Parental instincts meet sleek, simmering sci-fi in one of the best films of the year.
Listen to us gush endlessly here.
December 2, 2016
FILM NIGHT Podcast #28: Arrival
November 30, 2016
November 24, 2016
November 17, 2016
FILM NIGHT Podcast #21-26: Horror Never Dies
Listen to five horrifying monsters mash up the history of cinema's most frightening baddies in this incredibly long 6-part series.
Part 1: Horror Never Dies 1
Part 2: Horror Never Dies 2
Part 3: Monsters in the Closet
Part 4: The Soul of Horror - I
Part 5: The Soul of Horror - II
Part 6: The Soul of Horror - III
November 16, 2016
30 Minutes Alone with The BFG's Daniel Bacon
“Acting is simple, but it’s not easy. However, if you’re willing to strip down and go all the way, acting and life begin to get a lot easier. And a lot more fun!”
Daniel Bacon is an actor and instructor in SchoolCreative’s Acting: Film, Television & Voiceover diploma program, with previous roles in 50/50, Fantastic Four, and Bob the Builder. He is currently starring in Disney’s The BFG, which opened in theatres on July 1.
You played Bonecruncher in a Disney adaptation of one of the most beloved children’s books of all time, directed by Steven Spielberg. How did that happen?
I get an email from my agent in March 2015 inviting me to audition for the role of a giant in an unnamed film. And my first thought is, I’m 5’ 9’’, how the heck am I supposed to play a giant? I didn’t understand it. So I dug a little deeper and discovered it was going to be performance capture and I thought, okay, I get it, I could do this. Then about halfway down the page I see who’s directing and I’m like, ok-a-a-ay.
How did it feel to know you’d be working with one of the greatest directors of all time?
I’ve been fortunate along the way to work some successful actors and great directors, so my reaction wasn’t so much about hero worship or that kind of thing. Mostly, I was surprised he was going to be directing a film in Vancouver, which he’d never done before. He’d produced shows here, but not directed. That was interesting to me.
So knowing that height wasn’t a factor, what did you bring that they were looking for?
They wanted actors with a theatre background and who’d worked with animals, both of which I had done. For the audition, they gave us two scenes: one that was scripted and one we had to come up with on our own. And they wanted to see two different characters, once for each scene. This was a Thursday, and my audition was scheduled for the following Monday. When I finally found out what the movie was, I ran out, bought the book, and read it. I was very familiar with Roald Dahl – who doesn’t know about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox – but I hadn’t actually heard of The BFG. After reading the book, I watched the 1989 animated version of the story to get a sense of who the giants were. Then I went for a walk and started coming up with ideas for who my two giants would be and especially how the unscripted part of the audition would look.
Take us into the audition room. How did that go?
I came into town and visited a workout space where I did a full theatre warm-up, about an hour and a half. I don’t do that for every audition, but I knew this was going to be very physically and vocally demanding, requiring a British accent and a fair amount of grunting. When I got there, I took off my shoes and shirt, rolled my track pants up into a kind of giant’s diaper, and I just went for it. When I was done, I left the room thinking, I love what I just did. One take, the casting director thought it was fantastic, and because I did what I set out to do, I felt good about it and was able to let it go.
Do you think your preparation was the difference-maker?
No question. Preparation plus going all the way in the audition. Keep in mind there was only one audition, no call backs. Some of us didn’t have a clue what made the difference for us initially. But then as the full cast assembled, it became apparent that those of us who got the roles were the ones who really went for it. The ones who didn’t merely go over the top but were very detail-oriented and grounded with a very specific story they were telling. I’ve always said to my students that every audition is important, whether it’s for a student film or Spielberg. We should approach them all the same way, with the same dedication and focus. Adrenalin will usually remind you that one’s bigger than the other. But as far as the process is concerned, that part you actually have any control over, it’s the same: you always answer the same basic questions, go through the same paces, and have the same objective.
That being said, did you give your audition for The BFG a little extra something?
