Rossif Sutherland soldiers on
Young actor plays key role in Afghan war film Hyena Road
Rossif Sutherland seemed to be everywhere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, appearing in Bruce McDonald’s spooky Hellions and the thriller River.
Yet it was in his Hyena Road role as Ryan, a soldier trying to make sense of a chaotic situation, that created the most buzz at the festival.
The uniquely Canadian mix of quiet intensity and unadorned competence that Sutherland brings to the role is crucial to the parts of the movie that excel.
Q What brought you to the project?
A The same as any other job — I auditioned. I felt completely unqualified and a little embarrassed to be there. Paul Gross (the film’s star/director/ writer) saw something in me that I didn’t necessarily see in myself.
Q You spent time with Canadian Forces in prep for the film?
A They were very generous in sharing stories. I got to demystify preconceived notions of what it was to be a soldier, that American portrayal of guys with big muscles and big guns. I got to speak to those soldiers and was relieved thinking that maybe I wasn’t as wildly miscast as I may have thought I was.
Q Is that what makes Hyena Road unique?
A In a lot of American war films the enemy is within, it’s not really a democratic storytelling. Hyena was different because it wasn’t necessarily trying to offer answers, but we’re asking some very valid questions. Afghanis are not the enemy, but there are people within that society that are. We were fighting together. We’re a Canadian film. It’s an action movie because of the nature of the story we were telling, but it’s mostly a story about people.
Q You worked with “The Ghost,” Neamat Arghandabi?
A Neamat’s the real deal and doesn’t look like it at all. He had this survivor sense of humour. He lived it, he fired weapons, I believe he killed people.
Q He in turn learned from you about acting?
A We have to repeat things over and over, and you have to be consistent as far as continuity. With Neamat, you couldn’t take the gun away from him. When the prop guy would show up and say ‘right, we’re going to take it from the start,’ he would say ‘ but this is my gun.’ The first scene when Paul and I meet him, he kept asking Paul what to do. Paul said just don’t do anything. Neamat was so compelling, he just took our breath away.
Q You’ve shown the film to veterans?
A That was the key audience for me. We go see a war film and compare it to a bunch of other films. They judge it as far as the reality of what it was to be on the ground. I think it brought back a bunch of nightmarish memories. I went in with a preconceived notion that these were just brutes. I got to see people who were sensitive, smart and very skilled, who used weapons not to cause harm but as shields to protect. Hyena Road is a very ambitious film with small means. I think the intentions were noble and I hope people see it.