For almost 20 years, Amber Marshall hasn’t just played Amy Fleming. In pretty much every way that counts, she has lived her life right alongside her.
She was only 19 when she landed the role of the horse whisperer at the heart of Heartland, CBC’s long-running family drama filmed out in the rolling foothills of Alberta. But her connection to that world started way before the cameras ever rolled. She was riding horses by the time she was five, got her first horse at ten, and grew up dreaming of being a vet.
“I knew that that’s who I wanted to be when I grew up,” Amber, now 38, told CBC’s Ian Hanomansing. “I wanted to be Amy Fleming.”
Twenty years later, the line between the actor and the character is pretty much gone.
Originally from Ontario, Amber packed up and moved to Alberta permanently during the show’s second season. Today, she runs her own real-life working ranch with horses, cattle, and foster dogs, and even runs a local animal support group to help low-income families pay for vet care.
“I can never see myself relocating again,” she said simply. “This is home for me.”
Hitting its milestone 20th season, Heartland holds the crown as the longest-running scripted one-hour drama in Canadian TV history. It started way back in 2007 as a quiet little book adaptation, and somehow turned into a global comfort show aired in over 120 countries.
A big part of why people stuck around for two decades? The characters were actually allowed to age in real time. We watched Amy go from a hot-headed teenager to a wife, a mom, and eventually finding herself navigating life after loss. We watched Lou build businesses, and Grandpa Jack stay the rock holding the whole family together.
Because of that, fans have formed a crazy-deep bond with the show. This past August, people flew all the way from Manchester and Brisbane just to stand in the Alberta dirt where it’s filmed. Amber says she meets fans who were literally babies when the pilot aired and are now grown adults watching it with their own lives.
And then, of course, there’s the scenery. People always ask Amber if those jaw-dropping mountain views are fake.
“The Heartland vista has become a character of its own,” she laughs, admitting that Alberta’s slow-paced lifestyle totally changed how she looks at the world. “I love being able to walk out in the field, say, ‘You know what, I probably should be doing something else, but I’m just going to really enjoy this nice day.'”
That calm, easy energy bleeds right onto the set. When you’re working with animals, you can’t fake it.
“Horses are just living in the moment,” Amber explains. “They don’t read the script, they don’t know what’s going on. You cannot have a tense set with animals and expect them to perform. We have to be quiet. We have to be relaxed. We have to be calm.”
In a TV world full of dark, high-stress, cynical shows, Heartland just feels like a deep breath. It gives people comfort without feeling cheesy.
“It makes you feel settled,” she says. “It makes you feel like you’ve done something right for your mind and body.”
Since the show is really just about life happening, growing up, and moving forward, Amber doesn’t see an expiration date on it. When someone asked her how many seasons the show has left, she didn’t even blink:
“Oh gosh, another 20. I’ll do Heartland till I die. This is my life. I love being in Western Canada. I love being on a ranch. I love being surrounded by my animals.”
