Cree actor hopes to inspire Indigenous people to pursue career in film and media

“I just really want to showcase the fact there is no wrong way to do this and there’s a real hunger for Indigenous stars and stories. It’s really great we are finally able to tell our own stories rather than classic Hollywood white people coming up with stuff or the focus being the white savior.”

While the first episode will be an introduction to himself, the second will feature an interview with two-spirit professional boxer turned actor Kali Reis. The third episode will include longtime actor Darrell Dennis and the fourth is with up and coming actor Anna Lambe. The first three episodes will be available on all podcast platforms starting Nov. 26 with the fourth episode scheduled for release on Dec. 17.

The idea to launch the podcast came after Montgrand was searching for one like it and failed to do so.

“Being an Indigenous actor myself, I wanted to hear about other people’s stories,” he said. “There are random interview out there on different platforms, but there was nothing dedicated to just Indigenous actors.”

So far, Montgrand believes the project is gaining traction and he is excited to see where it goes. He thinks this is a time of an Indigenous renaissance, noting there is a thirst for Indigenous actors and stories.

“We want to give all these different actors from different nations an opportunity to really share their culture and what land they are from and so I think that will help the audience, as well, to be educated in the fact we are very diverse,” Montgrand said.

“I’m really hoping we are going to inspire other Indigenous people who have never considered this as a viable option and I am just really hoping to make people even more proud of who they are.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Cornet

Cree actor hopes to inspire Indigenous people to pursue career in film and media

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