Canadian actress Cara Gee stars opposite Harrison Ford in The Call of the Wild. We talked with Gee about expanding her family, taking on this role, and the wise advise she took from her granny.
Family Entourage: Are you a dog person? Did you have dog’s growing up?
Cara Gee: No, I didn’t have a dog. My husband wants a dog very badly and we were talking about getting one, and now we’re going to have a baby first. [Points to pregnant belly]
FE: So, as you’re about to have a child, how do you feel about making something you can watch with kids as a whole family?
Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
CG: Well that’s sort of taken on a whole new meaning for me now because I wasn’t pregnant when we shot it. So, now it definitely has taken on a depth of meaning, especially looking at the reverence for the natural world that we see in this and thinking about the next generation. Protecting the environment for that next generation is something that I think the film speaks to in an indirect way. We just get to experience the majesty of it, and hopefully that inspires some deeper respect.
FE: What do you hope audiences take away from your character?
CG: I’m an indigenous woman, I’m Ojibwe. I’m from Toronto, and that’s the area where my people are indigenous to. And in the film, I’m portraying a Tlingit women, that’s the nation that exists in that geography, and they basically invented dog sledding, that’s where that tradition comes from. So, I worked with a cultural advisor from the Tlingit nation whose granny was a musher, or a dogsledder, in the 1920s and ’30s. So, that’s a real tradition that was important to me to honor and respect, and to integrate that story into the larger tradition of The Call of the Wild was something that I felt really proud to do. When I was growing up, to see a woman staring in a movie like this, in this way is… I feel that responsibility, and that pride, and that is very important to me, and to hopefully inspire others to dream big.
And so I feel like for me, it’s all about telling this story, and any project I take on. You can’t necessarily feel like you’re doing it with the weight of that representation on your shoulders. You have to just do the work, and do it to the very best of your ability, that’s how I feel. So yeah, that’s how I represent, and how I hopefully will open doors for the next generation as the women who have come before me have.
RM: Because of your cultural background, and lack of representation on screen, how does it make you feel about playing your role?
CG: It is a responsibility that I am keenly aware of, and the rarity of a moment like this is not lost on me. I think it is really special, and I feel so lucky to be here and to be a part of this. I’ve worked really hard. There’s sort of certain stereotypes and ideas that people have about native people that you end up having to confront, and work through, and change people’s perception as you go perhaps. But my granny used to say “You can only change the world one person at a time.” And I think that’s very wise.
The Call of the Wild is in theatres February 21
