We had the chance to chat with actor Meegwun Fairbrother who plays Owen Beckbie in the hit Erin Brockovich-style series Burden of Truth. The series also stars Kristin Kreuk (Smallville, Beauty and the Beast) and Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue, Camelot), and the fourth and final season aired in March 2021. We discuss how he got into acting, and what it was like working on Burden of Truth.

Here’s what Meegwun Fairbrother had to say.

When did you decide that storytelling and acting was something you wanted to do?

MF: I think storytelling has always been a part of my life. It’s a way of life really. A lot of our knowledge within the Indigenous communities is transferred through story. As an Indigenous person, stories are a super integral part of my existence. It’s how I understand the world and my place in it and also how I continue to learn about my culture and its deep history. Making it my profession probably started in highschool when we were told to pick our streams, the thing most students in Canada have to decide on, when thinking about what you want to study in post secondary education. And at that time I didn’t really know, but what I did know was that I loved drama class and movies. I was always a shy kid growing up but the games and improvs we played in drama class really helped me come out of my shell. Then some mentors suggested that I give it a go, so I applied to York University’s theatre program and I got in. Obviously, it was the right advice.

What advice would you give to people pursuing acting?

MF: Well, I’d suggest getting to know yourself. You are the tool, the mechanism and the device. Acting isn’t easy and we need to be getting in touch with ourselves constantly, so that we can share with honesty. Most people watch tv and movies and live through the characters’ experiences and journeys, which helps them relate to their own journeys. But we, the actors, are the ones going on that journey. So it’s almost like a service to humanity. But it takes guts and determination because you are going to get a lot of no’s, until you start getting the yes’s. Being an artist isn’t for everyone, but for those of us that NEED to do it, love it and consider it to be the best job in the entire world. It takes perseverance and maybe growing a bit of a thick skin, but it also takes heart. And that’s why I say getting to know yourself is the best way to do it. It’s our beating hearts that audiences want to see, to see the heart and mind of a character striving to win the day or get what they need from life. It’s a truly human endeavour and something we all relate to.

What was your first acting role?

MF: Hmmm. Well, I think it was the Cat in the Hat, and I played the cat in the hat. Haha. It was a drama class assignment where we had to take a children’s book and make a mini play of about 5-10 mins for younger elementary students around our town. We developed it, made the costumes and put the show on and I had the best damn time doing it too. Funny enough, that year I was campaigning to be the highschool president of the student council and the assembly speeches were on the same day as the children’s performance. And there was literally no time for me to change out of cat in the hat and back into regular clothes so I just did my speeches to the entire high school as cat in the hat. I won’t say it was because of the costume… but I won. Ha!

What do you enjoy the most about acting?

MF: Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances! And every role has its own challenges, sometimes like a puzzle. It takes my own homework, the other actor, the director, and the producers alongside the costume, hair and makeup people. It’s truly a collaborative approach to storytelling. Once we have figured out the puzzle and I start to understand who I’m playing, everything else disappears and I become the role. I love that. Especially the moment when the director yells action, and then it’s just me and the other actor and whatever the circumstance is, kind of like surfing a wave, it’s a beautiful thing! A balancing act of life.

What was it like to prepare for your role in Burden Of Truth?

MF: I had just come off another show, called Mohawk Girls (Peacock Tv), and I was playing a not so great guy. In fact, a lot of the characters I had played before Owen, were bad guys or less nice guys, haha! So it was a quick transition. It wasn’t really until my first scene with Luna (Star Slade) that I understood who Owen was – a step dad who loved his step kid, a man who wanted to be a role model for his community. That helped me lock him in. That and learning a martial art form called Okichitaw (A Cree combat system) from a man named George Lepine who created it, or as he says assembled it from oral and fammilial teachings. As I got to know him, I discovered that he was a cop in his younger days and had actually trained in northern Manitoba. So a lot of Owen is based on him and his younger days and the things he had to deal with as an Indigenous man in a non indiengous world.

When people watch Burden Of Truth, what are you hoping they get out of it?

MF: I hope that they learn something, are entertained, and fall in love with our cast. I love each and every actor who worked on the show and think their work became a beautiful synergy with the writers and creators. As actors, we don’t always get to work on things that also mean something to us. But with Burden of Truth, that was the case. The show did so well at balancing content that was meaningful, and it was super entertaining. That’s a win for me. And I think people have responded to it in a big way. Our audiences see themselves represented and are proud of it. And so am I. If my home communities think it’s good, then I think we did our job. HOKA!

_

Follow Meegwun Fairbrother on social media: Twitter|Instagram

Stream all 4 seasons of Burden of Truth on CBC Gem

Keep up-to-date with us on all of our channels and social media accounts:

YouTube: http://youtube.com/Popternative
Instagram http://instagram.com/popternative
Twitter: http://twitter.com/popternative
Facebook https://facebook.com/popternative/
Spotify: https://goo.gl/nWtNHP
Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/y6tbA9