Not really. However, I would emphasize one thing: I wasn’t afraid to look silly or make mistakes. I wasn’t worried about being perfect. I didn’t think much about the fact that I was auditioning for Steven Spielberg. I just thought, this is my job, this is what I’m here to do. Actually, I was more excited about the creative choices I’d made with respect to the characters and performances. I committed to those, and that’s why I was able to walk in and out and forget about it, rather than obsess about whether I was good enough.
What happened next?
Three weeks later, I got a call from my agent and found out I’d been put on a short list. They were looking for nine giants in total and they’d auditioned a couple hundred actors in Vancouver, plus more in Toronto, L.A., and London. Two days after that, I learned I’d been put on a shorter list. Finally, five days later, my agent called with the news that I’d been confirmed as one of the giants. To which I said, okay, cool.
“Okay, cool.” That’s it?
I’ve worked long enough in this business to know that, until a project wraps, I’m not going to get too excited. Because anything can happen. Just because they cast you, it doesn’t mean you’ll be in the final product. It’s okay to have your head in the clouds so long as your feet are on the ground, if you know what I mean. You need to stay focused on what you’re there to do, especially with big productions like this. Because if you’re not, you could easily be replaced. Having said that, every day I was filled with a sense of excitement and gratitude for this amazing opportunity. Every day, a part of me was going “woo hoo!”
Can you tell us about one of those “woo hoo” moments?
There’s a sequence in the film where I’m lifted up from the ground in a cargo net about three or four feet. When we filmed that, Mr. Spielberg came and laid down on the floor right below me, coffee in hand, to walk me through the scene. That was one of those moments where I was like, okay, this isn’t happening. Another one was when I got to stick my butt in Bill Hader’s face, walk over and push Mark Rylance over, then have Spielberg tell me, “great work!” And of course, there was walking the red carpet in L.A. I’d always wanted to experience that and, for years, had imagined what it might be like. Of course it never occurred to me that it would for a Disney film directed by you-know-who, with a bank of forty photographers shouting my name.
What was it like working with the cast and crew?
Mr. Spielberg was full of this incredible energy and joy right from the start, putting us at ease and getting us excited. That took all the anxiety away on day one, which I’ll never forget. I mean, he must understand that he and his body of work exude a certain aura that some could find intimidating. So for him to go out of his way like that to break the ice, it was wonderful. And he was there every day, equally enthusiastic from one day to the next. He could have kept to himself if he wanted to, be unapproachable and stand-offish, but he never was. At all times, he seemed genuinely excited to be working on this project. And it trickled down to the rest of the cast and crew. He’s got award-winning costume designers, lighting people, and camera operators that have been working with him for years, and they’re all incredible gracious and humble, working together to get the job done. Mark Rylance was the same, an Olivier-award winning hero of British theatre, treating everyone with dignity and enjoying the process. It felt extraordinarily collaborative, it was wonderful.
What did you take away from that experience that you’d pass on to your fellow actors?
Same things I’d say in general: Remember your reasons for being there, know what your job is and do it. As an actor, you’re there to support the story. Everything else is bonus. Above all, stay grounded. I had two cards, one that said “breathe” and one that said “trust”, and put them in my shoes. Every day when I walked on set, with every step I took, I was reminded: Breathe and trust. It’s okay to be nervous, but breathing is how you overcome that and get on top of it. M. Scott Peck once said, “fear is excitement without the breath.” Do just remember to breathe! And trust. Trust that I got here for a reason, trust the process, trust in my peers, my cast mates, the director.
When did acting start for you?
I went to theatre school when I was 26, but before that I was going to be a teacher. I completed two years of a bachelor of physical education in Nanaimo, BC, then decided I wanted to get off the island for a bit and visit the big city before continuing my studies at the University of Victoria. So I came to Vancouver and while I was here, I got involved in a singing project. A Vancouver company was interested in me because of my involvement with a group in Nanaimo and eventually I became part of a boy band that toured and performed for a couple of years. This was 1991 as as hip hop was starting to gain steam, pre-internet and well before the Backstreet Boys. As a result of that experience, I was invited to audition for a commercial, which I landed. Then I got a couple more right out of the gate, and I thought, hey I could do this! Some actor friends at a restaurant where I worked recommended I take some classes, which I did and really enjoyed. Did that for a year before I came to a serious crossroads: do I pursue acting full-time or finish my teaching degree?
