08.28.95

When it came time to cast the leads in Nancy Drew, Nelvana Ltd.'s new
television series based on the classic mystery novels for young readers,
producer Michael Klein did some serious sleuthing himself. A six-month
search took him to Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York City, as well as
Nelvana's home base of Toronto. After auditioning hundreds of actors,
Klein cast Tracy Ryan, 24, of Kitchener, Ont., as Nancy. Her boyfriend,
Ned Nickerson, is being played by Scott Speedman, 19, a former member of
the Canadian National Swim Team who launched his career in acting after
he left his name and telephone number on City TV's Speakers Corner, a
sort of electronic soap box in Toronto. Although Nancy Drew novels have
been in print since the early 1930s -- a new one is still issued every
month -- the TV show is clearly set in the 1990s. The actors wear cool
clothes by top designers like Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Canadian
designer Lida Baday. And it is Ned who is sometimes frustrated by
Nancy's endless pursuit of solving mysteries. "I think it is good for
males to see something of a role reversal," says Speedman. Adds Ryan: "I
think Nancy is a terrific modern-day role model -- an intelligent and
independent young woman who instinctively helps people in trouble."