The Host
Who is Joel D. Montgrand?
Joel D. Montgrand is an actor with more than a decade of experience in the film industry. He is also your host on Actors and Ancestors! Originally from Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 in Northern Saskatchewan, he’s now a guest on the territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations in Vancouver, BC.
You’ll recognize him from HBO’s hit series True Detective: Night Country as Eddie Qavvik and Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender as Hakoda.
Join Joel as he ushers you behind the scenes and introduces you
to some of the brightest Indigenous stars the acting world has ever known.
Read his whole bio below, or, better yet— he’ll tell you himself on Episode 1 of the podcast!
More about Joel D. Montgrand
Joel D. Montgrand was raised by his mom, moshom, and his kokum, surrounded by five aunties, an uncle, and more cousins than he could count in La Ronge, Saskatchewan — the northernmost end of the longest highway in the province. He is Rocky Cree, a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. His dad is of white settler descent.
Joel knew he loved acting from his high school days. He auditioned as a joke for the high school musical thinking he would get detention for singing a rude song. Instead, he was cast as the lead. The bug bit. And after travelling the world, he came back to Canada and decided to scratch that itch by giving professional acting a shot.
One day he walked into his now-agent’s office, without headshots or an acting resume, and somehow convinced her to let him audition. She signed him immediately. He bagged role after role, including in the award-winning film, Beans— the story of Kahnawake resistance to settler colonial violence (aka The Oka Crisis).
Joel’s acting career has since skyrocketed and he’s now booking roles on Netflix and HBO shows. The Hollywood Reporter’s Chief Television Critic called his performance “the best male performance of the season” alongside Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in True Detective: Night Country.
It’s impossible for Joel to work on set and not leave with a few more good friends. The same charm and candour that disarmed his agent is the lifeblood of Actors and Ancestors— you’ll feel the warmth of Joel’s playful, adventurous spirit driving this show as soon as you hit play! What are you waiting for?
All photos by Daniella Barreto