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Courtesy of Tall Grass Films

Talent on Tap – Steven Roberts/Fresno Wins At The Leo Awards for River Road

How can you reach for the stars if you haven’t even climbed the mountain? Putting in the work (approx. 20,000 hrs.), gaining the experience and having that discipline to stay the course, is something that is expected from anyone – reaching for the top. You can apply these principles to most specialty careers, especially acting. If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life… Not many of us can say it yet, but that’s what goals and targets are for. You can get closer to those goals one day at a time, one hour adding onto the next with an ever-expanding knowledge, filling its way to the top of the bottle until it overflows… with the student becoming the river. Speaking of rivers, Steven Roberts recently won a Best Supporting Actor Award at this year’s Leo Awards for the film, River Road.

 

Steven’s dedication to his craft has earned him three Leo nominations in a row. In his latest film, River Road – his character Fresno, is a heroin dealer who has a menacing presence that can explode at any second, especially after he’s ripped off by a rock musician – played by Cody Kearsley (Riverdale) and a free-spirited woman, on a warpath of drug addiction and crime. This film was written/directed and produced by Rob Willey. Intensity doesn’t quite cover it and Steven’s character is unforgettable.

 

Steven Roberts has started climbing that mountain and he’s picking up the tools he needs to reach for those stars, once at the top. In God I Trust, and Beyond The Woods are other Leo nominations he’s earned, as his career climbs higher. He made his big-screen debut, playing the teacher in Jason Reitman’s 2018 Golden Globe nominated film Tully, starring Charlize Theron and he credits Chris Haddock for giving him his first recurring role in the TV series, Romeo Section. Other TV roles include Once Upon A Time and iZombie. His award-winning short film credits also include Cakeday, Velvet Cut, Best Laid Schemes, SIC, Clinch, and Fatal Rhapsody

 

In addition to Steven’s momentous journey, he had a chance encounter with the great late Robin Williams that turned into an impromptu scene study and coaching session. Robin’s impression on Steven changed his life’s direction at a time when he was going through a painful time and was very guarded. His kind words of encouragement helped to validate Stevens’ pursuit into acting. Steven really enjoys playing intense, damaged, and controversial characters and he’s endured shooting in 40 below, he’s lost weight, gained weight, shaved all his hair on screen, and taken on physical challenges for roles that would scare off others. In addition to having the moxie to bring it every time, Steven also believes in giving back. He has spent years working in Vancouver’s downtown East-side as a support worker/advocate with the homeless and recovery-based organizations. Sadly, Steven grew up in foster care and was homeless on and off. Helping others has become a great teacher for him. 

 

 

I had the outstanding privilege of sitting across the table from this extraordinary talent at Parallel 49 on Commercial Drive in East Vancouver. It was my first face to face interview since the pandemic and it felt Great! Roll the tape!

 

HNMAG “Congratulations on your recent Leo win for Best Supporting Performer in the film, River Road. You play the role of a drug dealer named Fresno. Can you tell me more about your character?”

STEVEN “I play a drug dealer with very specific ethics. He never cuts his dope with fentanyl and he’s just trying to get along with people and have a good time, until this young couple rips him off and I spend the rest of the film chasing after them.”

 

HNMAG “I read that you once struggled with homelessness years ago. Has that chapter in your life prepared you to play convincing tough characters from the streets?”

STEVEN “That’s a good question. I think that every character I play is preparing me for a role that I don’t even know about yet. I got into acting later… around 26, 27, so my life previous to that was so far from the arts. However, a great amount of the acting – I learned from growing up where I grew up. Being around certain people like Fresno certainly helped to an extent. Fresno is very aggressive and when you come from the streets, it’s pure survival. There are situations you get into and it’s your aggression that gets you out of that and keeps you safe. Accessing that becomes easy. I tend to play rather aggressive characters, because I have a certain amount of comfort dealing with aggression and understanding how to diffuse it afterwards, when I’m done working. It is correct though, it definitely prepared me to play Fresno.”

