The TV Watercooler had the distinct honour of speaking with the recipient of this year’s Equity in Entertainment Award, the venerable Tantoo Cardinal.
We delved into the current state and future of The Tap Root Actors Academy, an initiative close to her heart, as she discussed the crucial need to “reboot” and strengthen its foundation to continue fostering Indigenous storytelling.
Tantoo also shared her experiences joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her role in Echo, highlighting her profound appreciation for the deaf community she encountered and her admiration for co-star Alaqua Cox.
How are things with The Tap Root Actors Academy?
We are at a point where we have to reboot because the foundations that we had were COVID foundations. We had 15 students, and it worked perfectly for a small, and almost guerilla kind of movement where you had to make things happen with limited resources.
We came to an abrupt halt and that indicated to me that it’s time to create a new foundation. The need has shown itself that the power of us telling our own stories is such medicine. Not only for the youth, but for the adults and the health of the community – it’s really, really urgent.
So, that’s the motivation for me to make sure that Tap Root reforms and strengthens itself to move into the future with a good base.
You recently entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Echo. What was working on that project like?
You know, I so loved meeting the deaf community. That was my big takeaway about that!
Alaqua Cox is just so amazing. She’s such a beauty on every level and such a hard worker, and so enthusiastic about what she was doing.
Check out the rest of The TV Watercooler’s coverage from The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada event here.
