From bullies to the big screen, Alexia Fast is a confident, courageous star.

What do you remember most about high school? Was it a time you would like to remember or was it a time you Would like to forget? For many, fitting in seemed harder than figuring out a calculus or algebra problem. Alexia Fast, the actress Who co-starred on the big screen with Tom Cruise in the movie ]ack Reacher, has been through both.

When speaking on working with Egoyan, you can tell she is a fan. “As a director, Egoyan consistently does so many movies that are so good. I think he is such a real storyteller.”

Looking back, the 20-year-old Vancouver native says her high school experience built character. “I was known as Alexia the girl with anorexia’,” Fast says of her tall, thin build and desire to feel sexy “I switched to a high school that had a special program, which allowed me to take time off when I was doing movies. There were people that liked me and there were people that did not.”

Although Fast was bullied, staying true to herself is a reoccurring theme in her life. She stayed “true to herself” by attending the prom. But being bullied as a teenager may have contributed to her success as an actress, as the dramatic arts became a form of therapy. Fast often channelled what she was dealing with at school through her work.

“Acting has been like therapy for me,” she says. “When I acted out a role, whatever problems I had went away when I was on set.”

You could call Fast a child prodigy. By the age of seven, she wrote, directed and starred in the short film The Red Bridge, which premiered at the Atlantic and Reel to Reel hlm festivals in 2002. Her first debut in a feature film was in Fido when she was 11. The film, featuring Carrie Anne Moss, made her realize acting was her calling. “I can remember being in character in a car. It was a natural and organic process. The way I felt in character gave me a lot of clues that acting was what I wanted to do with my life.”

Several TV series, Made-for-TV movies and other feature films prepared her for her breakout role with Tom Cruise in the critically acclaimed movie lack Reacher. Fast played the role of Sandy, a “pretty and seductive siren,” who is involved in setting up Cruise’s title character. She remembers Cruise being “very positive and happy on set,” encouraging her role to be understood on camera.

Her latest movie is Queen of the Night, starring Ryan Reynolds and Rosario Dawson. The Atom Egoyan film is a psychological thriller that follows Reynolds, who plays Fast’s father, discovering that his abducted daughter could still be alive. When speaking on working with Egoyan, you can tell that she is a fan. “As a director, Egoyan consistently does so many movies that are so good. I think he is such a real storyteller.”

Fast understands that she has built an impressive body of work. She has an agent but she does not take on any roles until she feels right about the character. Her maturity and talent has given her clout and opportunities to work side by side with some of the top players in the movie industry.

“My characters must have a lot of depth,” she says. “The characters I choose are well written and there needs to be something to connect to. I try to be honest in my performances and I think that comes across.”

Two Leo Awards, which represent outstanding contributions to film and television in British Columbia, and a nomination prove that Fast’s instincts couldn’t be more sharp. In 2010, the actress received a supporting actress Leo Award for her role opposite Dustin Milligan and Amanda Crew in Carl Bessai’s indie feature The Repeaters, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

She’s performed alongside Tom Cruise and Ryan Reynolds, so it’s safe to say that Alexia Fast is definitely on the fast track to big screen success. Today, the Vancouver-born beauty is inviting us to her Chloe magazine photoshoot.

BY JEN YAMATO | Tuesday January 29, 2013 @ 8:31pm PST

EXCLUSIVE: Canadian actress Alexia Fast has been cast in Atom Egoyan‘s thriller Queen Of The Night opposite Ryan Reynolds and Rosario Dawson. The psychological thriller stars Reynolds as a father who discovers clues 8 years after his daughter’s abduction that suggest the now-17-year-old girl is still alive. Fast recently starred with Tom Cruise in Paramount’s Jack Reacher and appeared on the CW’s Supernatural and The Secret Circle; she will play Reynolds’ daughter, Cass.

The film reunites Egoyan with Mireille Enos, who appeared in the director’s forthcoming Devil’s Knot and is set to play Reynolds’ wife, and Scott Speedman, who starred in Egoyan’s 2008 pic Adoration and will play a cop investigating the girl’s disappearance. Egoyan co-scripted with David Fraser; filming begins next month in Ontario.

