4 Canadian actresses talk about the challenges of navigating film, TV careers across the border and abroad

Yahoo

8 hours ago

While Canada is largely associated with things like hockey, maple syrup, cold weather and being generally pleasant people, there's no denying the mark that Canadians have made in entertainment. With Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve directing the next James Bond film, to Canada being the home for some of the most popular shows right now, like Ginny & Georgia on Netflix and We Were Liars on Prime Video, Canada's mark on entertainment isn't just Hollywood North, it's international success.
In the lead up to Canada Day, there's no better time to celebrate the contributions of Canadians in film and TV. While also shining a light on what can be improved to continue to foster and support our homegrown talents.
As part of our series, this is a special edition of
Yahoo News Canada presents My Canada, a series spotlighting Canadians — born-and-raised to brand new — sharing their views on the Canadian dream, national identity, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with life inside and outside these borders.
For more than 25 years, the award-winning actor Amanda Brugel has been an absolute powerhouse. She's worked on beloved projects, including comedies like Kim's Convenience and Workin' Moms, and dramas like Dark Matter, The Handmaid's Tale and Brandon Cronenberg's film Infinity Pool. She was also a judge on Canada's Drag Race.
Brugel identified that the international success that the Canadian series Kim's Convenience achieved felt particularly special.
"It felt like a first," Brugel said. "It's not like it was in hindsight that we realized, 'Oh, this is sort of a first and we are relatable globally,' we really were cognizant of that, and it was exciting, and there was a lot of pride in it."
"When you have a group, a company, your cast and crew, a part of something that you know is bigger than you, it really lifts it. I really think that it built everyone. It made everyone bring their A-game. Because not only were we doing this for our own individual careers or only individual successes, we realized that we had a story to tell that was impacting people on a global level, which was really exciting and very rare, particularly for a Canadian television show. And so it was thrilling. I still call it summer camp. It's still one of my favourite jobs that I've ever done."
Looking back at her career, Brugel has always been an actor who jumps between different genres. While showing her impressive range as an actor, it was also a strategic move to navigate Canada's entertainment industry, pushing against being typecast.
"It started as a very specific strategy between myself and my agent, in which we were really trying to not have me typecast as a Black, biracial woman in Canada. There were only so many roles available," she said. "And very quickly I realized I was only being offered just the the most stereotypical roles that you can imagine in the '90s and then early 2000s, and so we just decided if I tried to ... seek out different genres, people wouldn't really be able to pin me down."
In terms of where the industry stand now in term of Canadian actors being able to book great jobs, while staying in the country, Brugel highlighted that it's better than it was 10 years ago, but there's still work to do, particularly as more American productions film in the country.
"The way the system still works in Canada is, yes U.S. productions do come up and take advantage of our our fantastic tax credits and our amazing and talented crews. However, still to be an actor and to be a working actor, a lot of the roles are still already cast before productions come to Canada," she said. "And so that part is difficult. If you're starting out in this career as an actor, there are so many roles and so many ... U.S. projects and our fantastic projects that you can be a part of, but if you're a little more of a veteran and you'd like ... meatier roles, it's really difficult to get them."
"I say that as recognizing that I'm very much an anomaly. I don't know why. I don't know how I've been lucky enough to sort of get some of the larger roles, but I will say it's I do think it's, a lot of the times, because I have gone back and forth from the States so much. I do keep a relationship with casting in the States as well."
One of Cindy Busby's most notable roles is playing Ashley Stanton on the Canadian hit Heartland. And while Busby has filmed many projects in Canada, including Hallmark productions, she highlighted how special it is to tell a story filmed and set in Canada.
"So many American productions come to Canada, which we're all so grateful for, because it gives incredible jobs, but to be able to tell Canadian stories and show the most beautiful parts of Canada is truly magnificent," Busby said. "It's a beautiful show that really shows off Canada, which I'm super proud of. We actually use Canadian money in the show, that's really cool!"
Laura Vandervoort started her acting career in Canada at the age of 12, and has gone on to work on some of the most beloved shows, including Smallville and The Handmaid's Tale, both filmed in Canada. But interestingly, a lot of roles she landed that were filmed in Canada happened once she moved to the U.S.
'I did find though, the minute I moved to L.A., all of my jobs were in Canada. So it was almost like Canada was like, 'Oh, she left. We want her more.' And I think that's kind of how it was back then, but that's definitely changed,' she said.
But even in auditioning, the actor's Canadian-ness was evident, including when she went in for her Smallville audition.
"I got on a plane and I screen tested, with three other girls. And it was an awkward situation, because they had all of us in one room and no one was talking," Vandervoort recalled. "And me, as a Canadian, I'm like, 'Hi. How are you guys? Nice to meet you!' ... We did the screen test, and then the producer came back out and said everyone could go home, but me. And I thought I was in trouble, but it turns out I got the job."
Anna Lambe is one of the most exciting Canadian talents to watching, starring in the APTN, CBC and Netflix series North of North, one of the best shows of the year, and she's work alongside Brad Pitt in the upcoming film Heart of the Beast.
Lambe, who has also worked on films like The Grizzlies, and shows like Three Pines, has been an advocate for telling robust Indigenous stories, and stories set in the North, with authenticity.
"I think at the core of the [North of North], what was most important for us was the authenticity of it, and the experience of living in the North, and the complexities of our communities and our family dynamics," Lambe said. "And something that's very real is how our community really struggles with the trauma from colonialism and how we navigate that."
"But for the most part, we do it through humour. ... From really dry humour to really silly like fart joke humour, the coping exists within all of that. And those moments where you do just break open, those are real too. And I think defining the show as one thing or the other, as just a comedy or just a drama, doesn't do it the service of, it's just a human experience, and just a human story. So it was nice to feel like we weren't needing to exist in one or the other, and that we can have both at different moments, and they both serve the story equally importantly."