A lot of aspiring actors end up at that crossroads. “Do I go all the way with my dreams or choose the ‘safe’ path?”
And I totally get that. It’s inevitable. What you want versus what society tells you that you should want. At first, I chose to finish my degree and moved back on the island. But it was while I was at university, preparing for the next school year and filling out my timetable, that I thought, what am I doing? This isn’t what I want to do. But I’m not a hundred percent sure about this acting thing, either. It felt like the 25 year-old version of a mid-life crisis! So I snapped my pencil in half and walked out, wondering which way to go.
What did your family think of all this?
I’m a bit of a black sheep, a do-my-own-thing kind of guy. My mom mostly stayed in the background, a bit unsure of the whole acting thing. But she was never heavily involved in my life path, so that didn’t play too much of a role. I did, however, have a roommate who was very supportive. After the deadline passed at UVic, I spent a lot of restless hours working at the restaurant and watching Oprah, trying to figure out what I was going to do next. One night, I went to my roommate and we sat up all night talking about life, and I realized that while I loved teaching, I loved acting even more. So I decided then and there that I was going to move back to Vancouver, give everything to acting and see it through. A month later, I was back on the mainland in acting school.
Over the span of your career, have there been other moments when you felt stuck, and that resolving to give it your all lifted you from that plateau?
About eight years in and roughly 30 roles under my belt, I hit a place where I felt stagnant. I wasn’t moving forward. I was still getting parts, but they weren’t growing in size and they were infrequent. Plus I was in debt and didn’t have some of the things I wanted in life, like a house and a wife and kids. So I began to question whether I’d made a mistake with acting. I even seriously considered becoming an agent, realizing I’d come to a place where I could walk away, make a living doing something else, and pursue the kind of life all my friends had. But in that moment, I also realized I wouldn’t be happy; that deep down, I’d spend the rest of my life realizing I didn’t invest fully in what I really wanted to do, and that I’d really regret that. So I made the choice to level-up and give 100% to acting. Struggle, toil, claw, whatever it took, even if it meant bartending at 50. And I was okay with that. But I also knew something had to change. I had to step out of my comfort zone, take another class, make some sacrifices, do whatever it took.
Can you give an example of a sacrifice that helped take your career to the next level?
There was a night, a big gathering of friends for a guy’s night out, an annual thing we all did. I was super excited, all dressed up and ready to go, and I got a call around 6:45 from my agent with two auditions lined up for the next day. At that moment, I had a choice: I could either carry on and go to the dinner I was really looking forward to or say, sorry guys, I’ve got to go. The old Dan would have gone for dinner, but instead I made a quick appearance, then went home to prepare.
Truth is, if you want to be successful doing what you love, you’re going to miss out on a few things. I’ve missed out on birthdays, weddings, a lot of things. And that’s a choice you have to make as you build an individual identity of who you are and how you move through life. Your true resume is about how you conduct yourself in the industry. The cream will always rise to the top, which is way less about talent than about how passionate and committed you are. And by the way, if you don’t choose to go all in, someone else will. And they’ll get the part.
As an instructor at SchoolCreative, what do you hope your students leave the classroom with?
To know this: that acting is messy and to embrace the mess. Acting it’s about translating real life into your art. I see a lot of actors who try to be perfect in an audition or performance, try to nail it without making any mistakes, try to get it right, whatever that means. But I say, embrace the mistakes, the mess, the struggle. Life is messy, awkward, often irrational. So often, students come in and want to make it neat and tidy and orderly, but that’s not life. So just be yourself. Everyone’s always looking for the secret to giving that extra five or ten percent, but the real secret is to just let go of “getting it right” and be you. Acting is a field, a craft where there is no getting it right. No right, no wrong, only strong and true. It’s not about giving a flawless performance, it’s about whether they believe you. It’s not about the costume or the gimmicks or the tears, but about knowing the story, how your role fits into that story, and above all, being yourself. Which can be hard, I understand, because that means taking the time to find out who you really are. Like we often say, acting is simple, but it’s not easy. However, if you’re willing to strip down and go all the way, acting and life begin to get a lot easier. And a lot more fun!
