Page 8
News
Street Roots • July 7-13, 2017
Street Roots • July 7-13, 2017
BY ROSEMARY NEWTON
r “
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
|
l
•
1
hen Duane Howard arrived at the
Canadian street paper
Megaphone for an interview, he
had just finished working on a
talk he would give the next day at
an addictions recovery house. He
was also preparing to head to the Victoria
Film Festival for a screening of “The Sun at
Midnight,” an independent film he co-stars
in. One thing is clear: since his
serendipitous casting as Arikara Chief Elk
Dog alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the
2015 film “The Revenant,” Howard has been
busy.
Howard’s compelling performance as Elk
Dog garnered him acclaim and attention and
took him to the Oscars. The role was the
culmination of years spent on the Vancouver
B.C. film scene as an actor, background
performer and stunt worker, experience that
he gained in between holding down jobs as a
drug and alcohol counselor, as an iron
worker, and hosting outreach workshops for
youth. The role also called on the actor to
draw on his own personal struggles and
hardships.
Howard, of the Nuu-chah-nulth First
Nation on the Northwest Coast of Vancouver
Island, talked to Megaphone about his
standout role, his connections to spirituality,
his passion for motivational speaking and his
strong British Columbia roots, which are
planted firmly in Vancouver’s Downtown
Eastside.
■
rj
"
;
;
News
aad even Vancouver, needs to open
«P aRP gtv© th e ir head a shake and realize
that they're visito rs on this land. I rve been
encouraging a 1st of oar people In the Industry to
■ start w ritin g scripts. We a ll h a w a story."
? j FOUND
I
i MY ROOTS’
P H O T O B Y JA C K IE D IV E S
Duane Howard - artist, stuntman,
actor and motivational speaker whose
role in 'The Revenant9 thrust him
into the spotlight -feels a profound
connection to his Native homeland
R o s e m a r y N ew to n : / read about some o f
your early life experiences. What was your
childhood and young adulthood like?
D u a n e H ow ard: In the late 1970s, I
working out while still maintaining my
moved here to Vancouver with my older
alcoholism. It took a lot of anger out, and
sister. The reason being was my dad and my
frustration.
mom had separated when I was 12, and
Then I kind of had this profound
after my mom left us, there were six of us
awakening after talking to my late
younger ones that my dad ended up being
grandfather, who passed away in 1982.1
with for about two years.
always like to talk to our elders and our
I remember the first drink I had of
knowledge keepers, talking to them and
alcohol when I was 10 years old. During my
asking them questions about life, how our
teenage life, my family members were
people lived, what was it like? And every
telling me, “Don’t ever drink; don’t ever do
time they talked about it, they always talked
drugs,” trying to influence me that way, but
about family unity, and the family values, the
it was kind of really challenging when I look
principles and the laws of family, and it stuck
back at it. It was challenging because it was
to me all the time. And so he was gone out
right in front of us all the time. Yet feeling
of my life and there were a few other people,
abandoned, having those abandonment
two of my aunts who were really special to
issues of parents separating because we
me, and they played my mother role in my
come from a large family, it was challenging
life. They were murdered in the late ’70s,
as a young boy. I remember even being in
and that came out in 1986. That’s when I
elementary school and being bullied and
made a decision to change my life, because I
teased because I was kind of a skinny little
knew I wasn’t getting anywhere; I knew it
Indian boy. In my elementary school days, I
wasn’t worthwhile to do it anymore.
remember being like that, just walking home
At the time, my dad sobered up, he went
and there’s two, three guys, people that
into treatment and changed his life, and lo
bullied me and taunted me and teased me
and behold the rest of us, the family
because I have a skin condition, eczema.
members, followed along with him.
I grew up, and alcohol and drugs were the
That’s when I went back to school and got
solution for my life because I just numbed
educated. I got my Grade 12, and got my
everything out so I really experienced that.
drug and alcohol certificate at the Native
But it was an uphill (battle), the last few
Education Centre. And then I pursued that
years. Even though we had a nice, beautiful
and I worked in the Downtown Eastside for
home in a beautiful setting, a home to go to, ■ a while, on and off, then also into the school
I would always end up downtown, east end. I system, working with the schools and then
didn’t want to go to school. I remember
traveling, doing workshops on drug and
being in boxing because my father and my
alcohol awareness in communities with
uncles and my grandfathers, they were bred
other friends who were in the helping field.
into that boxing and fighting, and it was a
I did that for a number of years, just being
fun sport for them at the time. I tried that a
involved in community and helping the best
few times and went into the gym and started
way I could. I got in deeply into my
spirituality and finding my culture, and I
realized that what was really important to
me was culture.
