Rose McIver: 7 things you didn't know about the Ghosts star

CBS's Ghosts has been one of TV's biggest hits over the last couple of years (and Ghosts season 3 premieres on February 15), and at the center of it is Rose McIver. She plays the main character, Sam, who after a near death experience is able to see the ghosts that live in the house that she and her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) are turning into a Bed & Breakfast.

While Ghosts has made McIver more of a household name, she has been working for a long time and has had plenty of roles that garnered her attention, like The CW series iZombie and the popular Netflix Christmas movie franchise A Christmas Prince. But that's all on-camera, what are some interesting facts about Rose McIver from her life beyond TV and movies?

We did some research and found seven things you may not have known about Rose McIver.

Rose McIver comes from a family of artists

Rose McIver isn't the only member of her family to find a career/passion in the arts. Her mother Ann is an artist, her father John is a photographer and her brother Paul is a musician. McIver credits growing up in that environment for helping her become the person she is today.

"I have been amazingly fortunate to land in the family I did. I can’t think of a more supportive, tolerant, immensely loving and patient group of people to call whanau (family)" she told the site Narrative Muse. "Being an artist is an absolute privilege and one that I am grateful for every day. Given that mum, dad and Paul are all deeply creative, I think it may have been more challenging and unfamiliar for them if I had left school and said 'I want to be a lawyer' than it has been to pursue a career in the arts, but regardless, the twists and turns of a job like this can be hard on a family and they have all been rock solid in their support and belief. I am too lucky."

One of her first roles was in an Oscar-winning movie

McIver has said that she started acting at 2 years old, mostly in commercials, but it wasn't much longer when she landed a role in her first major project, an Oscar-winner no less. At the age of 5, McIver had a role as "Angel" in Jane Campion's The Piano, which won three Oscars and was nominated for eight in total, including Best Picture. Sure it wasn’t a big part, but it’s pretty cool that at her young age she was in such a big movie 

Rose McIver's early career aspirations 

While acting was a part of her life at such an early age, McIver had other dreams as a child. As a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, McIver detailed that she used to deliver bananas around her hometown in New Zealand, including doing so in a hearse. Next, she held out hope on being a rapper, inspired by the music of Tupac. However, she admits that she is better off leaving the rapping to her Ghosts co-star Ambudkar, who in addition to acting is a rapper. 

Some of her hobbies include cross-stitching and gardening 

Outside of acting, McIver has some low-key hobbies that she enjoys doing. On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert she showed off some of her cross-stitching work, often of things from her family home when she is feeling homesick. Then on The Late Late Show with James Corden, she talked about her green thumb as she redid her garden during the early days of the COVID pandemic; she also found a trick to help protect her garden from racoons: playing Christian radio. 

Rose McIver knows how to dirtboard

In that same interview with Corden, she manages to impress skateboarding legend Tony Hawk with the fact that she knows how to dirtboard. McIver says she learned to dirtboard for her role in the Disney Channel movie Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, where there is a scene that she and the other characters go dirtboarding. She was already to go and show off her skills when the production decided that it was too dangerous (Hawk backed that idea up) and instead used a stunt double. The stunt double, however, was a 6-foot 4-inch man, which McIver jokes is kind of noticeable in the finished scene. 

Rose McIver has a famous sister-in-law 

McIver's family growing up was full of artists, and now the family she is making with her husband George Byrne also is filled with artists. Not only because Byrne is a respected photographer, but because his sister, and McIver's sister-in-law, is actress Rose Byrne of Bridesmaids and Platonic fame. 

Rose McIver initially found the script for A Christmas Prince "ludicrous"

Before Ghosts, McIver's most popular project was Netflix's A Christmas Prince. The holiday movie became a popular hit and spawned two sequels, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby. But her initial reaction to reading the script did not have her thinking it would turn into a franchise.

Talking with Vulture, McIver recalls that when she heard the pitch for the movie she "thought it was kind of a ludicrous idea." However, she was won over by the filmmakers and once she saw the surprising reaction it was getting she realized something.

"People want to see things that make them feel good," she said. "People are turning to these films to be soothed and to find some kind of comfort. I knew I would enjoy watching a film like that, but I didn't realize so many people would enjoy it, too."

If there is ever a fourth A Christmas Prince movie, she says she is "scared" where the story may go next.

Rose McIver fact file

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