November 10, 2016
November 3, 2016
July 22, 2016
30 Minutes Alone with Bates Motel's Marc-Anthony Massiah
“Skill level aside, if you’re willing to show up and do the work, I will teach you. I will get down in the dirt and struggle with you. If you’re willing and present and prepared to do what it takes, I’m here for you and it’s on. Because that’s what it’s going to take to be successful out there.”
When did you get the first inkling that you wanted to be an actor?
Growing up, I did a lot of different things, from brushing horses to pumping gas to office work to working in a shipping yard. But I was raised to be a free thinker, more of an entrepreneur than an employee. The whole nine-to-five thing never made sense to me. Then in my mid-twenties, I started doing extra work.
What prompted your start as an extra?
At first, honestly, it was the money. I was like, free money for having fun and I get to be in a movie? That was amazing to me. That, plus the freedom to not be stuck doing a desk job. It started with my car. A film being produced nearby was looking for someone who could simply drive by in a car and they wanted to pay me a hundred bucks for the car and twenty-two dollars an hour as an extra. Ten hours on set made what seemed, at the time, a fortune. So I was in and I took it super seriously.
How so?
I would create identities for my characters, give them names and backstories and families, make them real people, at least to me. I played a prisoner once on TV and I made up a card game I had to play with this other guy, I imagined the crime I had committed just to give myself a sense of who I was. I mean, it was just fun to pretend even if my character was far in the background. I hate seeing extras in scenes that don’t look like they’re “in the movie” and I didn’t want to be that guy. And that job with the car opened up a second opportunity for me. One of the extras on that project was fired for flirting with a lead and they asked me if I wanted to stay and play a cop. Turns out the lead in question was Halle Barry so now I’m nervous, not wanting to offend her or screw up. One of my first actions was to open a prison door, which ended up being lighter than it looked, so of course I swung it wide open and nailed her right in the shoulder.
How did Ms. Berry react to that?
I was mortified. I said I was sorry, that there was probably a place in hell where actors get to kill extras when they hurt them. But she said, no, it’s okay, she should watch where she’s going, too. So I asked her how I should address her if I had any questions, told her that, as an extra, I didn’t want to get fired. But she was so gracious. She said, extras are actors, too, that the film couldn’t exist without us. Her words were an affirmation of the work I’d put into being the best extra I could be, a beautiful validation for my natural process as an actor. I always thought I was the weird one, going the extra mile, not just dialing it in, staying in character because the camera could start rolling at any time. Extras matter. Because it’s all acting, and any performance worth doing is worth doing well. The following week, I was in acting classes.
So extra work was the tipping point for you?
Definitely. I said to myself, if I’m already doing this in the background, why not move into the foreground? It also spoke to me at a deeper level. I’d always been surrounded by artists and free thinkers as a kid. In school, I was the class clown. I had a lot of energy. I was terrible at math and science, but I was always good at English composition and anything where I got to use my imagination. I also liked to study people, their behavior, their emotions, what made them tick. So when the opportunity came along to get into acting, it took all of those things, brought them together, and gave them a purpose. My tendencies to act out, to analyze people, to imagine crazy situations and scenarios suddenly went from being weird to being a really powerful skill set. It’s not that those things were leading me to acting, at least consciously, but when acting came into my life, it made sense of the things that made me me. Acting felt like home. It still feels that way.
Where did you train?
The Acting Project in Montreal, which I’m not sure exists anymore. I lived in Montreal for 26 years, did my training there, then moved to Vancouver at 27.
What prompted your move to Vancouver?