Meanwhile, Fast has a recurring role on Melissa Rosenberg‘s upcoming NBC drama series Red Widow, which premieres in March. She is repped by UTA, Sanders Armstrong Caserta Management and Great North Artists.

The 20-year-old has just one day in New York before heading back to her hometown of Vancouver, where she lives with her King Charles spaniel puppy, Lucy, when not working in L.A. Her manager and publicist are doing their best to get her to go out and see the sights, attend a play, go shopping.

“They want to get me out of my shell, but I kinda just like to watch movies and eat food in the hotel,” she says, her almond-shaped hazel eyes glancing down the tree-lined residential street.

One might assume that landing a role opposite Tom Cruise- in Christopher McQuarrie’s new action film, Jack Reacher, out in December- would require an ego check rather than boost, but Fast remains endearingly humble and demure. In the film, she plays Sandy, a seductive rebel who catches the eye of Cruise’s title character, a gritty retired military police officer who operates outside of the law to solve cases. On set with Cruise and McQuarrie (The Tourist, The Usual Suspects), Fast had a similarly strange experience. “When we were shooting the scene at the bar where Sandy first flirts with Jack, we did a bunch of takes,” she recalls, “and Tom decided to improvise, so instead of saying his lines, he jus started talking gibberish to me. It was this really funny, totally improvised moment. I felt free on set. I felt like I could try anything.” Which was helpful, seeing as Sandy isn’t your typical female action lead. “I think it’s easy in an action film to be kind of exploitive by having a really hot girl,” Fast says, “but [McQuarrie and Cruise] were really interested in making her vulnerable and innocent. She had a real story and a real journey.”

Fast also stars in Blackbird, a standout at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and the impetus behind her brief stay in the haunted house. In the film, she plays Deanna, the popular-girl love interest of Sean (Connor Jessup), a bullied boy caught up in a legal controversy over a story he wrote about exacting revenge. “That was fun for me because I wasn’t popular in high school,” Fast says. “People used to say, ‘You’re so weird,’ and I would be like, ‘Isn’t it great? Thanks!’ They didn’t get it.”

It may have been Fast’s accelerated imagination that set a distance between her and her peers. When she was just seven, she wrote, directed and starred in her own film. “It was a story I wrote in school, and I brought all my friends together to make a movie out of it,” she says, explaining the process with the same seriousness she devotes to other, only slightly more (ahem) high-profile projects. “That’s when I realized I loved acting.” Now, with some experience in the industry, Fast is exploring the idea of writing and dieting, as well as singing and songwriting. “My dad’s a songwriter, and it’s actually quite nice because I didn’t really know him when I was growing up,” she says. We reconnected when I was about 16 and started writing together. That’s how we bonded.” Fast’s already wispy voice lightens even more. “I feel like he can read my mind sometimes when we’re writing.”

Meanwhile, Fast is also enjoying the benefits of connecting with a like-minded Hollywood family-namely, her Jack Reacher cohorts. “People are very strange in the acting world. Sometimes it’s hard to find people who are genuine, and sometimes there are people who aren’t very nice, so you have to navigate around that. But then there are people who are really nice, really genuine artists, and the most unique, interesting people,” she says. “I definitely feel at home in that kind of environment.”

Get to know the Esquire Elf, Alexia Fast. Age: 20 Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia Height: Five foot nine Which makes her how many inches taller than her costar in the upcoming film Jack Reacher (out December 21)? Two Name of that costar: Tom Cruise Age at which she wrote, directed, and starred in her first film (which premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival): Seven Age she later claimed to be when she wrote the film so that people “would believe her”: Nine Mother’s occupation: TV and movie producer Father’s occupation: Songwriter So it’s no surprise that she’s: An actress and a singer Upcoming TV series she’s starring on: ABC’s Red Widow On which she plays a character she describes as: “A very shallow hippie chick… a troublemaker.” Holiday advice: “Don’t visit your exes, even if you’re feeling very nostalgic.” Times she has not followed that advice: At least once Main qualification to be this year’s elf: “I’m a big fan of snow and Christmas lights and tea and chocolate and friends.” Tea? “It’s cold in Canada.”

