Actress Ali Liebert has paid her dues. For much of the past six years, she’d been a waitress, bartender and receptionist – both onscreen and in real life. But things have finally turned around for the hard-working B.C. native, with a whole slate of projects ready to drop this year. She’ll appear in a major motion picture, the psychological thriller Hardwired with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Val Kilmer, and also a new network series, Harper’s Island, a 13-episode mystery drama on CBS. Liebert will continue in the role of Jackie on the ABC Family hit Kyle XY, now entering its third season, and, finally, she landed a juicy role in Year of the Carnivore, an independent feature written and directed by Sook-Yin Lee.

See more sultry pictures of Ali Liebert

What was the turning point?

“I guess I just stopped trying to be normal,” Liebert explains. “I have a unique sense of humour, and sometimes a quirky way of seeing a character, and it’s maybe not necessarily in sync with the standard character breakdown we receive before auditions. So I guess I just got more brave somehow, and trusted my instincts in interpreting who the characters are.”

In Year of the Carnivore, Liebert plays friend and erotic mentor to the lead character, a tomboy who’s having trouble connecting with her sexual potential. She calls the film “kind of a dirty comedy” and describes writer-director Sook-Yin Lee as “smart and cool.” And though grateful for the all the work that’s come her way of late, she has a natural affinity for the independent projects.

“I haven’t done that many films, but Year of the Carnivore was another turning point because it was so collaborative. It was a little more open than what you sometimes find on big TV sets. And on independent films, the characters are somehow more unique in a way.”

Fittingly, the accompanying photo shoot was also a collaborative endeavour – with a film noir backstory informing each of the set-ups, giving Liebert a chance to extend her acting chops into another medium. The Vancouver location, Maxine’s Hideaway, added to the mood: a building that had housed both a brothel and a rum-running operation during Prohibition, and where J. Edgar Hoover once appeared to arrest a known fugitive. The building, like Liebert, has paid its dues, and now, also like Liebert, is basking in the limelight.

Ali Liebert met with TORO Woman photographer Darryl Humphrey for this stylish and stylized photo shoot and gave us more insights into her personality with this questionnaire.

Q: What is the quality you like most in a man?
A: Sense of humour.

Q: The quality you like most in a woman?
A: Kindness.

Q: What is your present state of mind?
A: Grateful.

Q: What is your greatest indulgence?
A: I would want to take photos. I’ve started taking a photography course. I’ve always had a really good eye. I got a new camera that I don’t know how to work [laughs]. But yes, I love photography.

Q: What is your most treasured possession?
A: I guess that would be my mom’s old modelling photographs, from back in the 1970s. She has all these pictures from down on the beach in Vancouver. It’s where I now live, but the area was undeveloped back then. And they’re just so beautiful.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: The person that inspires me the most in my life is my lovely friend, acclaimed director and actor, Andrew McIlroy. He always inspires me to do the next right thing.

Q: Other than those you already possess, which talent would you most like to have?
A: Balance. In the sense of moderation, because I’m all or nothing.

Q: Other than your present occupation, what occupation would you like to try?
A: I would like to work with dogs. I love dogs! But a dog breeder – I wouldn’t want to be a vet. I’ve got a weak stomach.

Q: If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A: I think I would come back as a Jewish grandmother. Or Liza Minnelli.

Q: What is your greatest fear?
A: I fear being dishonest.

Q: On what occasion do you lie?
A: I try to never lie. But if the truth is unnecessary, if it’s not important and they don’t need to know, well then – but only over little things.

Q: What trait do you deplore most in others?
A: Fake pleasantries. Phoniness.

Q: What trait do you deplore most in yourself?
A: Phoniness.

Q: Who is your favourite actress?
A: I love Ellen Burstyn. I love Kate Winslet. And also Angelina Jolie.

Q: What is the secret to a great onscreen performance?
A: I think being prepared enough to let go. I’m a very hard worker, always prepared. And then you can just be free when you’re there.

Q: What is your motto?
A: Ooh, a motto? “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” My nanny (my mom’s mom) had a little paper hanging thing in her kitchen, and when she died she gave it to my mom, and then I took it from my mom. And so I love it so much, because there are so many things in this business that you cannot control. It’s just perfect. It sums up everything. Worry about the things you can control, like your preparation. And all those auditions you do and you get rejected – oh well, as long as you’ve done what you could. And you have to or else you’ll go crazy.

It also does have sentimental value. And I’m a very sentimental person [laughs]. I’m a cheeseball.

Ali Liebert will be seen with funnyman Will Sasso in Sook-Yin Lee’s feature film Year of the Carnivore and in Harper’s Island, which premieres on Thursday, April 9 (10 p.m., ET/PT) on CBS.

William Morassutti is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TOROmagazine.com. Prior to joining TORO, he worked in Canadian broadcasting as a writer, producer, director, reporter and host.