When actress Bree Turner first landed her role on NBC’s Grimm, she wasn’t planning on leaving her home base in Los Angeles for too long. “It was a completely wild, shot-out-of-a-cannon moment booking this job,” she recalls. “At the end of season one, I auditioned to be just a reoccurring guest star and just came up to shoot five episodes in Portland.” But when she was hired on to portray Rosalee Calvert full-time in the fantasy-drama series, Turner says the move was among the perks of the job.
“I have two kids and a husband, so I fit a very traditional life into a very untraditional job,” she says. “I’ve completely fallen in love with Portland, and we have a great life here. I will definitely leave this city changed.”
That won’t be anytime soon, considering the show was recently renewed for its fourth season. And anyway, Turner sounds like she’s having too much fun to pack up just yet. “The city is perfect because it’s got a small town vibe—it’s very simple and easy to live here—but you’re not completely off the map,” she says.
“One of our favorite haunts is the Multnomah Whiskey Library, which is in downtown Portland. They’ve got Jordan the bartender there, who is one of the premiere whiskey experts in the world. They have an entire wall of hundreds of whiskey bottles, they make all these specialty cocktails, and it’s just a full experience. The food scene here is also fantastic: Beast, Clark Lewis, and then there’s Bamboo Sushi. I’m kind of a sushi snob and it’s some of the best sushi I’ve had.”
Bree Turner as Rosalee on Grimm
Does any of Portland’s famous earnestness ever get to be too much, though? “Portland is such a cool progressive city because a main theme of this city is clean living,” Turner says with a laugh. “Basically it’s a requirement to conduct your life in a responsibly way; I just got my fourth notice from the recycling company that I put a Starbucks lid in that bin and they’re going to fine me if they see another one. It’s super intense, but it ‘s wonderful and I will gladly take that back to L.A. I’ll bring a little bit of composting to Los Angeles.”
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