For many, existing in a faraway fairytale land of make-believe and magic remains just that — a distant dream. For actress Alexia Fast, however, a series of soundstages, costume rooms and art departments has been both a place of work and an imaginative playground. Fast, a bright young star who enjoys dating, singing and shopping like any stylish modern woman, is making a powerful impression in Hollywood with two movies releasing this holiday season: Blackbird and Jack Reacher.

Beginning her film career at the tender age of seven, Fast has been in love with adventure and story-telling for as long as she can remember. She recalls, “I was always the girl who would daydream in class when we were supposed to be paying attention. I love the process of creating characters that tell a story.” Fast’s genuine passion and raw talent for acting led her to star in the short film, The Red Bridge, which premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival and Real to Reel Film Festival.

Early on, Fast found herself working with Carrie-Anne Moss in the zombie comedy Fido, which later premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. She was eleven years old at the time and was so excited to be a part of a feature film. “I remember being on set and wanting to do such a good job,” she said. “In fact, in one scene I was sitting in a car that was being filmed driving down the street. You couldn’t directly see me on camera, but I remember sitting in the car and focusing so hard about being in character.”

The emerging actress harnessed that excitement and used it as her driving force to seek additional opportunities. Fast went on to act in a number of television movies and series such as The 19th Wife for Sony Pictures Television, the Emmy-nominated mini-series Tin Man, A&E’s Wildfires, Nickelodeon’s Gym Teacher and TMN’s Fakers. She appeared as a series regular on MTV’s Kaya, played a leading role in the TV movie The Cult and has been a guest star on USA’s The 4400, CBS’s Flashpoint and the CW’s Supernatural.

Although her television resume is impressive, she truly favors film work. “I do love working on TV projects, especially ones that are super creative and fun,” Fast said. “It’s not often you get to play a witch or a magical character. However, my passion really lies in film,” she said.

Following her passion, Fast simultaneously pursued projects geared for the big screen while taping for television. She starred in Indie feature Helen that later premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Fast also worked on the teen thriller, Triple Dog with Britt Robertson and Scout Taylor-Compton, dance comedy feature Kickin’ It Old Skool with Jamie Kennedy and the TV movie thriller Past Tense.

She appears to be climbing the golden ladder of success, and her skills have been noted in the industry. She has secured a number of Leo Award nominations, including a win for “Best Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama” for her role in Carl Bessai’s

Repeaters (2011). Fast also raked in an award for “Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film” for Past Tense (2007) and a nomination for “Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama” just two years later for her part in Helen.

Fast’s talents can be seen this November when she stars in the film Blackbird, opposite Connor Jessup who plays a boy wrongfully accused of planning a school shooting. In the film, her character is an adolescent who struggles to find a voice and an identity in a town of tightly wound conformists. “The film is a classic boy-meets-girl story. It is a great story that deals with small mindedness and overcoming social issues,” she mused.

Fast’s greatest milestone — and first major part to date — is the role she plays opposite Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher. The film, which was written and directed by Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie, hits theaters this December. According to the actress, it was a nice surprise. “I never expected to get this part! I sent in my tape and two weeks later I was Skyping with the director for 45 minutes,” she said. “We talked about everything and just had a great conversation getting to know each other.” Fast continues, “I then got a call from the casting director, who purposely sounded very sad on the phone, trying to make me think I didn’t get the part. He said, ‘I have just one more question for you.’ At first I thought I didn’t get the part. Then I thought he was going to ask me to do a nude scene. After a moment of hesitation, he said, ‘Do you want the part?’ and I shouted, ‘Yes!’”

In Jack Reacher, Fast takes on the role of Sandy, a seductive siren who is mischievous, titillating and thrives on using men and letting them use her. Although Fast enjoys some bad boy eye candy, her actual dating life is the complete opposite of that. “Ha! Ha!” she laughed. “I guess you can say I am physically attracted to bad boys, but I am majorly turned off by their bad personalities. I go for the kind, sweet boys that have great personalities!”

