13-year old Fil-Can wins lead actor Canadian Screen Award

13-year old Fil-Can wins lead actor Canadian Screen Award

By Michelle Chermaine Ramos
The Philippine Reporter

On April 10, 2022, 13-year-old Liam Diaz of Mississauga won the best lead actor Canadian Screen Award for his role in Scarborough where he plays Bing, a young boy living with his single mother as he deals with school bullies and poverty in a poor neighborhood after escaping domestic abuse. The movie nabbed the awards for Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, and Best First Feature Film for co-directors Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson. The movie is based on the 2017 award-winning novel of the same name by Catherine Hernandez. This is also Liam Diaz’s first film and he is one of the youngest awardees and the first Filipino in the history of the Canadian Screen Awards.

Liam Diaz playing young Barnum in a school play of The Greatest Showman in 2018

Diaz started out in school plays in fourth grade in 2017 and eventually took performing arts classes in 2018. Prior to getting into acting, he wanted to become a scientist. However, winning the award has inspired him to seriously consider acting as a career. In this interview, he shares his journey and his dreams for the future.

How did you get in this movie?

LD: I go to this Filipino performing arts school, JDL, short for Josie De Leon. And Tita Josie, the director, came up to my mom and asked if I wanted to be in a movie. Then one day, my mom asked me if I wanted to be in a movie. And I was like, yeah, that sounds cool.

I spoke with Shasha in a previous interview and she said they went through lots of kids just to find the right one for this role. What did you have to do for the audition?

Directors Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson with
Scarborough author Catherine Hernandez

LD: I had to prepare a song for my audition process. I sang Ben by Michael Jackson. And when I got there, they asked me what my name is, what my age was. They just asked me questions about myself and then I sang the song, and then that’s how it happened.

How did you prepare for this role? What was the most challenging part seeing the serious subject matter that the film addresses?

LD: To prepare for the role I had done a few acting things before in showcases and acting in school plays. The most difficult part of the film was probably, at least for me, it was probably the sad scenes. Yeah, it was definitely really difficult. I couldn’t get in most of the emotions right but we ended up getting through it and ended up all being fine.

When it comes to emoting the sad scenes, that can be challenging for some actors, even actors who are way older than you. How did you draw out those emotions?

LD: I was thinking of like, what facial expressions would be. And I was thinking about like shakiness in my voice for crying scenes. I really just applied those rules to acting and we ended up getting through it. That’s how the crying scenes happened.

How does winning the Canadian screen award make you feel, seeing that this is a huge achievement and you’re the first Filipino Canadian to win this and one of the youngest?

LD: I’m really proud. I want this for a lot of Filipinos, and hopefully they’re proud of me. A lot of my family is proud of me. My school is proud of me. And it just makes me really happy because I’m receiving so much support from people. It was just like happiness all over.

It’s only the beginning since this is your first film. When you started taking performing arts classes, was it more of a pastime or did you dream of seriously going into the performing arts? What inspired you to take those classes in the first place?

LD: So, my parents heard about these classes, and at the time, I really liked singing. I was always singing in my room in my free time so they just enrolled me. It was really fun there. There’s a lot of people and acting was originally just like on the sidelines. I wasn’t like, thinking of it as like an actual career. But now that it’s really blossomed, I think it will be my career.

Do you have any favorite Hollywood celebrities who you drew inspiration from?

LD: Zendaya. I watched her a lot on TV and she inspired me to act and sing. So, she’s like a big part of my acting career.

Who else would you most like to work with?

LD: Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s a very successful actor and I feel like he’d be fun to work with so he’s definitely like, number one on my list.

What’s your favorite movie?

LD: Probably Titanic.

Seeing that this has been a transformational experience for you now that you’re considering acting as a career choice in the future, what else did you learn from this experience, dealing with the people and the rest of the cast and crew and the subject matter that you guys tackled and now getting a screen award? How has your life changed or your outlook?

LD: It definitely improved. I was really shy going into the movie. And Bing, he just helped me bring it out because he is such an open character, an open person, and he definitely helped me step out of my comfort zone. And winning the award has improved my confidence. So, I’m definitely way happier knowing that I’m one of the youngest people to win a CSA.

What advice do you have for kids who are struggling with self esteem right now, and to the parents who might be hesitant to let their kids pursue the performing arts?

LD: Just to be themselves. In performing arts, you can’t hide your identity. And a lot of people in this industry support you and want you to be yourself. And that’s what I want for a bunch of people as well. I know a lot of people who hide themselves from others. And I feel like if they were open, they would honestly be way happier with themselves and with others.

READ PREVIOUS STORY HERE: https://philippinereporter.com/index.php/2022/02/25/scarborough-leads-awards-list/