Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie is not exactly a stranger to acting, having made his debut in the independent film A Colony (Une Colonie) at 14-years-old, which earned him a Canadian Screen Award and a Prix Iris nomination. He’s since appeared in an array of French-language projects, including features, TV shows and short films. However now, at 23, he stars in Sterling Point, arguably his biggest acting credit yet. The new Prime Video show was created by Megan Park of My Old Ass fame, and produced by YA legend Josh Schwartz (known for The O.C. and Gossip Girl), who is also co-showrunner. 

Whiteduck-Lavoie plays Ellis, a quiet, hardworking boy living in Muskoka who welcomes main character Annie, played by Ella Rubin (The Idea of You, Anora), to the island she and her twin brother inherited from their mysteriously estranged late grandfather. Whiteduck-Lavoie describes Ellis as “the grounding character in the show.” Like Ellis, Whiteduck-Lavoie grew up around nature and lakes on the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation reserve in rural Quebec. And while the similarities between his character and himself did not go unnoticed by him, he also brought a level of authentic preparation to the role that shines on screen.

In conversation with 1883, a chirpy Whiteduck-Lavoie speaks about the audition process, growing up trilingual, what he learned from his co-stars, and why he never let himself think of Ellis as ‘the romantic lead’.

I wanted to ask you first about the audition process because you self taped and then you did an in-person callback. How did you prepare?

I started off my career only doing French jobs, because I’m from Quebec, so I didn’t get English auditions very often. When I did, I took them very seriously. For this one in particular, I remember the due date was the next morning, so I sent my tape in really quickly. I was like, “Oh my God, this project looks so insane!” I mean, directed by Megan Park, it was basically the biggest project I’d ever sent a tape for. So I sent it in, and two days later they were flying me to Toronto for a callback with Ella. It was a forty-minute flight, so I only had time to listen to a few songs.

Then I got to the callback, and it went well, really well, actually. I met Megan, the casting directors, and some of the producers. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, so I just thought, “My work is done. If they like me, they like me. If they don’t, that’s out of my control.” Not even a week later, Megan called me when I was home in Montreal, and she said, “I just wanted to let you know I want you to be Ellis in the show.” I was obviously very emotional. It was a huge moment for me. I called my dad right away, crying, and said, “Dad, I got the part!” So yeah, that’s kind of how it went.

Let’s talk about the Megan Park of it all. Even with just two directing projects under her belt, she’s become known for emotionally charged, really resonant coming-of-age stories. What did you learn from her? What was it like getting her scripts?

So much! Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. We shot chronologically, so I only got one script at a time. When I read the first one, I thought, “Okay, this show is obviously very special.” As you said, Megan’s a genius at these coming-of-age stories, she has this power to connect with a younger audience, and it felt so authentic. It felt like a story I really wanted to be a part of because it felt real and modern. 

I’ve learned so much working with Megan. She’s a fantastic director, obviously, but she’s also a fantastic human, and we got the chance to get close with her. I think that’s a privilege as an actor – to get really close with your director, because then on set it just doesn’t feel like work anymore. It just feels like you’re having fun with your friends. 

From the very first days on set, I remember her telling us, “I know you guys learn your lines, but please go off script. I want this to be authentic. I just want you guys to improvise, if you feel like saying anything, just say it.” That took a big weight off your shoulders. Especially for a lot of us, with this being our biggest project yet, I was really nervous going into the first few days, and her telling us that helped a lot. I was like, “Okay, this is going to be really fun, and I’m really excited.” From there we just built on it. We’d have meetings with her where we’d talk about character arcs, and we’d have table reads where we all read the script together, and we’d understand the characters on a deeper level. Also getting to know their environment and what Megan really wanted us to portray. What are their manners? How do they walk? How do they talk? All that kind of stuff. Megan is just incredible. I’ve learned so much from her, and I genuinely mean it when I say this: I left this project a better actor from working with Megan and the whole cast.

Yeah, I wanted to talk about the cast as well. It’s an ensemble show, and it’s a lucky one because you’re getting to work with a lot of actors your own age that have varying levels of experience. Were there acting dynamics that you found with them that you’re going to take with you into your next projects?

Absolutely. We were in Toronto shooting in studios for the first two episodes, but once we got up to Muskoka, I got to see everyone more and learn from the actors with theater backgrounds. You definitely see the difference in the work ethic, in preparation, in how they study the script, how they go into scenes. Ella, Daniel and Nico, I feel like I’ve learned so much from them, from their work ethic to their note-taking. I remember Ella had this timeline that she wrote on this big piece of paper for her character arc, and that was very inspiring to me, so I made one myself. I learned so much from everyone, but I had a lot of scenes with Ella, and her work ethic was unmatched. 

Did you learn your arc from the start? Because you said you got one script at a time. Did you know where you were gonna end?

No, that’s the thing, we never really knew what was going to happen in the next episode, so that was always fun, especially at the table reads, because we were on the edge of our seats. But even if we didn’t know what was coming, we could build a timeline from what had already happened to figure out where your character was by that specific episode.

And speaking of your process, I read that you said that you felt Ellis was very much like you and you could merge with yourself. Is that how you work best, or do you also need a separation?

Some actors say that at the end of the day, “Okay, I’m finally washing it off in the shower, I’m back to myself.” It feels good to have that time to remember who you are, especially if you’re playing a villain or some crazy character. But with Ellis, I feel like we’re alike in a lot of ways, especially in background. He grew up on lakes in Muskoka, I grew up on lakes in rural Quebec, so I felt this connection with him right away. My goal was to make him as authentic as possible, so I didn’t have to go full method and be Ellis on my days off, because we’re already alike in a lot of ways.