Admirers from around the world may wonder what it was like for Fast to work with an actor of the star magnitude and experience of Tom Cruise. “It was pretty awesome!” Fast confessed. “He was just so very kind and helpful. He really wanted to make me feel comfortable and make sure my character was refined perfectly. He made me feel very relaxed. He is really just a nice, supportive, fun guy.” She took this opportunity to learn from the A-lister. “I was just so lucky to work with him. I really appreciate how kind he is even though he is Tom Cruise. I love how he stayed the same even after he became a star. I am excited to do the same — work hard and continue to tell different stories through acting,” she said. “Landing this role was a major accomplishment for me. I knew I would be working with great actors I could learn from… talented storytellers who had great experience in the field. I also knew I would be working with an amazing director and that gave me a feeling of protection and really would allow me to let my guard down and try different things.”

In addition to acting, Fast also has an affinity for high fashion (a true Betsey Johnson and Missoni junkie) and music (a lover of the folk art sound). She describes her personal style as very playful and fun. “I love bright colors. I’m the kind of girl who would wear a yellow sundress with bare feet and run around in the forest.” Like her acting career, Fast’s interest in music was sparked at an early age. Her father, a singer and songwriter, introduced her to the craft. “I love writing and singing,” she said. “Writing music to me is another way of telling a story. It is exploratory and fun all while conveying an emotion.” Her personal history serves as inspiration to her lyrics. “I write songs based on life experiences and feelings. I do write those typical love songs,” she said laughing, “but I also write about darker emotions too. I think it’s fun to experiment with different things.”

Youthful, talented and, most importantly, immensely imaginative, Alexia Fast is riding a rapid, glittering comet to stardom. What is next for the burgeoning star? “Well, I am going on a date later tonight,” she said and laughed. “He’s a nice guy. We will probably walk around the city and have fun,” Fast joked. “At this age, it’s important to explore and find out what you really like in a man. It’s always nice in the beginning, and right now it’s the beginning, so we’ll see.” It appears Fast applies this same ethos to her career, and we can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

For many, existing in a faraway fairytale land of make-believe and magic remains just that — a distant dream. For actress Alexia Fast, however, a series of soundstages, costume rooms and art departments has been both a place of work and an imaginative playground. Fast, a bright young star who enjoys dating, singing and shopping like any stylish modern woman, is making a powerful impression in Hollywood with two movies releasing this holiday season: Blackbird and Jack Reacher.

Beginning her film career at the tender age of seven, Fast has been in love with adventure and story-telling for as long as she can remember. She recalls, “I was always the girl who would daydream in class when we were supposed to be paying attention. I love the process of creating characters that tell a story.” Fast’s genuine passion and raw talent for acting led her to star in the short film, The Red Bridge, which premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival and Real to Reel Film Festival.

Early on, Fast found herself working with Carrie-Anne Moss in the zombie comedy Fido, which later premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. She was eleven years old at the time and was so excited to be a part of a feature film. “I remember being on set and wanting to do such a good job,” she said. “In fact, in one scene I was sitting in a car that was being filmed driving down the street. You couldn’t directly see me on camera, but I remember sitting in the car and focusing so hard about being in character.”

The emerging actress harnessed that excitement and used it as her driving force to seek additional opportunities. Fast went on to act in a number of television movies and series such as The 19th Wife for Sony Pictures Television, the Emmy-nominated mini-series Tin Man, A&E’s Wildfires, Nickelodeon’s Gym Teacher and TMN’s Fakers. She appeared as a series regular on MTV’s Kaya, played a leading role in the TV movie The Cult and has been a guest star on USA’s The 4400, CBS’s Flashpoint and the CW’s Supernatural.

Although her television resume is impressive, she truly favors film work. “I do love working on TV projects, especially ones that are super creative and fun,” Fast said. “It’s not often you get to play a witch or a magical character. However, my passion really lies in film,” she said.

