Indigenous podcast, “Actors & Ancestors”, announces new season launching on National Indigenous Peoples Day

Hot on the heels of a celebrated Season 1, with guests including Reservation Dogs star, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Smoke Signals legend, Evan Adams, Joel D. Montgrand’s podcast for Indigenous actors shows no signs of stopping. Actors & Ancestors announces its Season 2 launch with a trailer released for National Indigenous History Month. Montgrand was recently awarded a competitive podcasting grant from the Indigenous Screen Office to support compelling Indigenous-controlled storytelling.

Montgrand is the creator, host, and producer of Actors & Ancestors, a podcast designed to celebrate Indigenous actors, uplift their communities, and help push the industry towards more meaningful representation of Indigenous Peoples beyond Hollywood stereotypes. Montgrand is a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and grew up in Northern Saskatchewan in Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 territories. He has been a guest on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories (aka Vancouver, BC) since 2011, pursuing his acting career.

Montgrand hit more than 12 million TV screens earlier this year in the eagerly-anticipated release of HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, where he plays the lovable bartender, Eddie Qavvik. The Hollywood Reporter’s Chief TV Critic called his performance “the best male performance of the season” alongside Jodie Foster and Kali Reis (who appears in Season 1 of Actors & Ancestors). Montgrand followed up his True Detective success with a role in another of the most anticipated TV shows of 2024 – Netflix’s live action Avatar: The Last Airbender, where he features among many other Indigenous stars. Montgrand’s growing influence and infectious energy fuels this laughter-filled podcast as he invites the listener along on his career journey.

The second season of Actors & Ancestors will continue in the playful and subversive vein of Season 1 with stories of success and setbacks from different Indigenous actors. Aspiring actors will learn from guests’ wisdom and industry decision-makers will hear about what they can change. This season plans to include stars like Dallas Goldtooth (Reservation Dogs) and Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds), working actors and performing artists like Rainbow Dickerson (Beans) and Paul Rabliauskas (Acting Good), as well as emerging young actors like Kiawentiio (Avatar: The Last Airbender).

Montgrand creates the podcast out of his home studio with his audio editor, Daniella Barreto, who supports recording and post-production. The first episode of Actors & Ancestors’ new season will air during National Indigenous History Month on June 21, 2024 – National Indigenous Peoples Day.

About the host

The host of Actors & Ancestors, Joel D. Montgrand, is originally from Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 territories in Northern Saskatchewan. He is Rocky Cree and grew up in LaRonge, Saskatchewan. He is currently a guest on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories in Vancouver, BC. Montgrand appears in two major 2024 projects: True Detective: Night Country as Eddie Qavvik, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, as Hakoda. He is also known for his role in Beans, a story of Kahnawà:ke and Kanehsatà:ke resistance to settler colonial violence (aka The Oka Crisis). Montgrand is represented by The Characters Talent Agency and managed by Circle of Confusion.

About the show

Actors & Ancestors is a film and TV podcast that celebrates Indigenous actors, talks back to industry stereotypes and looks to the future of Indigenous Peoples on screen. The show is created, hosted, and produced by Joel D. Montgrand with audio editing and production support from Daniella Barreto.