Taking the Lead, On Camera and Off

Lois Robbins was born an actor. At just five-years-old, she played the month of April in a school play, a role she still remembers today. “It was a very dramatic part. I had to cry on cue – April showers bring May flowers – and I found out I was quite good at it,” she says.

From that moment on, Lois was hooked. She continued to act throughout her childhood, often starring in school plays and acting on the side during her college years. Immediately following graduation, she landed her first big break on ABC’s daytime soap opera One Life to Live. She spent two years on the set, followed by another four on Ryan’s Hope and All My Children. 

After stepping away from television to pursue the New York theatre scene for over ten years, Lois will be returning to the silver screen with her latest film, Blowtorch, due for release in November 2013. In it Lois plays Ann Willis, a single mother of three working as a waitress in New York City. When her eldest son is murdered, Ann takes the investigation into her own hands.

“I’ve always been independent,” Lois reveals. “It’s a characteristic that I think is being included in more roles for women in their 40s. Just look at Helen Hunt in The Sessions – that was an incredible role. I think we need to write more films with stronger parts for women.”

Lois’s strengths extend far beyond her acting career. When she isn’t busy preparing for a part, she is often involved with giving back and paying it forward. “My dad died of lung cancer, so in 2005 I ran the New York City Marathon to raise money and awareness for lung cancer and start a foundation in his name,” she shares. “My parents were philanthropic and believed strongly that it was important to get involved and make a difference.”

It’s a message that she passes along to her own children, too. Lois’s teenage daughter is co-chairing an event for all New York City public schools to raise awareness about plastic pollution – and you can bet that Lois is behind her all of the way. “I have a responsibility as a parent to leave this world a cleaner place for my children; we need to keep our oceans clean and banning the use of plastics would be one step toward that goal.”

With principle photography completed for Blowtorch and only a few scenes left to shoot, Lois is already planning her next steps. She recently optioned another screenplay, and she is hoping to pitch a series to HBO or Showtime that a friend of hers wrote. “I find that every thing that I do prepares me for the next thing I tackle.  I’m still learning, as an actor and as myself.”

–Lindsay Putnam