I started identifying myself with who I
was, and where I come from. I come from
the Northwest Coast of Vancouver Island,
Nuu-chah-nulth Territories, the Mowachaht/
Muchalaht First Nation band. Through
identifying myself, I found my roots and who
I was, my grandparents, and my great
grandparents. I really looked at the family
tree and really identified who I was, and I
started going back home. I started learning
the way to my best ability, and I still do that
today: getting involved back home, getting
enriched by that, and adopting other ways of
the plain style life.
R.N.: How did you get started in the film
industry?
D.H .: The first taste of it was probably
about 20 years ago. I started doing
background work, and my first show was
“Hawk Eye,” and “Da Vinci’s Inquest.” I was
doing that for a while, but at the same time,
I was involved with an organization working
with young people on the streets. My boss
kind of gave me an ultimatum, so I had to
put that down for a while.
One day I just had this profound spiritual
awakening and I realized I wasn’t happy with
what I was doing and I wasn’t happy with my
job. I wasn’t happy with myself. I quit my
job, and I lived in my van for a while, and I
lived with my mom and I started couch
surfing. Then, my kids came into my life,
and then I got into the film industry again. I
got upgraded on a show called “Harsh
Realm.” I started doing stunt work. I did it
in a few shows, and then it kind of dried up
for a while there.
Then all of a sudden, theater came into
my life. I started doing plays after that, and
that’s when my acting career, I started really
enjoying it. My auditions really started
picking up, and that’s when I got my agent
now, and I’ve been with her since.
My first big break was “Into the W est”
That was my first role, a Steven Spielberg
one, and then after that, I did a Virgin Train
commercial and then “Bury My Heart At
Wounded Knee,” “Da Vinci’s Inquest” and
“Blade,” and it just started going. It started
really picking up for me, and I was really
grateful for that.
I was struggling as an artist, as an actor,
as a community member, going through
hard times, and getting mad and upset that I
didn’t get a particular role, and I thought
that’s all right, next one, and I did that
throughout the years. I took a break from
my acting career before “The Revenant”
R.N.: What was it like trying to get a role in
a major motion picture like “The Revenant”?
D .H .: A friend helped me out, helped me
move into her house because she had heard
I was homeless. So I moved in with her, and
I was grateful for that, and that’s when I
found out about “The Revenant.” I
auditioned for it. I called up my agent and I
said, “Can you submit me for that role in
that ‘Revenant’ show?” So she did; she put
my name in it, and it was like June, just
towards the end of June, I guess, and she
submitted and we didn’t hear nothing from
them for all the whole month of July. And
two weeks before shooting “The Revenant,”
they still hadn’t found a lead role for the
Native cast. Next, you know, it’s Friday
morning, and I get a call from one of the
stunt coordinators - his assistant called me
- and he called me up and said, “Hey, I’m
calling on behalf of Scott (Ateah). He told
me to give you a call and want s to know if
you’re available to come and work.” So I
called (Scott), and he said, “I’m working on
this big feature film, and we’re looking for
Native riders and stuntmen, and I noticed
you on the union list.”
That following Saturday, they were in a
production meeting and Scott, the stunt
coordinator, was sitting there, and he was
part of “The Revenant,” and I didn’t know.
He was sitting there, and they said we still
haven’t found anybody. And Scott took out
my picture that I had sent him, and he put it
in between the casting director and the
director, and he goes, “You guys should take
a look at this guy.” Sunday evening, Linda,
my agent, called me up, and she goes,
“Duane, ‘The Revenant’ called and you have
an audition for tomorrow.” I was up all
night.
She kept on saying, “You’ve got to get
this. It’s a big role. It could change your
career.” I went in the morning, and I walked
in and introduced myself to the casting
director (Angela Gibbs) from L.A. and
Michelle Allen, who was the casting director
here, and she knew me. As soon as we
finished, both her and Michelle just jumped
out of their seats and said, “We finally found
him. We finally found him.” And right after
that, they immediately sent the tape to
Alejandro (Gonzalez Inarritu), the director.
The following Tuesday, Linda calls me up
and she goes, “They loved your audition,
and they want to fly you to Calgary for three
days. The director wants to meet you.”
I went out there and met him Wednesday
night and had a sit-down and talked with
him. He asked me questions about my life,
and my background, my growing up,
hardships, hard times. I sat with him for
about half an hour, and he said, “That was a
great audition you did. I want you to do the
same down here.” It’s the whole film crew,
and some of the cast members were down
there, so I was like, “What, right in front of
everybody?” But he had the director of
photography there, and they did it, and we
went through it, and the (director) had a
camera right in front of my face, like just
inches away from my face. I had to really
maintain my focus, it was my first time
having a camera that close to me, but I kept
in character. Friday morning, the director
announced, “You’re welcome aboard.”
