with.
It’s a makeshift game, [where] everyone writes words on a piece of paper.
You fold up the paper and put it in the bowl.
For the first round, you have to get people to guess the words by giving clues.
In the second round, you guess the same words using charades.
That was our favorite game that we all got a kick out of and helped us relax.
Natasha off the set
What are your hobbies when you’re not on set?
I’m definitely very outdoorsy.
I was born and raised in Vancouver.
My parents have a boat so I grew up going away on a boat all summer for months.
I’ve been a soccer player my whole life.
I honestly really enjoy running.
That’s my favorite thing.
I really love yoga.
I’mnot a great dancer.
My mom would be very ashamed, because I did years of dancing and she’s a dance teacher.
I enjoy traveling and my favorite place I’ve ever visited would be Brazil.
They were the best tour guides ever and we got to stay at all of their places.
I love it in Brazil and I would go back in a heartbeat.
They can also expect some really beautiful character arcs from every single person.
It’s much like what we were all going through together as a cast.
We all arrived on set one way and left changed for the better.
We all took a lot away from the show.
I know it will be as amazing as Season 1 and fun to film all of our characters.
What do you want to do in the future for your career?
Season 2 of “SkyMed!”
I have dreams of going to New York and immersing myself in the theater scene there.
That would be really cool and something I’ve never done, and it would be very challenging.
Eventually, hopefully, we’ll see.
What are your plans for your immediate future?
Time at home after being away for five months!
I plan to enjoy a Vancouver summer, which is unbeatable.
All episodes of SkyMed Season 1 are now available for streaming onParamount+.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
