Why Mercedes Gardner From Wynonna Earp Looks So Familiar
Fans of the hit Syfy supernatural Western Wynonna Earp love the tight-knit cast of strong characters, but they still might not be able to put their finger on why Mercedes Gardner, a real estate developer who returns to Purgatory after a 12-year hiatus, looks so familiar (per Fandom).
It's because the actress playing Wynonna Earp's (Melanie Scrofano) friend from high school is Dani Kind, a Canadian-based talent who is no stranger to the small screen. As Mercedes, who was introduced in season 2, Kind has been able to play a character with two wildly different personalities due to an unfortunate face-swapping incident. In fact, The TV Junkies called her performance "deliciously evil" and noted that, as a villain, Mercedes gets "crazier and crazier with each passing week."
Kind told the outlet she has thoroughly enjoyed all the twists and turns of the show throughout its four seasons, saying, "Every time I got a script and I was still alive it'd be juicier and juicier." However, Wynonna Earp isn't this actress's first rodeo.
Dani Kind got her start in TV movies
Mercedes Gardner from Wynonna Earp might look familiar because Dani Kind has been on television for several years now. According to IMDb, Kind got her first big breaks in made-for-TV movies, starting in 2006 with her roles as Stacy in Black Widower and Mollie Wynn in Maid of Honor.
The talented Canadian actress followed up those performances with her role as Emily Wilkins in the 2007 TV movie, Like Mother, Like Daughter, and then two more roles in 2008, one as a student in Picture This, and another as a character named Danni Harris in Dead at 17. In 2009, she was an unnamed "Leopard Woman" in the TV movie Carny. Kind's most recent roles in made-for-TV movies have been as Mia in 2013's The Good Witch's Destiny, Courtney in 2013's Finding Christmas, and Grace in 2015's On the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
When asked about her favorite Hallmark project in a 2017 interview with My Devotional Thoughts, Kind responded, "Oh man... It might be The Good Witch's Destiny? I have lost track!"
Playing Mercedes Gardner on Wynonna Earp isn't Kind's first role on a TV series
Aside from playing Mercedes Gardner on Wynonna Earp, you may have also seen Dani Kind in one of her many roles on various television series.
Her first TV roles came in 2008 when Kind played unnamed television reporters on two shows: M.V.P. and The Code. Kind then landed two roles in 2012, Meghan on The L.A. Complex and Peggy on Murdoch Mysteries. Throughout the 2000s, she appeared on several other shows, including Played and Cracked in 2013, Remedy in 2015, and Four in the Morning in 2016. Kind also played A.D.A. Miltown on 2018's In Contempt and Donna Perez on 2019's Ransom.
However, other than playing Mercedes Gardner on Wynonna Earp, Kind's most famous role on television is that of psychiatrist and mom Anne Carlson on the show Workin' Moms. On playing Anne, Kind told The TV Junkies, "I read the script and thought, 'she is writing my life.' I have many, many things in common with Anne and how her life is unfolding."
You may have seen Dani Kind in one of her more movie prominent roles
Kind also has a few big-screen movies under her belt, including 2009's Summer's Moon, 2011's The Righteous Tithe, and 2018's The Lie.
In 2019, she made the leap into the horror genre as Beth in The Banana Splits Movie, which she told The TV Junkies was not something she thought she would have done. When the site asked if she's a fan of the horror genre in general, she said, "No, not at all. I can't even watch a horror film. I have a really hard time watching them because I get too scared and can't shake it. So I never watch horror films. Never. Ever!"
Finally, you may have also recognized Mercedes from Wynonna Earp in her role as Lucille in the 2020 feature Two Deaths of Henry Baker. By now, Dani Kind is something of an acting veteran, and we're thrilled that she's getting more recognition on Wynonna Earp.