By Joy Tanner
(7-minute read)
Tell us about your award-winning role in the Walmart Canada commercial, Holiday Helpers, and what inspired you about playing Stefan the Elf.
Stefan the Elf isn’t a character that I had to prepare for. The role allowed me to fully embrace my inner child. I was literally surrounded by toys all the time; they have lizard toys that can walk up walls now! My curiosity was always running free. That, coupled with the fact that I got to rappel down from the ceiling Tom Cruise-style, was just so very cool. I feel like 10-year-old me would be super stoked that I got the opportunity to have that kind of experience.
The Outstanding Performance award nominees and winners are decided by a jury
comprised of ACTRA Toronto members. How does it feel to be honoured by a jury of
your peers?
It is so surreal. For full transparency, my mental health for a good chunk of the year had been at an all-time low. I isolated myself for months and barely kept in contact with my friends and family – sorry guys! The fact my work had not only been seen by my peers in the industry, but also deemed award winning? It really opened my eyes to the fact that I wasn’t alone. That I had been seen. I don’t know a single person on the jury, but the honour of having been recognized for my efforts by seasoned pros was so incredibly uplifting. Again, Stefan is me. I got an award for being me. My peers liked me. As self-centred as that may sound, it truly meant the world just to know that I was enough.
The ACTRA Awards in Toronto celebrate and applaud the outstanding performances, achievements, and artistic accomplishments and contributions of unionized performers. What does being a member of a professional performers’ union mean to you and why is it important to honour union performers?
It means that I have support. The community is so incredibly supportive of people on the same journey as I am. It enables us to freely pursue this wild, wacky, roller-coaster of a career knowing we have people who have our backs.
This year was the inaugural presentation year of the Outstanding Performance –
Commercial Award. Why do you think this was the right time to launch this award and
what does it mean to you to be the first winner?
I felt joy. When you look at your screens in the morning and read the news or Reddit or watch YouTube, more often than not, you’re going to be exposed to some pretty heavy stuff. Levity is kind of nice. Opening up this category for the awards creates more opportunities for people to celebrate. Whether it be the nominees or their peers, we all need more excuses to just enjoy life. Being the first recipient of this award meant that I got to share joy and start a path for future ‘enjoyers’ to connect with others through happiness. It’s also nice to have a cool, shiny and heavy trophy.
Do you have any advice for performers just getting started in the industry?
Do it because you love it. As corny as it sounds, that is the driving force behind why I commit myself to every audition and every role. I love it. I love performing. I love entertaining. How cool is it that we get to be in an industry that fosters our passion in this way? For the role of Stefan, I was very fortunate to have been seen by people who like my work and want to see more! I was very lucky. Am I the only person who could have played Stefan? Absolutely not. Am I the only one who could play it like myself? You betcha. Only I can be me. Don’t stay in this industry for fame or money. Do it because it fulfills you. Do it in the face of a million auditions, four callbacks and zero bookings. Do it because it calls to you.
Also, get a side job. You gotta make money somewhere.
What is the most significant role you have ever had and how has it impacted your life or
career?
Cheesy answer: The most significant role I’ve ever had is being a friend to my friends. It has shown me who I want to be as a person. It has surrounded me with people whom I want to cherish and love and explore life. And I surround myself with good people.
Relevant answer: I would say my long run as a Kids TV Host on CBC Kids. I flew from Vancouver to Toronto eight years ago for a role that was quite frankly life changing. It was my first time living separately from my parents and friends. It allowed me to meet some amazingly talented and kind people. Not only that, but it allowed me to learn so much. Being on TV screens across the nation and internationally every morning was such an incredible honour. Being able to perform and put a smile on my viewers’ faces is what I want to do. In addition to the screen time, the live performance aspect of my job was so gratifying. Easily one of my favourite moments of my career had to have been in 2017 during CBC Kids Days where a young Asian kid walked up to me after the show, pointed at me and said, “you look like me!” Damn right, I do. If for some reason you’re reading this former-child, you made it easy to do what I do. Also thank you for rapping my lyrics with me. That was tight.
Have you ever had a specific challenge with a role and how did you work to overcome it?
Of course I have! It’s listening. I’m not even referring to a specific role. I’m sure many people have gone or are going through this exact challenge, especially early in their career. Like truly listening. Acting is listening. Not some predetermined set of lines that you spew out accompanied by emotion. When I went to Langara Film Arts in Vancouver, I was about 22 years old, and I was told to just listen to my scene partners. Admittedly, I don’t think I truly understood what that meant. I equated hearing to listening. I would do a scene over and over and over again constantly being reminded to listen to my partner. Even as I was going through my journey at CBC Kids, there were pockets where I would have trouble listening to my puppet co-stars. That meant take after take after take. It’s not something you can be trained out of overnight. It is certainly difficult. I still fall into similar pitfalls, but as long as you’re open to receiving and listening, it will open up a world of possibilities for you.
Can you share anything about any upcoming projects?
This is an interesting one. I largely keep to myself and haven’t really had the need to execute any ideas. But very recently, I had gotten scammed out of a lot of money. While it was absolutely horrible to go through and it still reverberates in my very being and psyche, I did come out of it with a story. And it’s a story I want to share with the world. I don’t know what form it will take. But regardless of whether it will be committed to the screen, stage, podcasts, books or anything and everything in between, I want to share. I guess committing it to words here might be a way of keeping myself accountable for what I want to do. So, thank you for this opportunity.
