The Cast of ‘Wynonna Earp’ Discusses Diversity at EH Con Canada

The 2nd year of Earper Homestead Convention Canada, the Wynonna Earp convention affectionately known as Eh Con, took place from Aug 9 – 11, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. It hosted a huge roster of guests and a jam-packed schedule of panels and other activities.

One of the stand-out panels from the weekend’s programming was the POC panel with Shamier Anderson, Tamara Duarte, Varun Saranga, and Chantel Riley discussing diversity in media and the panelists’ experiences as actors of color working in Canada, the US, and on Wynonna Earp specifically.

It was a frank discussion and an important reminder about why representation matters, how things have changed, and how they haven’t.

Feeling Represented

The first question asked by panel moderator, Diana Benitez, was what the first character the panelists felt represented by was. The answers were telling as only Chantel was able to easily offer examples, listing off 90s black renaissance shows like Sister, Sister, the Cosby Show, and The Fresh Prince.

Shamier eventually came up with The Famous Jett Jackson but only after Chantel brought up her list. Initially, he responded that he didn’t have an example and just said he liked Free Willy and the Power Rangers.

For Tamara and Varun, the media landscape was even more sparse. Tamara said she played with the Hawaiian Barbie as a child because it was the closest they had to one that looked like her. Varun flat out said there were no examples of positive representation for him growing up.

Growing up, he said the only representation he saw were characters like Apu from The Simpsons and a white actor in brown-face in the movie Short Circuit. Neither of which were positive examples of representation.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I mean, I never. It’s weird as a kid, like when you start to realize that you’re different than everybody else. Like that’s when it starts to get upsetting.”

The Difference between US and Canadian Industries

The panelists were asked to reflect on the differences between working in the US and Canada. Without hesitation, Chantel and Shamier both said that they had more opportunities in the US and that Canada had a lot of work to do to improve representation for POC.

Later in the panel, Shamier added that the reason he left Canada was its lack of diversity, pointing out how few casting directors were POC as an example.   

Chantel said she feels like in the States there’s more of a push for inclusion and more courage to speak out about it. Whereas in Canada, people are a little more timid and kind of afraid to talk about it.

Offering an example from her experience, Tamara said she was once asked to change her hair color because the producers felt she looked too similar to her Indian co-star. She added, “as an artist, it’s so hard. You’re a working actor and you can’t really. Like what can you say, no to the job? What do you say? What do you say to that?”

Following up on Tamara’s story, Chantel asserted that it comes from the top.  

“if we take a look at who has a seat at the table and it’s obviously predominately white, the chances are it’s going to trickle down into your networks and television show,” she said.

She went on to say she thinks Canadian producers are trying, but it feels like they are trying to meet a quota rather than genuinely embracing diversity. She said that Canada needs to do more and not be afraid to take chances on underrepresented demographics.

Varun, however, was of a dissenting voice in this part of the conversation saying he didn’t see much difference in the roles he was asked to audition for in Canada or the US.

Walking Away From Roles

The group discussed turning down roles that they felt perpetuated stereotypes. All the panelist talked about walking away from parts but also the tension between doing that and making a living.

Varun told a story about a role he walked away from that his brother ultimately had to take because he needed to support himself. He said, “that’s like a heartbreaking decision because he has to decide whether to put food on his plate or like, in some fashion, sell himself.”

Tamara acknowledged needing to take parts she didn’t like in the past but said it’s important to take roles that align with personal beliefs and morals because it shows up in their work when they don’t. 

“It’s really hard sometimes to do that because sometimes you’re in between projects. But it’s like what comes first? Do you manifest it and just say no at the beginning and then other things will come or do you get to the top, and then you say no? I think it’s the opposite,” she added. “I think you do the hard work now and say no or else you’re going to get stuck in a place where you regret projects that you did.”

Working Conditions

When asked about what sort of working conditions create a comfortable, safe environment, Shamier and Chantel both pointed to more diversity on set. Shamier, for example, said that he wants to see more women, and specifically women of color, behind the camera.

Both actors discussed the importance of having hair and make-up crew that looked like them and understood their skin and hair better.

Building on the theme of diversity behind the camera, Varun brought up diversity in the writers’ room, saying, “It all starts with the writing, always.”

Working On The Set of Wynonna

The panelists all had positive things to say about working on Wynonna Earp and the characters they were given to play. Varun emphasized this point, saying it wasn’t until Wynonna that he realized that representation mattered.

They all praised Wynonna for its representation on and off-screen and noted how special it was. Tamara specifically pointed to the number of women on set. But even with all that praise, there was an acknowledgment that it could do better behind the scene as Shamier pointed out the need for more people of color working on the show.

One of the most surprising revelations of the panel was that Shamier initially turned down the audition for Dolls.

He said he thought, “You’ll cast a white guy. There’s no way you’re gonna have a love interest, like number two on a hit show on Syfy and cast a dark skin brother like me, so I’m not going to waste my time.”

He went on to say even after he accepted the audition when he saw Tim Rozon he thought, “that’s the white guy getting the role. But he didn’t, they hired me, the black guy.”

Use Your Privilege

The panel wrapped with the moderator asking what white people and white colleagues, in particular, can do to be good allies. First to chime in was Varun who said, “what you [referring to the panel audience] are doing right now. Discuss it, talk about it, be open.”

Shamier quickly followed up on this, adding, “Use your white privilege the right ways.”

The conversation during the POC panel was honest, thoughtful, and relevant beyond the confines of one supernatural western. The experiences and insights each panelist brought to the discussion were illuminating and added valuable nuance to a complex, multifaceted issue.

It’s precisely the type of conversations that we should be making room for and the voices we should be centering much more often than we do. 

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Did you attend Eh Con this year? What are your thoughts on the POC panel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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