Rylan Oleksyn has acted in a number of films and shows including 'Hitler's Last Stand' where he played a soldier last year.

By Mat Barrett

Back in Sask.

Tisdale actor coming back to Saskatchewan to film commercial with SGI

Aug 6, 2020 | 3:35 PM

An actor who was born and raised in Tisdale is making his way back to the Prairies to film a commercial.

Rylan Oleksyn, who has lived in British Columbia for about 10 years, will be making his way back to Saskatchewan later this month to film a commercial with SGI. He said after numerous auditions for different roles, his home province called him back.

“Sure enough it was SGI that comes calling for this one later on this month,” Oleksyn said. “So, I get to come home and do a little bit of work in Saskatchewan.”

Oleksyn said the Saskatchewan film industry has struggled in recent years due to the tax credit being cut by the provincial government.

“It’s great to have something filming, to have a camera rolling, and for me to be a part of it” he said. “I’m super pumped to be doing anything in Saskatchewan.”

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(submitted photo/Rylan Oleksyn)

Oleksyn’s passion for acting came from Harry Potter, he said, adding he became interested in the industry after watching the film series. That led to taking drama classes in high school, and as a hockey player, he was able to convince a few teammates to join as well. Then, after moving out to Vancouver, Oleksyn said he fell in love with the industry.

“Some of the most honest human moments I’ve ever had in my life have been acting in scenes under completely false pretenses,” Oleksyn told northeastNOW. “You get to feel a lot of things, you get to experience a lot of things, you get to approach life from a bunch of different angles I think, and so that’s what kind of keeps me going right now.”

On top of his acting, Oleksyn also ventured into the producing side of the industry. It began with a few short films and web series, but recently he helped produce a feature film.

It’s called The Color Rose, and he hopes for it to be on screens very soon. It’s also been nominated for five Leo Awards, which are for film excellence in B.C.

He said producing is a way for him to be able to take charge of his own career. Oleksyn said it’s an exciting experience as he’s fallen in love with both acting and producing.

“I thought I was going to be in Hollywood, and be a movie star by the time I was 19,” Oleksyn said. “And it didn’t turn out that way.”

Meanwhile, COVID-19 has also had an effect on Oleksyn’s career, but there have been some benefits, he said. He said auditions have been exclusively online and actors can apply for roles by submitting videos of themselves. He said the positive is actors can send their videos anywhere, leading to new opportunities with producers and companies abroad.

For the future, Oleksyn said he’s trying to sell a television show about a hockey player from Saskatchewan. He hopes to be able to shoot a lot of it in the province, but that may difficult with the current safety protocols.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6