 

HNMAG “What types of roles get you excited?”

STEVEN “It’s the story that gets me excited.  I’ve only been doing this since 2015 and the Indie projects that I’ve done have been a training ground in preparing me for what I do next – I’m very grateful for those opportunities. With the projects I pick, I’m really inspired by the story. I grew up in the ‘90’s and there was a new era of filmmaking that was happening with a lot of risks being taken. Tarantino, and a list of others were making films that really had an impact on me. I also grew up in foster care and around that same time, I experienced homelessness and my saviour was watching these films. When I started getting into the industry, I realized that all of those places and situations that I was in, were preparing me for my future, even though I didn’t know it then. Many times, I’d go back and read the stories behind the scripts from movies I grew up watching. These days, there seems to be so much content.”

Photo Courtesy of Ian Azariah

 

We spent the next 10 mins getting lost talking about Clint Eastwood movies, the art of great storytelling and Clint’s masterful directing.

  

HNMAG “It seems that you also enjoy the creative side of the process. Have you written any screenplays?” 

STEVEN “I have, I’ve spent a large chunk of time writing a book/memoir and I’ve written a few screenplays. One of the scripts I’ve started working on, actually came from the film, River Road. Rob reached out to me recently about a collaboration and we’ve been tossing around ideas, but we’re really only in the early stages of putting things down on paper, but it’s exciting. In River Road, Fresno was only in a few scenes, but the more Rob had gotten to know me and like my work, the more scenes I was in. A couple months after shooting, he called me up to tell me that he wasn’t done with the character. I felt the same way, so we’re discussing a spinoff story based on Fresno’s life and what it could’ve been like.

 

HNMAG “You must’ve knocked it out of the park?”                  

STEVEN “I haven’t seen it (laughing). I don’t watch a lot of my stuff but I love the process of making the films/artistic process.”

 

HNMAG “Having come so far in a rather short amount of time, how did it feel to receive a Leo Award?”

STEVEN “I have a lot of gratitude for Walter Daroshin (producer, founder), the man who started The Leos. Acting is a funny business, where you’re not always working and there’s chunks of time between jobs. Walter and The Leo Awards, my union – UBCP that keep acknowledging me, are gifts that tell me I’m on the right track. I don’t define myself on whether I take those awards home… but when you do win something, it feels pretty good.”

 

HNMAG “Who’s the first person you thanked when you won the award?”

STEVEN “Jackie Lind. She had won for the category she was nominated for as well. She’s casted some of the biggest projects in town and she’s a great casting director. She’s continued to see me even if I’m not right for some of the projects and keeps encouraging me. I also thanked my fiancé and Rob Willey (Director of River Road).”          

 

HNMAG “Where do you keep your Leo Award?”

STEVEN “I keep it out of sight. With my acting career, I haven’t yet accomplished what I’d like to, nor have I reached that level of success I’m striving for. They’re good reminders that I’m on the right track.”

 

HNMAG “I read that you caught a break in the film, Tully with Charlize Theron. Can you tell me about that experience and your character?”

STEVEN “I played a very nurturing school teacher. I’ve actually got a 10 – year certificate for working at the Harbor Light East side on Cordova and Main. I’ve worked there as a shelter worker, a support worker and an advocate for the homeless for years. Before that, I’ve worked for other non-profit organizations that dealt with homelessness, substance abuse… so I understood what the teacher’s job was and what I had to do in the scene. I tend to play tough guys/aggressive characters… and my agent called me. She told me I was going to be in a room with Jason Reitman and I was going to audition for this role. I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to blow it, I was sweaty and nervous. Jason’s dad is Ivan Reitman, director of Ghostbusters. I ended up doing it and before the audition, he gave everyone a little note with the script that read… ‘Don’t get too swept away with the performance, just talk to the person in front of you. Sometimes it’s the greatest thing an actor can do.’ I remember meditating before I went into the audition, I was calm before I walked into the room. Jason was there, I told him I was a big fan of his work and I did the read. He asked me to do it a few different ways/times before I left. I found out the same day that I’d been shortlisted. That role taught me, there were so many different sides to myself. The next thing I know, I’m standing on set in front of Charlize Theron – people, whose work I’ve been watching since childhood… It was magical. Charlize is one of the most hard-working, humble women I’ve ever been around in my entire life.”