While I was training, an actor friend, Elias Toufexis, had booked a feature film and I went to Toronto for the premiere. That really opened my eyes, observing the success he was enjoying. It wasn’t just the money. I thought, my God, to be rewarded in this way, to be able to make a living just playing, that was just incredible to me. Then Elias moved to Vancouver and I followed the year after. I had a one-way ticket, two bags, two thousand dollars cash, two thousand on a credit card, and no idea where I was going to work.
No auditions lined up, no prospects, nothing. You just took a leap of faith?
I went all in. I moved to Broadway and Eleventh and the rent was through the roof. It was hard. I didn’t work for two months. There was a hot dog cart on the corner, so I’d have a hot dog for lunch and another for dinner, and just vary the toppings. Then I moved to South Vancouver where I got work at a shipping company and eventually a role in a local production of Hamlet with Elias. After that, I started taking classes with SchoolCreative in its early days and working in the office. Meanwhile, I continued to do extra work and, thanks to a switch in agents, I began going out for auditions. Only this time around, I was able to take all that experience I’d had as an extra, all the terminology I’d learned and the professionalism I’d been committed to, and really up my game. So when I started booking bigger roles, it wasn’t a radically different experience. It was just like being an extra, only on steroids and with the camera paying more attention. Like Halle Berry said, in the end we’re all actors, playing our roles and getting it done. That realization had a very calming, peaceful effect on me.
Would you recommend extra work to new actors, then?
Without question. Anyone, especially someone just getting started, should take extra work. Take it, take it, take it. Sit down, shut up, observe. And don’t waste your time engaging with people who just want to commiserate, complain about the food, that kind of stuff. If you’re anywhere near the set, always be learning. Watch the rehearsals, watch the blocking, pay attention to what the other actors are doing, ask them questions. You can’t put a price on all of that.
Besides your role as Jake on Bates Motel, what else have you got going on?
I changed agents recently. I was with the same agent for about three years and it was going well, but I’m just in a demographic where it seems I should be auditioning more often and I needed someone who would be a little more aggressive. Someone who would put me in the room for roles I know I’m suited for, who would negotiate harder. I even had actor friends who would show me their sides and ask why I wasn’t auditioning for certain roles they thought I was ideal for. In some cases, I didn’t even know these roles were up so I asked my agent, why aren’t you putting me in the room for this?
Is it difficult to change agents?
The process isn’t tough but it can be hard emotionally, almost like a break-up. I’m a loyal guy, almost to a fault. But the death of an actor is loyalty to an agent. It’s not personal, you just need an agent who’s in your corner, who’s going to fight for you.
You’ve been an instructor at SchoolCreative since 2013. When you walk into that classroom, what do you want to bring to your students?
Number one, total honesty. I aspire to be as honest with my students as I expect them to be with me. We’re going to explore some serious human emotions in class, so we need to free those emotions up. We need to be fully human, fully ourselves, flaws and all. I’m not afraid to let my students see my flaws and that, in turn, frees them up to be fully themselves. Some people think being an actor requires having a split personality, but that’s not the case. Acting isn’t about being two different people, it’s about digging deep and finding within yourself what’s already there and letting it out. Acting should always be an authentic extension of yourself, brought to the surface by the skills you acquire in your training. That begins by connecting in a deep way with your truest self, your history, your memories, your emotions, your triggers, all of it. Actors need a safe space to learn how to do that, and in the classroom, that begins with me. So honesty is everything.
Second, I am committed to training anyone who gets up in the morning and drags himself or herself to class on time. That alone shows potential and I’m committed to working with anyone who will do that, anyone willing to be honest and receptive.
So attitude is everything?
Skill level aside, if you’re willing to show up and do the work, I’m yours. I will get down in the dirt and struggle with you, I will fight for you, I will do everything in my power to help you succeed. Regardless of where you’re at today in terms of skill or talent. If you’re willing and present and prepared to do what it takes, I’m here for you and it’s on. And I insist on that, because that’s the attitude it’s going to take to be successful out there.
Thirdly, I try to be the best teacher I ever had, so that I can be the best teacher they ever had. Which means being non-judgmental, focusing on students as individuals, discovering how each of them learns best. Meeting them where they are, rather than just cramming information and my way of doing things down their throats.
