Being part of a major motion picture alongside stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio can be pretty heady stuff, no matter what your age is.
It can be even more overwhelming when you are eight years old and grew up far away from the Hollywood bright lights.
But young Isaiah Tootoosis of Poundmaker Cree Nation southwest of the Battlefords has taken his newfound fame in stride, calling it 鈥渟trange鈥�.
The young performer landed a role in The Revenant, in which he portrayed Hawk, the son of DiCaprio鈥檚 character Hugh Glass. Now the movie is out in theatres, including the Capitol in North Battleford, and it has picked up some major awards.
It鈥檚 something his parents, Rachel Berland and Jaired Tootoosis, still can鈥檛 believe.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually overwhelming,鈥� Rachel said. 鈥淲ith the whole experience it鈥檚 amazing.鈥�
Performing runs in the family. His great-grandfather was the late Gordon Tootoosis, the veteran Hollywood actor who appeared in such productions as North of 60 and Legends of the Fall and who lent his voice to Disney鈥檚 Pocahontas.
So the idea of Isaiah being part of a motion picture did not seem an outlandish one.
Family members learned of a casting call for a possible role in a movie, and decided to take Isaiah to Edmonton to audition.
Pictures of Isaiah were provided there, and he was called in to another audition in Calgary.
Through it all, family members were in the dark about exactly what production they were getting involved with.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know what movie he was actually auditioning for until we got the call that he got the part,鈥� Rachel said.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 mention what movie, or with who. They didn鈥檛 mention anything until he got the part. 鈥�
They got a big surprise three days after the Calgary auditions were over.
Not only did Isaiah get the part, but Leonardo DiCaprio was part of the cast and crew. It turned out Isaiah would be playing DiCaprio鈥檚 son in the movie.
The reality dawned on them: this was a major Hollywood motion picture Isaiah would be part of.听听
鈥淚t was amazing,鈥� Berland said. 鈥淚 basically cried with tears with him. I was so happy.鈥澨�
The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Gonz谩lez I帽谩rritu, would be shot in a number of different locations, with much of the shooting taking place nearby in Alberta and British Columbia.
However, Isaiah鈥檚 filming took place over several days in Los Angeles, Calif. He went to California for about 15 days during the summer months for his scenes, before school resumed.
Hollywood motion pictures are notorious for long hours of shooting. Isaiah nodded his head when he was asked if he worked some long days. He said he started work at 鈥渘ine in the afternoon,鈥� although Jaired believes it was actually seven in the morning when he would start.听
Those involved in a major motion picture are always kept well fed on the set and Isaiah was no exception; he said he ate pancakes and ham and eggs.
He had his own small trailer on the set, as other actors had.
When asked if it was intimidating to be around all the cameras during the scenes, Isaiah nodded his head.听听
The toughest part of his role was having his face painted by the makeup artist, an intensive process that took 鈥渇or hours,鈥� Isaiah said.听
Of course, a big highlight was meeting the legendary DiCaprio. But Jaired said his son didn鈥檛 realize how big a star he was while filming.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 really know who Leo DiCaprio was until we showed him a couple of movies, until he got back,鈥� said Jaired. They showed him Titanic, which DiCaprio had a major role in.听
After the shooting was over, Isaiah returned to his normal life and fit back in with his classmates when school resumed.
He is a student at St. Mary School and Isaiah said his classmates did not know about his movie role until the movie actually came out.
鈥淲hen they saw it, they just freaked out,鈥� Isaiah said.
An exciting moment for the family was when they went to the world premiere Dec. 16 at the famed TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
鈥淚鈥檒l never forget that experience. It was my first time flying,鈥� said Rachel, 鈥渕y first time leaving the country.鈥�
The rest of the cast was very excited to see Isaiah at the premiere. 鈥淓verybody adored him, he was the only child actor there,鈥� said Berland.
Jaired said some of the actors got emotional when they saw Isaiah. He explained a number of them had actually worked with Gordon Tootoosis before in various productions.
鈥淚 guess my grandfather inspired them to act,鈥� Jaired said.
A more modest 鈥減remiere鈥� for Isaiah was scheduled for the Capitol Theatre in North Battleford Jan. 22, where Isaiah signed posters and meet and greeted the fans between 5 and 7 p.m.
Some family members from Poundmaker Cree Nation were planning to be there as well for the occasion.
Ever since The Revenant was released, the excitement has just kept building for Isaiah Tootoosis and his family.
听鈥淎t first we didn鈥檛 really know how far the movie was going to go,鈥� said Jaired. But the accolades and attention has rolled in with some major award nominations.
The family watched the Golden Globe awards and watched DiCaprio win Best Actor, and the movie itself, Best Motion Picture - Drama.
鈥淲e were all excited. We were all cheering in our living room,鈥� Jaired said.
The movie is also up for 12 Academy Awards and is considered a frontrunner to win the top prize there as well. And there could be more awards in store. They hope Isaiah can be nominated for a child actor award.
All in all, the family cannot believe Isaiah鈥檚 good fortune in being involved with such a successful production in The Revenant.听
鈥淚t just happened too fast,鈥� Rachel said, with Isaiah 鈥渂eing in a major movie and everything.鈥澨�
As for the future, Isaiah agrees he likes show business and wants to pursue more of it.
When asked what kind of movies he wanted to star in, he responded 鈥渟hark ones.鈥� The producers of 鈥淪harknado鈥� might want to take note.听
As for what kind of entertainment he liked watching the most, he responded 鈥淣ature shows!鈥�
But young Isaiah Tootoosis could yet decide to go a more athletic direction and follow the footsteps of another member of his family.
His other great-grandfather is Fred Sasakamoose, the first Aboriginal player in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Isaiah is a hockey player himself, playing left wing on his novice team where, he says, he鈥檚 scored a goal.
鈥淗e鈥檚 following both roads鈥� of his great-grandfathers, said Jaired. Perhaps it鈥檚 the bright lights of the NHL that could be in Isaiah Tootoosis鈥檚 future.
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Jaired Tootoosis and Rachel Berland stand with their son Isaiah Tootoosis, the young actor who plays Hawk in The Revenant alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. They stopped by the News-Optimist offices Wednesday afternoon.听 Photo by John CairnsIsaiah Tootoosis was at the Capitol Threatre in North Battleford to sign authographs prior to a screening of The Revenant听 Friday evening. Photo by Dustin Saracini
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