 

HNMAG “Have you got a passion for comedy and have you done any?”

STEVEN “I have been on stage in plays. The agent that I just signed with, Andrew Webster, is someone that was bugging to rep me for years. I’d seen him around but I had a good agent for a long time. He told me, I could do either comedy or drama, or both. He’d seen me playing two characters on stage and approached me after the show. He told me at that time,  he was very interested in my ability. I don’t think it was the right time for us to sign together. I love comedy and I don’t get the opportunity to flex that, but I would absolutely love to do a comedy.”

 

HNMAG “Where’s the furthest location you’ve had to travel to shoot a film?”

STEVEN “I was up in Cache Creek to do a western, but that’s not too far away. It was actually a psychedelic western, about a guy that does something horrible and as he makes his getaway, he gets bitten by a rattlesnake. The film itself goes in and out of reality and it was directed by a South African, Shaun Standard. He’s worked on a lot of Zack Snyder films and has a good eye. I believe he’ll be a great director someday. When you go onto his imdb page, it’s all dream projects to work on. The western was supposed to be a feature but it turned into a short for unforeseen reasons. We’ve remained friends and I love westerns, Clint Eastwood’s – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” 

 

HNMAG “A lot of actors sometimes acquire many skills, such as horseback riding, sword fighting or other unique skills to expand their resume. Can you mention any unique skills that you’ve added to your resume?”

STEVEN “I didn’t do very well in school… but years later, I feel like I’m experiencing what it might be like starting Highschool theatre. With acting, I’m always trying something new – like fencing, knife fighting or any kind of martial arts. I’ve been drawn to martial arts my entire life and I love the craft. I love art in general and just before the pandemic, I went to Prague with my fiancé. Her parents are from the Czech Republic. Seeing the beautiful cathedrals, the culture – at this point in my life I have a genuine thirst for knowledge. I think I lacked it in my younger years and now I’m constantly learning and wanting to discover the world, once we’ve returned to normalcy and are able to travel.”

Photo by Ian Azariah

 

Steven shared his morning routine with me that is both creative and sports inspired. He writes from 7:30 am – 1 pm, takes 1 coffee break, then skips rope for an hour followed by an hour of weights. I love the mentality, the focus and the discipline. Most days, my hardest decision is take-out or dine-in. 

 

Steven also shares his aspirations to move to the US to pursue more opportunities in his acting career. As he starts the process of applying for a work visa, he reflects on BC and its films as a training ground that helped to transcend his acting ambitions. 

 

HNMAG “Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?”

STEVEN “I’m definitely going to have my book finished within the first year, I’m definitely moving and am LA bound. I have a very specific game plan with an end goal. I’m really looking forward to the experience of it and the process of the unravelling while trying to be as present as I can throughout the process of chasing my dreams. There’s the experience of moving to LA, going to new locations for auditions and writing all about it from a motel room. I love the city and I was there a couple of years ago. I’d be in a coffee shop and I’d meet a producer or a writer – it’s at a different pace than Vancouver and I find it more appealing. There are some great people in town, some great projects but I feel like there’s more opportunity for me there.       

                    

 

Born in Ontario, Steven has lived on both the east and west coast and everywhere in between.  He currently resides in Vancouver with his fiancée actress, Veronika Hadrava  – who he also credits for making him better at his craft. What a great talent and kind, generous man, despite the foreboding characters he plays onscreen. Maybe he’ll change his mind and decide to stay. We can only hope.

 

River Road will be playing at the Vic Theatre in Victoria on October 2nd, and the Cinematheque Theater in Vancouver on October 19th

 

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