Crowds across Europe and locally have seen Julia Polowy perform on the ice.
Now, anyone with access to Amazon Prime can watch the Timmins figure skater in action.
You can catch a couple of glimpses of Polowy in season four of The Boys, which was recently released on the streaming platform. In episode three, she's one of the angels in the on-ice scenes.
"Overall it was an amazing experience. Working on a set that massive with that big of a budget (Amazon Prime) is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I could not pass up! We were treated just as well as the main stars of the show," said Polowy.
"Although, it was a great experience, I can see how exhausting it is to film a show this big and this good. For example, at one point we were filming 20 takes of each angle of each two-second section. It was insane the amount of high-tech cameras and screens that were on set."
The Boys is mostly filmed in Toronto. For the episode, a casting notice was sent out to Ontario skating clubs, where one of the coaches at the Mariposa School of Skating, where Polowy used to train, thought she'd be a good fit and reached out. She applied for the gig and less than a week later she had landed the role as one of the angels in the scene.
It's been a couple of years since the scenes were shot.
"We did a few rehearsals with skating cast as well as costume fittings and makeup design sessions throughout the summer of 2022 in Toronto," she said.
"We did a week of filming in October of 2022 at the Oshawa Tribute Communities Centre for the scene. It was a lengthy process with hair and makeup starting at 6 a.m. and sometimes not finishing shooting until 1-2 a.m. They had to get all the perfect shots!"
The Boys is a satirical superhero TV show based on a comic book series.
Polowy had some real-life experience to draw from for her role.
In 2018 she signed on with Holiday on Ice and spent five seasons performing across Europe.
For The Boys, her role was as an angel in the 'Vought on Ice' skating show.
"It was funny because in between takes, the actors would be watching us warm-up and practice our routine on the ice and be 'fan-girling' over us! They were taking videos and voicing how impressed they were with us and our skating meanwhile we were the ones fan-girling over them," she said.
During the shoot, they met a number of actors in the scene, including Antony Starr (who plays Homelander), Jack Quaid (Hughie), Laz Alonso (Mother's Milk), Susan Heyward (Sister Sage), and Claudia Doumit (President Neuman).
"One of the mornings on set, I actually had hair and makeup with Jack Quaid. He sat in the chair beside me and was chatting with all the hair/makeup artists and myself. I have to say he’s hilarious in real life too," said Polowy.
The experience was one to remember for Polowy.
"It’s unbelievable the technology that is used to film this show. As well, at the end of our scene there is a bit of blood bath which if anyone has seen the show, knows how detailed they film these types of scenes," she said.
"Seeing the behind-the-scenes of how they make it all happen is incredible. You will just have to watch to see what I’m talking about!"
When she's not on the ice, people may also know Polowy and her family from running Schnitzels and Strudels North in Porcupine.
This summer, the popular food bus is only open on the long weekends. That means if you're craving a schnitzel sandwich (or strudel), the next chance to fuel up is this weekend. It's open Friday, June 28 to Monday, July 1.
