A Prince George actor will walk the red carpet for the historic new entertainment awards for Canadian show business.
Steven Cree Molison, a feature actor in the hit series Blackstone, is a nominee in the lead dramatic actor category.
"The shock is still on," he said.
Molison is up against Flashpoint's Enrico Colantoni, Andra Fuller from The L.A. Complex, and Elias Koteas and Luke Mably both from Combat Hospital.
It has been a successful year for the Blackstone show, which also got a supporting female actor nomination for Georgina Lightning and a casting achievement nomination for Rhonda Fisekci, on top of other awards.
Molison has also had a personal run of success lately, winning the Leo Award - the top B.C. film industry trophy - for the same category. He acted in and was part of the production team for the movie Like A Tree In Which There Are Three Blackbirds, which won the Best International Feature trophy at the Los Angeles edition of the New York International Film Festival.
"I am definitely doing some exciting things right now, and having opportunities come towards me, which is a different position to be in, in this industry," he said. "But the next thing you know, you could be sent down the road. It's film. You can't take anything for granted. You have to just make hay while the sun shines, do the best work you can do when you get those opportunities, and enjoy the moments."
Blackstone took a production hiatus but will begin filming again on March 25 in Alberta, with air dates beginning in the fall on the APTN network. The show is a fictional depiction of a First Nation reserve and the ensuing drama for the people who live there. Molison said the writing is crafted to capture as much of the typical Canadian reserve life as possible.
"I actually think the show played a part in the whole Idle No More movement," he said. "It showed bands all across Canada that they weren't the only ones living in those conditions, it was a depiction that hit close to home all over the country. I think it drew a lot of attention and was a bit of a wake-up call."
Molison was not the only northern B.C. resident to pick up a nomination. Fort St. John's Jim Hughson is up against Rod Black, Bob Cole and Rod Smith in the best sports play-by-play announcer category for Hughson's work on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada.
The Canadian Screen Awards is a new amalgamation of the domestic movie industry's Genie Awards and the national television industry's Gemini Awards. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television married the two for the first time, making 2013 the year all of Canada's top entertainment stars will be in the same room at the same time, vying for the same trophies.
The awards take in all of Canada's domestic television (drama, news and sports), movie, short film, animation, documentary and online production work. The televised event will happen March 3.