Everybody was like, “That role was meant
for you.”
R.N.: What did you think o f your character,
E lk Dog, in “The Revenant”?
D.H .: I had an interview one time,
somebody asked me, how did you bring Elk
Dog alive? And I had this clarity moment,
and it was like wow, Elk Dog brought Duane
alive. And I remember saying, how I brought
Elk Dog alive was I had to face my darkest
experiences in my life; I had to go deep
within myself; I had to go to my dark place
again. It was really draining at times, really
draining at the end of the day, and that’s
what I did. I look at myself with (the attitude
of) I can do this, I can be who I am, and
where I am, and what I’m doing. I can
persevere in life, and I can do whatever I
want to do in life. So it really gave me a lot
of confidence after that.
The influence of watching Tom (Hardy)
and Leo (DiCaprio), watching them on set,
it was really nice. We would be sitting there
talking just before they go to camera, and
we would just be walking and out of
nowhere. We were our characters. It was
really profound.
After a few months of shooting, I
remember the director came up and said,
“You should be proud of yourself. This
character: You brought him alive.”
R.N.: You went to the Oscars in 2016. What
was that experience like?
D.H .: That experience was - wow. It was
the first time in 25 years that a First
Nations actor had been at the Oscars. The
last one was Graham Greene for “Dances
With Wolves.” So I was really honored for
myself, and Forrest (Goodluck) and Arthur
(Redcloud) to be there, representing our
people. It was surreal, but I took in every
moment.
R.N.: W W do you think needs to happen
for there to be better First Nations
representation in Hollywood?
D.H.: There’s a lot of First Nations actors
in Canada and in the United States who
should have been up there already. I
Page 9
mentioned that down there, I said Hollywood
needs to open its eyes to First Nations
people and Native American people, that
there is so much talent out there. I
mentioned that to them because Hollywood
is so white. As Chris Rock said right in front
of everyone at the Oscars: Hollywood is so
white. And now it’s becoming, I think it will
evolve eventually, especially after seeing this.
R.N.: This is the first major motion picture
to include First Nations people in the cast since
“Dances With Wolves.” What does that tell you
about North America? I mean they’ve tried, but
like “Lone Ranger” -Johnny Depp playing a
Native? Why? Scarlett Johansson playing an
Asian (in “Ghost in the Shell”)? Why?
D.H .: It’s really challenging. People need
to be educated about our First Nations
people. Stop stereotyping us; we don’t live
in igloos and wigwams, and we all speak
different languages. Hollywood, and even
Vancouver, needs to open up and give their
head a shake and realize that they’re visitors
on this land. I’ve been encouraging a lot of
our people in the industry to start writing
scripts. We all have a story.
R.N.: You mentioned your connectedness to
spirituality. How has your spirituality
influenced your work, either in acting or in
your outreach work and public speaking?
D.H .: I just really put that into my life. I
have those moments in my life where it’s
just between me and God, the creator, and
my culture, and as a sun dancer and doing
sweat ceremonies and other ceremonies.
(It’s all about) getting myself involved in that
and following the protocols that we have and
the principles that apply to life.
R.N.: I read that you’ve done work to raise
suicide awareness among indigenous youth.
How did you get involved in this?
D.H .: Suicide awareness, the
Attawapiskat Campaign, (is run by) the
Attawapiskat community up in Northern
Ontario. I had met some people over that
way from Ontario, and their campaign is
called “I Love First Peoples.” They asked
me to come aboard and be spokesperson of
their campaign. At the time, Attawapiskat
had such a high suicide rate. I went to
address the issue that we had to come
together as a community; we really have to
come together as a community. No matter
who we are or where we come from, it’s
really important not to do this alone.
We need everybody’s involvement, and we
need everybody’s love and support to come
together as one mind, one heart as a
community - not to judge our young people
on what they’re doing in their lives because
they had to learn it from somewhere. I say
how important it is as parents and as uncles
and aunts that we have to step it up, and we
have to be that example.
A lot of the communities have problems
with drugs and alcohol, it saddens me. When
I come from a community like that and I
hear people complaining about all these
small, little things, I look back at where I
just came from and I give my head a shake.
I’m still their main spokesperson for the
campaign, and we’re going out to some
other communities this year.
Courtesy o f Megaphone, Vancouver, B.C.
Canada / INSP. ngo