00:27This is Tim Wassberg from Fest Track on Surf TV.
00:29I'm here in Toronto, Ontario for the Toronto Film Festival.
00:33So how did this come about?
00:35I mean, did you meet Vinny up there in Nunavut or how did that all come together?
00:41From my perspective, it came about, I saw a posting on Facebook, TikTok, social media.
00:48And I'm first to jump the gun a lot when I see these posts.
00:53Prior to that, I had a workshop that I'd done in the capital of Nunavut, Iqalui.
00:59And that was in 2022, 2023.
01:02And so I was, what's the word?
01:07I was hoping for something to come up.
01:09And so when I saw that opportunity of Vinny saying, okay, we're looking for an elite man this age.
01:16I'm like, boom, I'm emailing.
01:18And they send an audition.
01:19So it came about like, I was hoping for it and I was working for it.
01:25And I guess it just happened.
01:26And it came, so...
01:37Oh.
01:39Oh, shit.
01:57they are trying to shut down the valve on the north side a lot of oil till the next pump
02:02station
02:03120 gallons per minute
02:12yeah with the acting i the workshop really pulled my mindset okay i can get in front of the camera
02:18so the workshop i did everything behind the camera booming uh how all the jobs necessary
02:23and i had i had a talk with the ceo of nunavut film development corporation um hugh i had a
02:31talk
02:31with him and a green landing director and i said i'd like to get in front of the camera and
02:35oh is
02:36that so and i guess i've been working towards it since three years now and um in terms of actually
02:43acting in front of the camera and all the little things it just came with natural talent i've been
02:51hearing it came with hard work and dedication um sacrifice and telling people that i'm gonna do it
02:58and them not believing in me is what drives the whole thing um coming from a small community
03:04500 people everyone knows me i moved to my community during after the pandemic because
03:09you know i think things had to get going yeah um and so when i went up north i was
03:17emailing i was
03:18working you know trying to make my way with money and anything and so anytime the opportunity came arose
03:25i just jumped the gun and then there was two other um people who auditioned for woody and
03:33they were great guys but i told myself i have to get this and so um yeah it just came
03:40about and yeah
03:53gotta lift before the mist eats the rotors
04:00so
04:06so
04:07so
04:07so
04:08so
04:09so
04:27what was the scene i mean was there a certain scene you had an audition with or was it it
04:31was
04:31a brother very specific okay um my old half which is very everything aligned with the story i have
04:38all the half brother um his name is johnny he's 28 he's a bit older uh so i just looked
04:46at all the
04:48things in front of me i saw okay i knew vinnie of course with his uh projects growing up i
04:53watched
04:53him he had a show called hanukli i met yacht for the first time and so when i first got
04:59the material
05:00i just was locked in head down and when i first got the email saying okay you got the part
05:11like for me and my family everyone knows i'm different and so i just i put my mind to it
05:17and
05:17um into what you said with me being in a lot of the movie it just felt natural and it
05:23felt good to work
05:26and to be on the set and to actually prove people that i could act and um i had to
05:33prove myself that
05:34i could act because of course there was at times where i was like i mean i wasn't saying i'm
05:39not
05:39good enough but it was just like okay i always taught i always said to myself act like i know
05:45what
05:45i'm doing i'm playing music my said just no one knows when you mess up playing these notes only you
05:51know what's up and so i kind of took that to heart and i was like okay
06:07alpha three bedroom one clear
06:14alpha two bedroom two clear
06:28i'm young i'm 23 and i've never this is my debut acting role and so yeah it's now having to
06:36be
06:36interviewed like i've been interviewed with music and so yeah in the i did first in music i joined the
06:42record label released my first ep in 2024 and that got a bit of um the snowball's been rolling you
06:52know
06:53so um performing in a couple of communities up north i performed in toronto and um just trying
07:00to get the credits up trying to get my name out here and i like to say um the beacon
07:05of light for my
07:06community because no one is from my community to represent any sort of um social media art and you
07:14know like i believe us it's our time you know north of north is out now it's big um there's
07:19a big netflix
07:20show and it's like anyway i finally auditioning and it's finally like i want to show that i'm a good
07:28actor i'm a good artist i just want to keep hopefully getting roles and people noticing me because that's the
07:35dream
07:35all right
08:03it's funny as a kid everything in my mindset is make it make fun make it make the even though
08:12as
08:12what you just said that dark place um as an actor i first discovered it when i let my tears
08:20out on the
08:20ice up north i i cried and i said okay this is what acting is and then i and then
08:27they told me
08:27with all the insights around me don't let it take you you know uh the good examples uh heath ledger
08:34you know all these actors that go to a dark place they just said don't let it take you and
08:38that's all
08:39i need like from that point on okay i'll just let woody have his troubles and then as leo is
08:45like
08:45it's 95 on par with what i went through and so i just was like okay it's it was almost
08:53just me being
08:54myself leo but learning to play a role woody and um with the dark places yeah in the beginning
09:03i used music a lot so i was like can i request a certain song i'll put uh and um
09:08i remember vini came
09:09coming up to me after the hyperventilation scene in my room in woody's room and he said good job leo
09:16and for me i know when someone says to me an energy or whatever like you you can compliment me
09:22but coming from vinnie was like good job and so when i get one little thing from someone
09:29like when i remember auditioning i can see in someone's eyes with yop they just look at me and
09:35and i remember new me saying uh when we had rc you have strong eyes and anytime i'm complimented
09:42in anything i just power up to a whole and it's like exponentially something happens to me and uh
09:49because going up being bullied in communities being told you're not good enough you know you're not gonna
09:55make it it's like i've been put down before and so i was just tired of not succeeding and making
10:02sure
10:02that i can show people what i can do with my voice my eye anything
10:32you