Following her passion, Fast simultaneously pursued projects geared for the big screen while taping for television. She starred in Indie feature Helen that later premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Fast also worked on the teen thriller, Triple Dog with Britt Robertson and Scout Taylor-Compton, dance comedy feature Kickin’ It Old Skool with Jamie Kennedy and the TV movie thriller Past Tense.

She appears to be climbing the golden ladder of success, and her skills have been noted in the industry. She has secured a number of Leo Award nominations, including a win for “Best Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama” for her role in Carl Bessai’s

Repeaters (2011). Fast also raked in an award for “Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film” for Past Tense (2007) and a nomination for “Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama” just two years later for her part in Helen.

Fast’s talents can be seen this November when she stars in the film Blackbird, opposite Connor Jessup who plays a boy wrongfully accused of planning a school shooting. In the film, her character is an adolescent who struggles to find a voice and an identity in a town of tightly wound conformists. “The film is a classic boy-meets-girl story. It is a great story that deals with small mindedness and overcoming social issues,” she mused.

Fast’s greatest milestone — and first major part to date — is the role she plays opposite Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher. The film, which was written and directed by Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie, hits theaters this December. According to the actress, it was a nice surprise. “I never expected to get this part! I sent in my tape and two weeks later I was Skyping with the director for 45 minutes,” she said. “We talked about everything and just had a great conversation getting to know each other.” Fast continues, “I then got a call from the casting director, who purposely sounded very sad on the phone, trying to make me think I didn’t get the part. He said, ‘I have just one more question for you.’ At first I thought I didn’t get the part. Then I thought he was going to ask me to do a nude scene. After a moment of hesitation, he said, ‘Do you want the part?’ and I shouted, ‘Yes!’”

In Jack Reacher, Fast takes on the role of Sandy, a seductive siren who is mischievous, titillating and thrives on using men and letting them use her. Although Fast enjoys some bad boy eye candy, her actual dating life is the complete opposite of that. “Ha! Ha!” she laughed. “I guess you can say I am physically attracted to bad boys, but I am majorly turned off by their bad personalities. I go for the kind, sweet boys that have great personalities!”

Admirers from around the world may wonder what it was like for Fast to work with an actor of the star magnitude and experience of Tom Cruise. “It was pretty awesome!” Fast confessed. “He was just so very kind and helpful. He really wanted to make me feel comfortable and make sure my character was refined perfectly. He made me feel very relaxed. He is really just a nice, supportive, fun guy.” She took this opportunity to learn from the A-lister. “I was just so lucky to work with him. I really appreciate how kind he is even though he is Tom Cruise. I love how he stayed the same even after he became a star. I am excited to do the same — work hard and continue to tell different stories through acting,” she said. “Landing this role was a major accomplishment for me. I knew I would be working with great actors I could learn from… talented storytellers who had great experience in the field. I also knew I would be working with an amazing director and that gave me a feeling of protection and really would allow me to let my guard down and try different things.”

In addition to acting, Fast also has an affinity for high fashion (a true Betsey Johnson and Missoni junkie) and music (a lover of the folk art sound). She describes her personal style as very playful and fun. “I love bright colors. I’m the kind of girl who would wear a yellow sundress with bare feet and run around in the forest.” Like her acting career, Fast’s interest in music was sparked at an early age. Her father, a singer and songwriter, introduced her to the craft. “I love writing and singing,” she said. “Writing music to me is another way of telling a story. It is exploratory and fun all while conveying an emotion.” Her personal history serves as inspiration to her lyrics. “I write songs based on life experiences and feelings. I do write those typical love songs,” she said laughing, “but I also write about darker emotions too. I think it’s fun to experiment with different things.”

Youthful, talented and, most importantly, immensely imaginative, Alexia Fast is riding a rapid, glittering comet to stardom. What is next for the burgeoning star? “Well, I am going on a date later tonight,” she said and laughed. “He’s a nice guy. We will probably walk around the city and have fun,” Fast joked. “At this age, it’s important to explore and find out what you really like in a man. It’s always nice in the beginning, and right now it’s the beginning, so we’ll see.” It appears Fast applies this same ethos to her career, and we can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

HURRY UP, WE’RE DREAMING

Actress Alexia Fast is so method, even her subconscious is in character.