What advice would you give someone embarking on the actor’s journey?
Stick with it. Sure, it feels scary sometimes, hard, unrewarding. But if you persevere, years from now, you’ll look back and it will all make sense, it will all be worth it. Give it everything you’ve got. Be willing to “go there”. Regardless of the success you experience on film or on stage, the things you discover about yourself in your training, rehearsals, and performances just can’t be measured. As an actor, you become less cynical, less judgmental. You understand people better, become a better listener. Being forced to climb into another person’s psyche, to understand their behavior and motivations – whether they’re a president, a criminal, a lover, a parent – inevitably makes you more empathetic and understanding toward others. Contrary to what some people think, acting is where life happens. So let it happen and enjoy the ride!
July 20, 2016
WANTED: Leaders Focused on What Really Matters (or, Why I'm Done With Vision Vancouver)
I've finally
had it with @VisionVancouver.
I live in
the West End where Vision is currently campaigning to raise the parking permit
rates by nearly 900% to “free up spaces” and "increase availability".
No doubt it’ll free up spaces, as families already barely making it are finally
squeezed out in Mr. Robertson and company’s commitment to make Vancouver THE
BEST CITY EVERRRRR!
(Cue the Urban Reconstructionist chorus: “Well, did you
think you and your family could live in Vancouver forever, Paul?” To
which I respond, Go love yourself, these are real flesh-and-blood human beings
trying to live here.)
Of course,
Vision has really, really good reasons for jacking the prices, at least that’s
what they tell me. And to find out what I think of the proposed change,
Vision invited me to complete an online survey. I’m not sure where the survey
came from, or what it’s actual reasons for being are (correction: I know
exactly what it’$ for), but apparently I asked for it. Guess I’ll take their
word for it. Well, I've tried to complete the survey three times now, on my phone,
on my laptop, on my work computer, but it freezes every time just before I
finish. How symbolic. Happened last time I was asked to "Talk
Vancouver", too.
(Side note:
I don't recall having any say in the double-digit car share spots imposed on
our neighbourhood. Or the lanes they keep taking away from our bridges and
streets. Or the wholesale conversion of a section of Point Grey into one big
bike lane when we lived there. News flash, Mr. Mayor: While we applaud your “Go
Green” mantra, some of us actually need vehicles. Bigger families,
tradespeople, people with disabilities - people who legitimately have no other
choice. So if you’re going to ask our opinion about things that affect us, do
it consistently, yes?)
I love
Vancouver's commitment to being the eco-friendliest city in Canada. I don’t
just love it, I’m proud of it. But am I the only who feels we've become a bit
manic and borderline fascist about the whole thing? This government has decided
to make the world LOVE Vancouver, damn it! In the process, though, those of us
who live here and are most directly impacted are only consulted on a
politically convenient or need-to-know basis, with a few glitch-ridden surveys
thrown in for optics. That’s not community-friendly, much less democratic. It’s
merely the appearance of democracy. But that’s what Vancouver has become: the appearance
of a grand city full of wonders, while its lifeblood - we, the people - is
slowly drawn from its veins.
If our
municipal government gave half the attention and effort to making Vancouver the
most liveable city in Canada that they do to increasing bike lanes and
making incessant cosmetic upgrades, where families and single people can afford
to rent/own a home without constantly feeling squeezed out by fees and bylaws,
Vision would get my vote every time.
Instead,
Vision’s best attempt at addressing the real elephant in the room, the
one that's sucking the emotional oxygen out of the city - escalating housing
prices - is to tax empty dwellings, a dubious and ultimately unenforceable
non-solution. That, apparently, is the limit of this government’s power or
willingness to solve the one, soul-sucking, life-altering issue we unanimously
agree is numero uno. Vision (and, to be fair, every previous regime for the
past 30 years) stood by and watched homes go from a basic right to an
investment commodity, knowing it was a growing problem but doing virtually
nothing to stop the commercial and financial forces causing it, then swung in
at the last minute with a politically-expedient “solution”.
