Ayisha Issa and other actors of colour want to be seen as more than stereotypes.
Actors of colour in Quebec say it’s a challenge to find roles, let alone ones that don’t play into stereotypes, Brendan Kelly writes,
Ayisha Issa
Credits: Immortals, L’Appât, Warm Bodies, Brick Mansions, 30 Vies, Unité 9.
Fun fact: Competes internationally in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions.
Quote: “Unité 9, that was a lot of research into personality disorders and looking at my own past. I was a delinquent when I was growing up. I ended up in a group home. I was a Batshaw client when I was 15. I was a very troubled teenager. I had eating disorders. I had behavioural problems. I was depressed. I was anxious. I was on medication for social anxiety. I was a wreck. It was a tough time. So it was cool to use that (for the role). What was cool (about Unité 9) was that in order to connect with this character, I had to look at myself in the mirror and revisit old wounds and scars that made me angry. It forced me to go and face it all. Doing it for myself was therapeutic.”
Angelo Cadet
Credits: Les Maîtres du suspense, L’Appât, Marilyn, Une histoire inventé
Fun fact: He will be overseeing the stage direction for singer Corneille’s European tour.
Quote: “The only message I have for people who want to be in that business if they — or their parents — are not from here originally is do your own thing, write your own stuff, do your own production. Even though it’s small, make it come out from your head, from your room. Stop complaining and create your own roles. Even if it’s only for Facebook or Twitter or your own site. Do it. Stop talking and do stuff.”
Alain Bastien
Credits: Rebelle, Noir, Sortie 67. Fun fact: Bastien had to learn Lingala, the language spoken in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for his role as a rebel commander in Rebelle.
Quote: “The role is always for a bad guy. I’m like, ‘Why can’t I be a partner in a big company?’ I’m still trying to figure out why they have that mentality when Montreal is way more diverse than that. You have black doctors, black nurses, a lot of black businessmen. But they never show that. They show the black guy as always being a gangster with a gun in his hand. And we have no choice because we still need to work.”
Kwasi Songui
Credits: Nicky Deuce, White House Down, 300, Les Maîtres du suspense, Miraculum, Les Boys 3, Being Human.
Fun fact: He plays the landlord of Adrian Holmes’s character in the English version of 19-2.
Quote: “When we go in to audition for roles, we don’t have time to be concerned about whether a person is black or white. You want to know your lines and be prepared and give the best performance you can. You’re an actor. It’s up to them to decide what they see. An actor is an actor, and an actor takes on a different persona. It’s one role and you have 10 people going in, and only one person can get it.”
Benz Antoine
Credits: 19-2 (in French and English), The Listener, Rookie Blue, Sortie 67.
Fun fact: He was born in Montreal to a family with Haitian roots, but spent part of his childhood living in Toronto and California.
Quote: “You need inspiration. When I was young, I was inspired by Denzel Washington. Now there’s a young kid watching who’s saying, ‘Hey, I can do it, too.’ And a lot of people who’re growing up multiculturally, they might not see anything (in the diverse cast of 19-2 in English). This is just how they live.”