WAYNE BURNS TALKS FASTLOVE
"Stepping into it on screen wasn’t difficult"
Daniel John
How did you get your start with acting?
I started acting as a kid in school plays, first encouraged by my elementary school teacher, Jeanie Sears. I kept performing all through school, eventually auditioned for the National Theatre School of Canada, was accepted, and the rest is history.
Your first real job was in a video rental store, did that time do a lot for widening your interest in film and the variety of plots and themes they can explore?
It was pivotal to my interest in acting and to my understanding of film as a medium. Until then I’d only watched movies recreationally as entertainment, working at the video store introduced me to film as art. Suddenly, I had access to foreign cinema, indie projects, and big-budget blockbusters. A window into the many different ways stories could be told on screen. My favourite movie is 'Hard Candy' with Elliot Page and Patrick Wilson, it was the first film that truly impacted me and made me want to become an actor and filmmaker.
Watching great work on screen is one thing, but you’ve also shared the set with incredible talent such as Richard Gere?
Working with Richard Gere was a massive moment, we had a few days of rehearsal together, then a full day shooting our scene. He was professional, funny, and deeply encouraging. When we first met, he told me he knew I was “the kid” the moment he saw my audition. He said I had “it” and that I was the person he was most excited to work with, it was a brief but incredibly validating experience, to have someone like Richard Gere recognize what I had to offer and want to collaborate. I remember sitting across from him in the rehearsal room, imagining how Edward Norton or Renée Zellweger must have felt working with him, he’s an icon, and I hope we cross paths in the future.
Going back and forth between Toronto and New York, are there any differences navigating those two cities as an actor?
I haven’t put firm roots in New York yet but with dual-citizenship I am working toward being more mobile so I can spend more time there. It’s obviously a precarious time in the States, so there hasn’t been the same urgency to make the move recently. Toronto has become home, though I miss Nova Scotia terribly, whenever I’m away. Ultimately, I am aiming for a more flexible life, since my day-to-day work remains the same no matter which city I am in.
What trajectory led you to write, produce and direct in addition to acting?
I wanted more control over the roles and stories I was part of. I have been fortunate to play many great characters, but what brings me the most joy is playing to my strengths and showcasing my work as a well-rounded artist. As a producer, that joy comes from giving back to my community, supporting artists who might not otherwise have the resources to see their work made. And helping bring attention to stories that deserve it. Producing has become a huge part of my life, and I see it continuing in tandem with my acting career.
Do you keep your acting-self at a distance when writing or first approaching a project as a producer, or do you approach it as if you’re stepping into a character from the start?
I write through action, I tell the story standing up, moving through it, visualizing it before I am writing. I am not a sit behind the computer writing type of a person. I’d love to make more films like Mike Leigh does, where the actors build the movie over eight weeks in a studio through improvisation, and then the script is made from those "findings". Character-driven, visual pieces are truly at the core of my work.
In this film, a young man falls prey to an elusive hustler. What drew you to explore this story and character, and this vulnerability, that comes with inhabiting someone in that position, on screen?
Stepping into it on screen wasn’t difficult, it was deeply familiar. I’ve been developing variations of this piece since 2018 through live performance and video work. The film was inspired by my first foray into sex work, a dramatized reimagining of that night. I wanted to capture it on film, to reclaim what had felt like a cinematic moment in my life where I was powerless and transform it into one where I held full control, it was cathartic.
Can you see some sort of pattern in what draws you to tell a story?
Connection is what draws me to tell stories. As humans, we’re endlessly fascinated by one another, and every story, in some way, reaches back to our desire for attention and recognition. I make art to express myself, to explore emotions and ideas, and to invite others into those conversations and experiences.
