Schitt’s Creek: 5 Ways Moira Is A Good Actor (& 5 Ways She’s Not)

Each member of the Rose family on Schitt’s Creek had a particular focus in their careers, whether it was Alexis with her public relations, Johnny with his business acumen, or David with fashion and art, and each member had their niche. Arguably, Moira’s acting career is the most iconic that any of the Roses has on the show.

In one of actor Catherine O’Hara’s most memorable roles, she brings to life the actor Moira Rose. Moira has engaging moments as an actor, whether she is elevating a soap opera or completely committing to a role, but she sometimes falters when her ego gets in the way.

10 Good: She Completely Commits

Moira commits to nearly every role she takes, even if it’s considered a silly role. She approaches The Crows Have Eyes 3 seriously and commits to her role as a scientist who talks to the crows and then begins to turn into a crow herself.

Everyone on the project just wants to finish what’s quickly turning into a B horror movie, but Moira wants to workshop her character and lines so she can be the best she can be. Moira inspires the director to work with her and care more for the project, making it a decent movie in the end.

9 Bad: She Cares Too Much About Awards

Moira might be a great actor and deserve her awards, but an actor who only cares about awards doesn’t necessarily make a good actor. Moira is always obsessed with awards shows and how her legacy will be upheld, like when Alexis asks her what her favorite season is and she answers “awards” in a hilarious Moira-ism that is very telling.

An actor who cares too much about awards season might forget to actually care about the project itself and only take “Oscar bait” roles instead of working on their craft.

8 Good: She Loses Herself In A Role

Along with completely committing to a role, Moira is also known to lose herself in roles. In fact, she almost seems to method act as she gets into a proper mindset before any role.

Moira usually succeeds in this and it’s most likely a big reason why she has earned awards and rave reviews for her acting. She is willing to do almost anything for a role, whether it’s a demanding schedule like she must have had on Sunrise Bay or getting into outrageous make-up for The Crows movie.

7 Bad: She Has A Big Ego

Moira is confident in her acting ability, and while this is a good trait, it becomes a bad trait when it turns into ego and overconfidence. Moira assumes that she’s better than everyone and this isn’t the best approach in any field, including acting.

This is seen when she assumes the Jazzagals needed her singing talent, even though she isn’t the best singer in the group. Her ego has, most likely, cost her some good roles throughout the years.

6 Good: She Elevates Roles In Projects Considered Silly

Moira elevates any role she’s in, even though she doesn’t have many serious movies or television roles to her name, but that doesn’t stop her from being regarded as a great actor.

Moira is best known for her work on the soap opera Sunrise Bay and most characters in Schitt’s Creek mention that the soap opera was silly, but that Moira was the best part of the whole show.

5 Bad: She Is Devastated By Bad News

Moira has several breakdowns throughout the series due to the Rose family’s new circumstances. She usually has to spend several days in bed as she’s continually devastated by any minor or major setback.

The acting industry typically isn’t kind and actors have to face a lot of frustration and bad news before getting a big break. Actors need to be tough and able to handle not getting a role so they can move on to the next, which is something that Moira isn’t able to do.

4 Good: She Loves Her Fans

It’s unequivocally true that Moira Rose loves her fans and she has a lot of fans pop up throughout the series, like Roland, who asked Moira to slap him just like her character on Sunrise Bay did.

Though Moira might not want to do fan conventions or constantly think highly of her fans, she is always touched when someone appreciates her work. It might only be because of her ego, but either way, most of the time, Moira loves interacting with her fans and this makes her a lovable actor.

3 Bad: She Sometimes Looks Down On Roles

Although Moira is known for elevating roles that aren’t considered the greatest, she is also known for being upset that she has to take roles she feels are beneath her.

Moira takes a job to do a commercial for Herb Ertlinger’s winery, even though she thought a local Schitt’s Creek winery commercial wasn’t worthy of her acting talents. She ends up getting drunk on the wine she didn’t even like and ruins the commercial, which proves she didn’t take the job seriously.

2 Good: She Uses Her Acting Skills In Her Daily Life

Johnny and Moira are a great couple, but they sometimes don’t agree throughout the series. Johnny typically doesn’t appreciate when Moira uses her acting in her daily life, but it certainly helps her get her way.

Whether she is acting like a disheveled character to get a good discount on a car or touting her singing skills to get into the Jazzagals, Moira is known for using her acting skills in her daily life. She is usually successful when she acts to get what she wants, which proves she is actually a good actor.

1 Bad: She Typically Doesn’t Help Other Actors

Moira has a difficult time helping other people, in general, and she especially doesn’t want to help other actors get ahead of her. Given her big ego, it makes sense that Moira doesn’t want to help actors be successful, even though this probably could help Moira, as well.

Particularly, Moira doesn’t help Stevie during the Cabaret musical, at first. Although she does eventually come around and help her, she’s still willing to jump into the starring role when Stevie doesn’t show, instead of trying to look for her.

About The Author