Rossif Sutherland – Episode 116

 

Don’t miss this interview as Rossif talks about his move into acting, why he’s a storyteller at heart and why he feels “we’re all in this together.”

Check out the quote from him below in a recent Toronto Sun article by Jane Stevenson.

“I don’t mean to be existential or anything, but we find ourselves in this world with all these questions and so few answers and then we try and educate these beautiful children of ours and we try and guide them through one generation to another, we adopt whatever mistakes the previous generation has made. There’s a whole cycle to it all. This war, and this constant answer of correcting a wrong with another wrong. I hope one day…we get to accept each other and celebrate each others differences and in those differences realize how we are one and the same.”

Film Synopsis

IMDB here

Paul Gross (Passchendaele) directs and co-stars in this taut war drama about Canadian troops in Afghanistan weathering Taliban attacks while struggling to complete construction on a crucial highway link.

Writer-director-star Paul Gross’ new film portrays the heroic duties undertaken by Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan with the same gut-wrenching immediacy that Gross brought to the blood-soaked Belgian battlefields of World War I in his epic Passchendaele. Hyena Road is a masterful examination of modern warfare that drops viewers straight into the belly of the beast.

Depicting an embattled Canadian- American initiative to increase safe transport across Afghanistan, Hyena Road is a group portrait of men and women at work in a dangerous and often confounding conflict zone.

We meet a sniper (Rossif Sutherland who becomes precariously implicated in the life of one of his targets — as well as the life of an alluring colleague (Christine Horne). There’s an intelligence officer whose customary world-weary wisecracks — “Even the dirt is hostile” — veil a fundamental belief in the ethics of war.

And the film introduces us to a legendary former mujahid known as The Ghost (Neamat Arghandabi) who, for mysterious reasons, is lured back into the battle zone to assist the Canadian forces.

All these characters’ trajectories collide in ways that illustrate the triumphs and frustrations that occur amid the moral uncertainty of war. Alternating between relatively tranquil scenes of life at the base and adrenalized sequences that thrust us into the heat of battle, Gross orchestrates a cinematic symphony of soldiering: the highs and lows, the brotherhood and barbarity.

Hyena Road does what great war movies can do: it carefully examines the plight of a few so as to speak to the experience of many.

Biography

Rossif Sutherland, an established performer in Music, Film and Television has developed an extensive resume.

Film credits include “Big Muddy” directed by Jefferson Moneo, “I’m Yours” opposite Karine Vanasse, Gary Yates’ feature film “High Life” opposite Timothy Olyphant and Joe Anderson for which received a Genie nomination, and the critically acclaimed Clement Virgo feature “Poor Boy’s Game” opposite Danny Glover all of which premiered The Toronto International Film Festival. Others include “Timeline”, a Paramount feature directed by Richard Donner as well as the independent feature film “Red Doors” directed by Georgia Lee. Most recently he just completed filming a supporting role in ‘Back Country’ opposite Joel Kinnaman and the starring role in ‘River’ directed by Jamie Dagg which shot in Laos.

In Television, Sutherland has had recurring guest spots on shows such as NBC’s “Crossing Lines” and BBCA’s “Copper” with other guest starring roles in TMN’s “Living In Your Car”; “Monk” and “Being Erica” and “Cracked” for CBC as well as a recurring role in season 10 of NBC’s hit show “ER”. He’s been series regular on Showcase’s “King” and the hit show “Reign” for the CW. When he’s not acting, he is busy recording his music.

Rossif also joined me, along with Jamie Dagg, to talk about their film River.