Yup, a home
vacancy tax. That’s what going to make homes affordable again. “Too little too
late” doesn’t even begin to summarize this epic non-starter. Well-intentioned
or not (and I’m going with not), most of us see it for what it is: smoke
and mirrors, shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, a frog in a frying pan -
like installing more recycle and compost bins while the city burns.
But, hey, at
least the tourists think we’re great! I had a kind German visitor tell me on
the weekend how lucky I must feel to raise my kids in such a beautiful place.
It is beautiful, I’ll give them that. In the same way a Venus Flytrap is
beautiful to a fly.
Well, you
fooled me once, Vision, but not again. I don’t doubt you have a vision, it just
clearly has nothing to do with my own. Nothing has more quickly and effectively
turned this liberal into a social conservative than a so-called progressive
government hell-bent on making Vancouver look good on the outside while making
it consistently harder to breathe on the inside.
I mean, who cares of we're greener, cleaner, and leaner when living in Vancouver has become so much meaner?
I mean, who cares of we're greener, cleaner, and leaner when living in Vancouver has become so much meaner?
July 15, 2016
30 Minutes Alone with Actor Jeff Evans Todd
Jeff Evans Todd is an actor and alum of SchoolCreative’s Acting: Film, Television & Voice-over diploma program.
“If you want to do something and your heart is still beating, then do it. Do it now. Don’t wish to do something, don’t wish to be happy; be happy now doing that thing you love.”
What are you working on right now?
A few different projects, but a couple I’m really excited about. I got to play a pretty fun character in the season four finale of A&E’s Bates Motel. I’m not allowed to say much more about it than that, but I think fans will enjoy it. The other project, which I also can’t talk about yet [laughs], is a dubbing job for a popular anime series in another country.
How did you land that gig?
As with a lot of successful, established shows, they’ve already got such a strong fan base back home, they want the North American voice actor doing a specific character’s voice to sound as close to the original as possible. It just so happened that my voice fit the bill, but I didn’t get a vocal reference until I went in for the audition. At that point, my training really helped me shake my nerves and focus on the voice.
They felt you had the right voice but still wanted you to audition?
That’s right. Although sometimes I’ve been able to book work from my demo alone, which is always nice. Would be fantastic if that happened more often with on-camera acting! There are roles you book sometimes that involve, say, one line of dialogue. And you’ve got a resume of work, an online demo and a head shot, and you think they could look at all that and say, “yeah, let’s just book this guy.” Then again, I love the face time with casting directors, and potentially a director or producer. That can be a fantastic opportunity to build relationships which becomes important later. So ultimately, it’s a good approach to stay open to whatever scenario plays out.
Speaking of staying open, have you ever landed a role that seemed to come completely out of left field?
Actually, one of the other projects I’m working on was one of those. Just before Christmas last year, I auditioned for a fairly big film role with a casting director I hadn’t seen in a while. She was honest and told me she’d actually forgotten about me, but that she thought my performance was really good. As it turns out, I didn’t get the part, didn’t have the right look. But a few days later she invited me back to audition for a smaller role she thought I was perfect for, and I landed it. So sometimes the work you get isn’t the original thing you went out for. Actually, when I think about it, there’s never been a direct link for me from the first meeting to the job I ended up booking. For example, I auditioned a while back for a role that had the casting director in tears. They thought I was great. But again, I didn’t have the look they were after. But because the director liked my acting, he and I ended up becoming friends and I’ve worked with him on two different projects. There’s no way to predict those opportunities.
What advice would you pass on from that experience to others?
Be patient. Have faith in yourself, continually improve, trust the process, but above all, be patient. Everyone’s got insecurities, and those insecurities constantly threaten to sabotage you. So don’t let them. Recognize and honour what you’re insecure about and know where it comes from, and you’ll build a depth of self-awareness that works in your favour. Through learning to be patient with yourself, you’ll learn to be patient with acting. Which is key because the life of an actor can feel like a long, surreal journey!
You’re a fairly spiritual person. How important is your connection to the universe when it comes to your success as an actor?
