On being cast in the film:
Fans of Jonathan Crombie may have seen our earlier report that the talented actor was entirely unfamiliar with the world of film before stepping in front of Kevin Sullivan’s cameras. In fact, before being cast in the miniseries, Crombie hadn’t planned on being an actor. He was simply seen in a high school play by casting director Diane Polley (Road to Avonlea actress Sarah Polley’s mother) and before he knew it, he was standing on set and ready to film his first scene just a couple of days after his final audition.
He recalls, “Diane asked me to try out for ‘Anne’. Kevin Sullivan had someone else in mind but she hustled me to see him. I hadn’t read the ‘Anne’ books, so I asked my school friends what sense they had of Gilbert. Sounded good to me.”
On the character of Gilbert:
Crombie discovered that the character of Gilbert seemed to be a combination of a few real men in author L.M. Montgomery’s own life – specifically Herman Leard, a farm boy she once loved, as well as a scholar she respected.
On his first scene with actress Colleen Dewhurst (Marilla Cuthbert):
“My lips were quivering and I was terrified of close-ups. An epileptic Gilbert! When the scene was done Colleen whispered, ‘You’re wonderful!’ We went out to dinner that night and she told me so much about acting. She [was] a wonderful teacher.”
On his co-star, Megan Follows:
Crombie became good friend with his on-screen love interest, Megan Follows, and says that she offered him a number of good acting tips. “She told me not to talk so fast,” he says. And Dewhurst also gave him some practical advice by telling him to research the historical time period in which Anne was set.
On juggling school with work:
While shooting Anne of Green Gables, Crombie was also studying for his college entrance exams, expecting that his acting career would be temporary. Even after the success of the first Anne movie, Crombie went on to earn his degree from the University of Toronto.
On watching the premiere:
Crombie was too embarrassed to watch the premiere of the first Anne film on TV. “When Anne came on, I saw a bit of it and then hid in my room. As it was showing, my friends kept calling with good criticism. It isn’t a big thing with my friends.”
On Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel:
“[The films] explored very real characters and very real emotions. These characters had the capacity to be cruel, to be loving, to be confused, to be happy, to be selfish, to be generous. But there’s also another feeling, where it takes you to another land—partly because of the scenery, partly because of the different time, and partly because of the way they handled it—about a girl who, through her imagination, brings you into fairy tales. Everybody, whether they like it or not, has a little bit of that in them. Even the most logical mathematicians have that part that just makes them want to, you know…pretend that they’re a chivalrous knight.”
One of the nice lines in the film is, ‘It’s not what the world holds out to you, it’s what you bring to it’. I really like that. [Through the film] you understand where home is, a part where you don’t have to go roaming to mountains, to different worlds, to realize that happiness can be right here with what you’re doing and the people you already know. You don’t have to be swept off your feet by a knight in shining armor to fall in love. You can fall in love with your best friend… It takes both worlds. Marilla, for whom everything is black and white, gets to learn that there’s gray in the middle and some beautiful colors. Anne, through different characters, especially Gilbert, learns that she can keep her imagination.”