I felt that connection from the start, from the logline and his description in the audition email. I wanted to make him this quiet, hardworking teen, I didn’t have to dig too deep, I just felt like my job was to play him as authentically as I could. Ellis embraces Annie, he’s grounding for her. 

Did you at any point think more big picture and think about the fact that you’re playing one of the romantic leads? Because there’s a balance with making the audience fall in love with Ellis while also playing someone falling themselves. Did you think about that or not at all?

Honestly, I’ve kind of thought about it, but there’s just something different about this show. It didn’t feel, right off the bat, like I was getting into it as a romantic lead, so I didn’t really think of it that way. Obviously you can compare it to a bunch of other shows with romance and love triangles and the bad boy and the good boy, but it felt so different in that way. The love triangle that’s in the show is not the typical good boy-bad boy and she-has-to-pick. You’ll see, it’s very heart-wrenching. Megan did a fantastic job building these arcs.

So no, I didn’t really think about it that way. I was just going into it kind of blindfolded, because I never knew what was going to happen, I was just building Ellis. He repairs boats, works with his dad, grew up without a phone, he’s a very chill guy. That’s how I thought of him. I don’t think I wanted the pressure of being “the romantic lead.” It’s only now, doing press and hearing people talk about it, that I’m like, “Oh yeah, right, I am a romantic lead.”

That’s probably a healthy way to think about it! There’s already a lot of pressure with being on a show that has the potential to be big. And the potential to bring new eyes to you. You’ve been acting for nine years, is there a project in your filmography that you hope people will go back and look at once they discover you? 

Oh my God, I still have a hard time watching myself. I am my biggest critic, so I wouldn’t recommend people go watch my stuff. Most of it’s in French, so they won’t understand it anyway. [laughs] No, I’m kidding. But it really is hard to watch myself, and I wouldn’t encourage people to go watch my older stuff.

[laughs] You can’t say that!

I mean, if people are curious, then obviously there’s a bunch of projects that I’m super proud of. But as an actor, I’ve never watched a scene I’m in and thought, “I just killed that, I’m the shit, nobody’s ever gonna top this!” I’m always thinking I could have done better. I don’t know. I’m just my biggest critic. But if people are curious, I’ve been on this hockey show, not Heated Rivalry, another hockey show. 

It’s a French YA hockey show set in Quebec called First Line. I was also a lead in that playing the captain of the team, and I’m super proud of that project. It was the first time I actually made best friends that I’m still friends with to this day. I’d made friends on sets before, obviously, but life goes on and you get older. On that set, though, we were all really close. I was nineteen when we shot season one, and we shot three seasons total. That really opened my eyes to what it’s like meeting actors your own age and connecting on a deeper level. And on Sterling Point, it was exactly that. It just makes it so much more fun going to work with your best friends.

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Most of your previous credits are in French. You also speak English, and do you also speak Algonquin from growing up on the reserve? 
I was trilingual as a kid. I went to preschool on the res, but then went to French school, so I kind of lost it over the years, especially since I moved away when I was ten. I’d love to go back one day and learn it again. It’s complex, and there are so many variants of the language, but my mom speaks it very well.

I suppose you’ve always been code-switching, since you were a kid. You’re speaking French, you’re speaking English, you’re living on the reserve, it’s a lot of selves. Do you think that’s helped with acting?
Absolutely. I feel really blessed that my mom speaks mostly English with a little French, and my dad speaks mostly French with a little English. I don’t know how that worked out. But growing up speaking both definitely helped me and opened a lot of doors. Within the film industry in Quebec, not everyone gets the chance to speak English, and people would tell me I was lucky to have that. I ended up auditioning in English and eventually landed Sterling Point, which is the most insane thing ever, I’m just so lucky.

Growing up code-switching, speaking both languages, moving from town to town, making new friends at such an early age, it builds your character. I was on the shyer side, and I still am, but I was forced out of my comfort zone. So it definitely helped my acting career.

You don’t currently have a lot of social media presence, which I thought was very cool in a time when people think that’s so important for acting, is that intentional, or are you waiting for the right time?
I guess it’s intentional? I don’t know, I’m working on it but I have this problem with thinking about what people will think of me. When I was ten or eleven, I would post the most ridiculous things, but that’s gone now. For now, I would say I feel ready to post content for the show, but I was waiting for the right moment and good content. I’m not the biggest social media guy, but I will be, I’m working on it! 

I heard you rented jet skis for a day with your castmates and had a bit of an adrenaline rush. Do you want to tell me about that day?
That was our last weekend in Muskoka. We were about to head back to Toronto, so we rented a cottage to spend as much time there as possible, everyone had fallen in love with Muskoka. We’d been staying in this big hotel, and we were like, “No, let’s rent our own cottage.” We went jet skiing, we went tubing, and it was really fun. I’d never ridden a jet ski before, so that was a blast, they go crazy fast! We wanted to get in the water one last time before the show ended, and it was emotional, having us all there together.

Well, hopefully you get to go back for season two. 

Fingers crossed! I really hope we get that. 

Sterling Point is streaming now on Prime Video

Interview Natalia Albin  

Photography Steve Limones

Creative Direction Alek&Stephanie

Movement James Luke Burke

Photo Assistant Nick Ahmet

Styling Aisha Dandia

Grooming Sonia Lee for Exclusive Artists using Armani Beauty

Production & Location BELLO Media Group