As much success as you’ve had in the U.S., how important is it for you to still work on Canadian projects?
I love making art. It’s nice to do that in Canada. It’s nice to do that in the States. It’s nice to do that wherever I’m welcome. But Super Team Canada is . . . we’re making references that I thought I was the only one that understood them. There’s a whole episode about Anne of Green Gables — which I was obsessed with growing up — and you don’t really get to make content that resonates that deep with you.
What exactly appealed to you about the portrait of Canada that’s on display in this show?
The story and the characters were so interesting to me, and then it was really these golden Canadian references that kept coming up in each episode. I think that Canadians have this wonderful ability . . . we’re such a humble group of people. [With Super Team Canada] we’re laughing at ourselves and just doing a bunch of inside jokes that really are for our own enjoyment.
How fitting is it that the series is coming out now, amidst a trade war and attacks on Canadian sovereignty?
We started working on this years ago, and I think it’s all about writing a love letter to the country that we just adore. The timing is very bizarre and funny . . . and strange. But for us, when we were creating this, it was more about creating these characters that were so funny and different, and sort of struggling.
Is the show commenting at all on typical “superhero team-up” stories?
I don’t think it’s making a commentary. I think it’s just a funny idea. I mean, the fact that we have a superhero named Poutine . . . and The Sasquatchewan? It’s more just a silly, fun romp and not trying to be anything serious at all. It’s trying to give people an opportunity to laugh . . . It is really just entertainment for the masses — mostly for the Canadian masses.
This particular team that your character, Niagara Falls, struggles to lead is profoundly dysfunctional. But what is it about them that actually works?
Well, it takes them awhile, but I think they realize that they’re stronger together. And gosh, isn’t that what we need right now? [Laughs]
Overall, how has fame impacted your life? Was it what you thought it would be, before you were famous?
Well, when I hear the term “famous,” I have a hard time with it. I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve been in projects that people like. I am a recognizable person — but I still live kind of the same life. My life has changed since I started acting, for sure — but in terms of just being out in the world, I feel I operate still very much the same way that I always have.
Looking back, is there one fan encounter that still really resonates?
My goodness, I’ve been blessed with so many. I think the perk of the job that I have is I get to meet so many people. I’m an ovarian cancer survivor and I’ve met a lot of women — and also a lot of other people — who have been affected by cancer. When you’re a public figure and you share something that you’re going through, there’s a kinship that develops, and then they share their own story with me. It’s wonderful to just experience that with people.
Super Team Canada, streaming on Crave
MEMORABLE ROLES:
You’ve seen her as steely-eyed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill all across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She’s also shared the big screen with Tom Cruise in action pic Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. But Cobie Smulders is, no doubt, still best known as charmingly messy news anchor Robin Scherbatsky in CBS’s hit rom-sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
CURRENT GIG:
The B.C. native wades back into the superhero genre — tongue planted firmly in cheek this time — for an unhinged cartoon called Super Team Canada. She voices Niagara Falls, leader of a cut-rate Canadian superhero squad that becomes humanity’s only hope after the rest of the world’s mightiest crusaders are wiped out.