Canada has many talented actors, writers, directors, and other content creators. To help our industry grow, we would like to introduce you to some of those talented folks who have managed to capture that magic on screen.
This week we spoke with Vancouver, actor, writer, producer, and coach, Francesca Bianchi.
HNMAG: You were born in Saudi Arabia?
Francesca Bianchi: Yes
HNMAG: How long did you spend there?
Francesca Bianchi: Seven years
HNMAG: Did you end up learning Arabic?
Francesca Bianchi: No, I was in a British school.
HNMAG: OK
Francesca Bianchi: We did some Arabic, but I was six, and the language is written right to left. I can count to ten and I know basic things/ They were basically just teaching us how to write the date and the ABCs. Half the class was Muslim and the other half were British immigrants.
HNMAG: That’s why you have a British accent.
Francesca Bianchi: Well, I’m Australian. I went from Saudi Arabia and finished my schooling in Australia.
HNMAG: You have proficiency with dialect. You’re a dialect coach. Would you say your speaking voice is more of an Australian accent, then?
Francesca Bianchi: Yeah, it sounds like an Australian who’s been through a tertiary education? My mom is also Canadian, so when I go to Australia, they know I’m Australian, but when I travel, people think I’m British.
HNMAG: That makes sense. There’s a slight difference with your accent than most people in Australia, but Australians can recognize it as their own.
Francesca Bianchi: They just think I have one foreign parent, which I do.
HNMAG: Because your mother Canadian, is that why you moved to Canada?
Francesca Bianchi: No, I graduated from fine arts and then I wasn’t really accepted into the industry in Australia. I don’t think I had the look they wanted… it just felt like there was a wall and I wasn’t going to be able to break through no matter what I did.
HNMAG: OK, well that makes sense. So you picked Canada.
Francesca Bianchi: The training in Australia was incredible. It’s one of the best places to train as an actor, and everybody works incredibly hard. The competition is very high. It’s really a great place to train but after a while, I knew that if I wanted to go to far in my career, I wasn’t going to be able to stay there.
HNMAG: How old were you when you decided to move to Canada?
Francesca Bianchi: 29.
HNMAG: OK, so you weren’t that young.
Francesca Bianchi: No, I wasn’t.
HNMAG: Because of your mother, was it easier to immigrate here?
Francesca Bianchi: Yes, it was. I was born a citizen.
HNMAG: Right, since you got citizenship through her, you didn’t need to do any applications.
Francesca Bianchi: Yes
HNMAG: At 29 years old, did you just imagine Canada would be a better place to work as an actor?
Francesca Bianchi: I made a deal with myself. If I moved to Canada and didn’t get representation and book a job within three months, I would quit acting.
HNMAG: Well, that’s not very long so I guess that happened.
Francesca Bianchi: Yeah – luckily!
HNMAG: How did you become a dialect coach?
Francesca Bianchi: One of the teachers I was working with recommended me to meet Tony Alcantar. He trained me.
HNMAG: Nice. You’ve done quite a few roles. You were on Allegiance, which is set in Surrey, BC. It’s not common for something with a decent budget, to be set in Canada. What were your feelings about that? Did that matter at all to you?
Francesca Bianchi: Not really. The only difference was we had the opportunity to actually speak to the writer who was Indigenous, and I had a line that I thought was maybe melodramatic. I was able to say what’s the reality of this line? She said this is exactly what happened.
HNMAG: OK
Francesca Bianchi: She told me a bit about why she wrote it that way. It just made it so much easier for me to really understand what she was writing about.
HNMAG: Sure.
Francesca Bianchi: I could then understand the horror of what happened.
HNMAG: Who was your character?
Francesca Bianchi: I was a social worker who was accused of taking someone’s child and it was my boss who was really guilty. I ended up ratting her out because I realized that the entire thing was corrupt and I promptly walk out – quit my job.
HNMAG: That was a true story.
Francesca Bianchi: Yes, based on a true story, probably many…
HNMAG: Indigenous children were being sold, in this case, to Americans, but I’m not sure what happened in reality.
Francesca Bianchi: I think the storyline was that the child was taken under the assumption that the mother was not taking care of it, which was false. There is a bias against young Indigenous couples, assuming they’re taking drugs and assuming they’re not fit to take care of the children, which is completely false, so the systems is against them the minute they have a child. Even if they’re fantastic parents, you’re always going to be painted with a certain color that was that storyline. The assumptions were turned into allegations that were false, and that’s what the police were proving.
HNMAG: With more programs being set in Canada, do you see that a trend that will continue?
Francesca Bianchi: It’s a massive indication that we don’t need the USA to be successful and in fact, one of my writing partners and I, are writing a concept for a show right now, and we’re intentionally setting it in Canada because we don’t need it to be set in America.
HNMAG: Great!
Francesca Bianchi: For American shows, of course, there should be Americans in the show but we can fill guest roles, we can do the reoccurring roles, we can be series regulars. There is talent here in Canada.
HNMAG: This series that you’re working on; is the first production that you’re writing.
Francesca Bianchi: The series that I have written is completed, and my partner and I trying to get people to read it but because we’re not famous or ‘known’, it is incredibly hard to get anyone to read the pitch or the pilot.
HNMAG: Is there something else that you are working on right now?
Francesca Bianchi: I’m playing Stephanie Gold in I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story. I get to use a New York accent, which is great. I’m playing Gloria’s manager, who is still with her. It’s been a great experience.
It was great to speak with a dual Australian/Canadian citizen who moved to Vancouver in hopes of getting immediate work, and she got it! Francesca is smart, creative, and ambitious. She is gaining more success and making things happen for her career. We look forward to enjoying her work on big and small screens everywhere.