By Candy Soo. Photographed by Evaan Kheraj

With her cascading pre-Raphaelite curls, lanky limbs, and wide-eyed smile, actress Alexia Fast could easily be mistaken for just another ingénue. Virtually haloed, she has an innocent, happy-go-lucky air that almost makes you feel like you need to protect her before she gets blindsided by the Hollywood machine. That’s where you’d be mistaken.

Though she’s just 20 years old, the Vancouver-native is an industry veteran. She launched her career at seven when she wrote, directed, and acted in her own short film, The Red Bridge, which went on to screen at the 2002 Atlantic Film Festival and the Reel 2 Real International Youth Film Festival. Since then, she’s appeared in more than 30 movies and TV shows, and this December she stars alongside Tom Cruise in the action flick Jack Reacher.

“Right before I found out about my audition with [Jack Reacher] director Christopher McQuarrie, I’d just told my agents that I wanted to take a break from acting,” says Fast, relaxing in a Vancouver photo studio on an unusually sunny November afternoon. “I told them not to call me unless it’s something important!” Fortunately they deemed Tom Cruise worth a call and, after a series of Skype auditions, Fast landed the role of Sandy, a young, misguided girl who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, making bad decisions with bad boys—something Fast could relate to. “I went through a pretty misguided phase myself,” she admits. “When I was younger, I gave some people the time of day I probably shouldn’t have.”

Despite her many years of acting, Fast was understandably nervous to work with Cruise—by far her most famous co-star yet—and she barely slept the night before her first day on set, which also happened to be when they were shooting one of her most important scenes. “I had a terrible nightmare about it,” she says. “It was so bad that when I woke up, there was a moment when I actually thought I saw everyone from the scene in my room.” But the day on set ended up working out fine. Fast says Cruise was fatherly towards her, offering advice and guidance, and he also respected her acting choices. “He never directed me,” she says. “He trusts you to do what you do.”

Fast was born into a film-business family—her mother is a movie producer—and she’s always been drawn to roles with a dose of darkness. In 2010, she appeared in Triple Dog, a teen thriller about an extreme game of Truth or Dare, and she most recently starred in Blackbird—a drama about cyber-bullying and its terrible repercussions—which premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. No matter the part, she doesn’t hesitate to throw herself into it. She recalls working on the thriller Past Tense when she was just 13 years old and crying for eight hours straight to stay in character. She gets so involved in her roles that she even dreams as them. “It affects me psychologically, which is good, because it means I’m really in character,” she says, adding with a laugh: “But it definitely doesn’t help when it comes to sleeping properly.”

For now, Fast is taking it easy in Vancouver, spending some much-needed downtime hiking and camping. “I’m in love with Canada,” she says. “We might not be as flashy as some other places, but we have some of the most beautiful nature in the world.” Soon, though, she’ll be back at work, shooting a film with a hot Hollywood actor who also happens to call Vancouver home (she’s keeping mum on the project for now). While many child stars have been chewed up and spit out by the industry, Fast seems to be growing up in the limelight with grace and maturity. Smiling and tucking a loose curl behind her ear, she shares one survival secret: “Learn how to say no.”

ALEXIA FAST CHEAT SHEET

TOP FIVE FAVOURITE MOVIES
Black Snake Moan
Boogie Nights
Dark Shadows
Marie Antoinette
Love Actually

DREAM MUSIC FESTIVAL LINE-UP
Taylor Swift
Eminem
Lil’ Wayne
Rihanna
Kelly Clarkson
Carrie Underwood
Beyoncé
Jessie J

FAVOURITE SONG
“Space Bound” by Eminem

RAID HER CLOSET
Emma Stone. Love her style!

FAVOURITE ACTOR/ACTRESS
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Michelle Williams

Stylist: MICHELLE RENEAU
Hair: ISABELLE CUMMINS
Makeup: MELANIE NEUFELD