'They're waiting for us:' Trickster star encourages Inuit youth to follow their passion
Anna Lambe thought she'd never act again.
After her debut in the film The Grizzlies earned her a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the Iqaluit-born university student thought she was done.
"People always ask me, did you always want to be an actress? And I always say, no, I never thought that was an opportunity that I could have growing up in Iqaluit," she said.
"You don't have those opportunities very often and you don't see those opportunities come up North very often.
"And even after The Grizzlies, I was like, 'I don't think I'm going to be an actor. The opportunity just isn't there.' So, you know, to book this second role as Sarah in such a big series … that's huge," Lambe said from Ottawa where she's studies International Development and Globalization at the University of Ottawa.
Lambe stars in the CBC series Trickster, a dark, coming of age story based on the best-selling novel Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson.
She plays Sarah, a foster kid who goes from home to home trying to find her real parents.
"She is this strong, passionate activist who has a very unconventional sense of style," Lambe said.
When she initially saw the casting call, she told herself she wasn't going to do it. She was busy with university and didn't know if she had the time to keep acting.
"But then something really pulled me in to do the audition," Lambe said.
"I did the audition and sent it in the day of with my Iqaluit WiFi, almost didn't make the deadline, really slow … but I made it and then I got a call back."
She said from the beginning, she felt a connection with the character Sarah, and the character's strength and resilience.
"I just thought that she was such a dynamic and multi-dimensional character right from the beginning and I have been so honoured to play her," Lambe said.
Lambe hopes her story will help inspire other youth to take a chance, and to let them know there are opportunities to pursue your passion.
"Inuit are so talented, we're so artistic," Lambe said.
"And even if your passion is not acting, maybe your passion is music, there's so many opportunities that exist out there. And even if we don't see them, they're there. They're waiting for us."
