A Conversation with Marguerite Moreau

I spoke with actress Marguerite Moreau about the loss of her father, and how filming her new film Monuments helped her find peace in her grief. We also discuss the lasting impact of the Mighty Ducks franchise.

Monuments will be available On Demand and Digital on August 3rd. You can watch the film by clicking here.

Yanis: How are you?

Marguerite: I’m good how are you?

Y: Good. Are you and the family vaccinated?

M: Um yes we are definitely all vaccinated. Why? Do you have an interesting opportunity?

Y: Oh no, it’s just how I make conversation.

M: I love it!

Y: It’s the new status symbol. I got Pfizer!

M: I got Moderna. I feel so grateful, but just because I got one at all. I didn’t even realize how much I wanted a vaccine until I got it and how much I relaxed afterwards.

Y: What made you say yes to Monuments?

M: I like the work. It was offered to me. It was funny. There were things to figure out, and also it was a great meditation on grief.

It sort of felt like a Coen Brothers movie mixed with a Wes Anderson movie that was magical and quirky, but ends in surprising heartbreak.

Y: Tell me about Laura. What can you tell me?

M: I don’t know. There’s a lot in the trailer, so I do feel comfortable saying that she’s someone who’s trying to change her life and then her life is cut short.

But she gets a chance to still help her husband who’s stuck move on with his life.

I like the idea that we get to give ourselves more permission when we’re dead than when we’re alive, which I think is really funny because you’re dead. You can’t do anything.

I think it’s just great to think about how much freedom I’m giving myself while I’m playing this character.

Y: Did playing Laura change your perspective on life and how precious it is?

M: I was grieving my dad who had passed and I really appreciated getting some time to do that with this film. It’s hard sometimes to think about, and to process things as big as the finality of death.

I appreciated the time this movie gave me and when I was watching it. How much levity is in the movie to provide those private moments where I could reflect what I had lost and what that had taught me.

Y: I’m sending you my deepest condolences.

M: Thank you so much I appreciate that.

Y: Were you filming during COVID?

M: It was before COVID. I was very grateful for that because there's such an intimacy in this film. We all worked so closely together and all became so close.

It was one of those special kind of movies where we’re all still on a text chain together and all really enjoy each other's company and look for opportunities to get together.

I think in tackling such intimate material, we were able to really trust each other and form more lasting bonds.

Y: What has it been like raising your son during COVID?

M: He was going into kindergarten, so he did not know any different. He’s been in preschool, but its so much less structured.

We were on Zoom everyday, and I was so proud of him and proud of the teacher. She had to create an environment, an intimacy, so they could concentrate.

It was just an honor to get to sit in a room and watch her teach kindergarten.

As hard as it was to also work, I also did things like learn how much you have to slow down to actually play the guitar. I was like “oh you really have to chill out in order to learn the guitar.”

I think I had always cleaned my house to eventually enjoy later, and because I was living here 24/7 I just got to really enjoy my home.

That was one of the biggest benefits.

Y: The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is airing on Disney Plus. Why do you think this franchise continues to touch hearts after all these years? What does that mean to you?

M: I think the fact that Disney made this new show gave a real container for me to share memories that I really hadn’t up until now.

When the movies came out, there was no social media. There wasn't an opportunity for me to send pictures from the set or when the movie opened, so I had all these memories in a box.

When the show came out and they asked us to be a part of it I was really excited to go back and look back on all that stuff because I was going to be seeing the guys again. I realized “oh wow I should share this stuff because I bet people would get a kick out of it.”

It seemed to me like a perfect time to sort of lean in to that and share some of those things. It was my first movie. It was just so special to me.

As a young kid I hoped that people liked it but I didn’t really understand that people still had a connection to it after all this time. It was a really nice way to connect with other people about The Mighty Ducks.

Y: So this new series has the same magic as the original films?

M: Oh yeah. In the first episode they really wait to reveal Bombay (Emilio Estevez). When he does, he comes in on a Zamboni. The same soundtrack comes in and boy, I just started bawling.

I have a bias of course, but I was like “oh on point on point.” They had him eating cake and being a total cake eater. There’s a lot of little Easter eggs in it that are so delightful for anyone who was a fan of the movie.

A lot of people I know are sharing the new show with their kids and so therefore it’s nice to have it for both of them and not just for the new kids.

To have Emilio decide to come and do TV for the first time and have this be the project that he picks is very special. He’s extremely selective and really stopped doing the bigger projects. He really just wanted to do independent film. I’m happy he feels that way too.

He was a young hot thing back in the day. I can’t believe he was 27 when he shot that. I was shocked when I was in my thirties and I saw Mighty Ducks again and they make a comment about how he just turned 30 in the movie and my mouth fell on the floor. “What? He’s so young!” We thought he was such an adult.

Y: Do you know any professional hockey players who have reached out and said The Mighty Ducks inspired them to play hockey?

M: I’ve had women reach out and say they started playing because they saw the movie, or because of the movie there was a girls league started. I know I've met hockey players who say they’ve loved the movies. I can’t speak to a personal one that I can quote but I know they're out there.

Y: Yeah growing up in Canada —

M: Oh cool where?

Y: Toronto area.

M: Oh great my husband grew up outside of Toronto.

Y: Aw nice.

M: Yeah, Brampton area.

Y: Aren’t Canadians guys great? Aren’t we the nicest guys?

M: Oh I love you guys. I got one and I felt like I had a fishing pole and I pulled him across the border.

Y: Awesome.

M: We need more of you guys here in America.

Y: Haha! I was saying that growing up in Canada playing street hockey you meet a lot of girls who were inspired by your performance in The Mighty Ducks. What’s next for you?

M: I’m just in LA looking for my next job. There’s so many awesome new pilots coming out. I’m just looking for my next project. You know, the actor grind.

Y: Would you like to be a series regular? Is that the goal?

M: I would absolutely love to be a series regular on a show that I really like. Shameless was one of my favorite jobs because the comedy comes out of this hysterical extreme environment these people find themselves in. It’s just so delightful and fun to play that kind of role.

Y: I’m sure that will happen for you. Anything else you want to share?

M: I just hope the American people get vaccinated and the delta variant is no more because we’ll reach herd immunity.

You can follow Marguerite Moreau on Instagram.