I learned early on that, for me anyway, there has to be some sort of spiritual center to what I’m doing. In May 2012, I was in a production in which I played Charlie Brown, and my girlfriend at the time gave me Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. Working my way through it, I discovered how important it was to really know myself and let myself have fun and just play, and things began to take off for me. Internally, I mean, as both a person and an actor. It was like a light went on, like I was “levelling up”, to borrow a term from video games. It gave me a lot of confidence faith in myself, as well as in the process of acting.
And has that helped in those moments when you don’t get the role or experience disappointment?
Definitely. I’m not just an actor, of course, everyday life happens, too. I went through a fairly significant breakup that felt like the end of my world at the time, and that threatened to keep me in a rut. Then there’s the auditions you don’t book, the roles you don’t land, and all of that can really tempt you to get down or just give up. Being an actor is a real trip, emotionally and psychologically. So knowing how to quickly get back to your spiritual center, to replenish your courage and move on, is important.
How soon after you graduated from SchoolCreative’s Acting program did you find work as an actor?
Within a month of graduating, I learned there was a shortage of actors my age in Vancouver and that agencies were looking. I originally thought I wouldn’t actively seek representation for at least six months, but the opportunity was there, so I grabbed it. As part of SchoolCreative’s program, we produce a professional voiceover demo, so I brought mine with me to the interview. The agency liked what they saw and heard, and agreed to represent me for both on-camera and voice work. A month after that, I auditioned for Lego Legends of Chima, and a month after that I got confirmation that the role was mine. So roughly four months after graduating.
Sounds like you might have missed that opportunity if you hadn’t acted quickly.
Absolutely. That experience reinforced how important it is to know what your gifts are, to keep your eyes open to opportunity when it shows up, and take that next step without hesitation.
How did it feel to get work so soon after graduating?
I felt incredibly lucky. But strangely, I also felt lonely and a bit anxious about the future. You see, I grew up in Saskatchewan and from the age of ten, it was always my dream to become an actor. I loved to make my family laugh and took theatre classes when I moved to Alberta, where I got to play Donald the Soda Jerk in a school play called Rock Around The Block. The audience laughed right from my first line and I thought, oh yeah, I like this. And as the years went on, that dream just got stronger and stronger, and then one day, there I was living inside my dream, which is a place not a lot of people find themselves. And now my thought was, where do I go from here? What if I lose this?
If you could go back in time and talk to yourself, what would you say?
I’d say, relax. Worry less and just be nice to yourself. Go to the mountains, go to the spa, nurture and trust yourself. And pay off your student loans! I was making good money, I could have done that but I didn’t. I’ve learned to be better with money since then.
How important has family been on your journey?
Huge. They’re all a bunch of goofballs, too. For the first year, I think they were like, what is he doing, what is this acting thing? But now, as time’s gone by, they’ve put together the pieces of my, shall we say, interesting behaviour as a child, and of course now it all makes perfect sense. And as I’ve done that, it’s been cool to watch them pursue their own sensitive, artistic sides, too. Since I got into acting professionally, my dad, who’s an RCMP officer, has written a book. And I’m super proud of him for that. I’ve seen him open up emotionally as well as creatively. Meanwhile, my brother, who is a prison guard in Red Deer, has decided to move to Vancouver and become a professional photographer. So there’s this visible evolution in my family. I’m not assuming that’s all my doing, but I can’t help thinking that when you see someone you love chase that crazy, bold, unpredictable part of themselves, it inspires you to do the same.
You pursued acting right out of high school, didn’t let any grass grow on your dreams. How important do you think that is?
When it comes to doing what you enjoy and being happy, I don’t understand why anyone would postpone that. Life is short and opportunity doesn’t hang around indefinitely, so you’ve got to take hold of it while it’s sitting there in front of you. At the same time, I’m quick to say that it’s never too late. There are plenty of examples of people who pursued their dream when they were older, who sometimes didn’t even know what their dream was till later in life. Like my dad or my brother or my mom. If you want to do something, if you still have the urge to do it, if your heart is still beating, then do it. Do it now. Don’t wish to do something, don’t wish to be happy; be happy now doing that thing you love.