Halifax actor scores leading role in Fantasia Fest closing night film

By Jordan Parker

Halifax-born actor Nick Smyth was spinning his wheels doing commercial work when a darker role in stylized horror film For The Sake of Vicious came his way.

He was being recognized on the street for TSN commercials – and 7/11 ads weren’t all he wanted to be known for. That’s when he got a huge change of pace.

“This is a dark role, and I wasn’t the obvious choice. I must have appeared in 50 commercials on TSN in four years. I knew I wanted to get back into film, and this twisted part was a fantastic thing for me,” said Smyth.

He plays a father whose daughter is sexually assaulted. When the alleged perpetrator escapes traditional justice, Smyth’s character decides to take matters into his own hands.

“I’ve always been drawn to darker stories and characters, but no one gave me a shot to play one. I’m psyched to get this opportunity,” he said of the film, which is playing closing night at the popular Fantasia Festival in Montreal in September.

The actor began his career in a much different vein. He started at just 17 in a hugely popular show.

“I was on Street Cents, after doing my first real audition in high school. I was so petrified,” he said. “(Nova Scotian director) Andrea Dorfman hired me. I had no resume, no agent, and I was on the show for two years,” he said.

“I grew up watching it and seeing guys like Jonathan Torrens, and I always watched after school. To be in high school and be on the show was so trippy. It was one of few shows filming in Halifax at the time. This was pre-Trailer Park Boys.”

Following his stint on Street Cents, he pushed hard and ended up on MuchMusic, a stalwart for youth and music programming at the time.

From time on MuchOnDemand to Much Music Take Over and attending the 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards, he was all over.

“Perhaps the best gig for me was being on Video On Trial. I tried to be a part of MuchMusic for a long time. They flew me to Toronto when I was 20 to do sketches, but had nowhere to put me. I got brought back later, and things picked up,” he said.

“Back then, the show was so popular and everyone watched MuchMusic. It’s kind of sad that the Internet killed it.”

Smyth has consistently worked to some degree, from uncredited appearances in Barbershop 2 and Cinderella Man and the Entourage movie to a small role in Canadian show Flashpoint, and a ton of parts in short films.

But with Vicious, he’s fulfilling a huge dream as a horror genre fan.

The film is about a nurse, a tortured maniac and a suspicious maniac who have to fight against intruders as they descend upon their place of refuge on Halloween night.

“This is a fantastic character, and it’s so well written. It’s a beer and pizza movie with dark undertones,” he said.

He says the shoot was intense, but that was the way that everyone wanted it.

“We really pushed it during fight scenes and stunts. During one take, I ended up getting hit and smashing my forehead with a prop gun. I had this dent for four months after we wrapped, and wore it like a badge of honour,” he said.

“That’s the kind of movie we did. It was an all or nothing thing, and if you held back an inch it showed on camera.”

He further developed his relationship with a key person on set, in producer Avi Federgreen. He has been involved in films One Week, Score: A Hockey Musical, Still Mine and a ton of genre fare.

“He was amazing to work with, and because of this movie and connections I made on set, I ended up getting more really great work. I just did a movie that wrapped just as COVID was hitting, and I’m so thankful,” he said.

He’s so excited for the film to have its world premiere on closing night of Fantasia, and he never imagined his career could take this turn.

“The film is getting so much attention and buzz, and it’s cool for this to kick it all off. This is such a celebration of the horror genre, and there’s nothing like it,” he said. “I’m sad it’s virtual and I can’t watch with an audience, but now anyone in Canada can tune in. Even my grandma, even if this isn’t her type of movie, she’ll be proud.”

“I’m so excited for everyone to see this new role and everything I brought to this flick.”

The film screens virtually on September 2, 2020, at 7:30 p.m. More information about the film and festival can be found online.

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