Young actor saw parts of himself in daunting role

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It's an intense role that would try even the most experienced of actors: a young soldier is convicted of raping and killing 23 women during a racially charged civil war, only to be rescued from the hangman's rope by a victim's grieving mother to become her slave.

Stuart Pierre played the role of the soldier Stetko with unflinching confidence before a full house on preview night of The Monument at Vancouver's Performance Works theatre. The 27-year-old actor from the Katzie reserve on Barnston Island beat out a handful of contenders for the role and proved why he's got a solid career in the acting trade.

Pierre said he witnessed drug and alcohol abuse and endured racial slurs growing up. At 16 he "escaped" to Surrey, where he struggled to finish high school and fought the temptation to travel down the same path as his character.

Desperate for attention, Pierre said he got into "a bit of trouble," but eventually found an outlet in boxing.

"I just figured I'd be good at beating people up.

"The reactions I got from the ring was pretty cool," said Pierre during a break from rehearsal. "I felt affirmation and respect for my skills. I never felt that before."

Then, a chance invitation led to a life-changing decision to enroll in the Studio 58 acting program at Langara College. As one of only two-dozen students admitted to the program each year, Pierre was soon flooded with invitations to appear in plays, films and television shows, ranging from King Lear to Da Vinci's Inquest.

His Aboriginal heritage, said Pierre, has been a blessing and a curse in terms of casting.

"Sometimes [the casting directors] are looking for an Aboriginal person, but they want someone with long hair who rides horses. You know, the stereotypical Hollywood image.

"On the other hand, I've also been able to snatch roles that weren't specifically written for an Aboriginal person, and put my own spin on it, like the young soldier in The Monument."

Pierre said his tumultuous youth gave him special insight into the role of Stetko, who believed he was only doing what he was told in order to survive.

"There are things I look back now and think 'I wish I hadn't done that,' but I also know that if I hadn't, I wouldn't have survived," said Pierre. "Knowing about that shame and guilt, and how it feels to be judged by people really helped me with this role."

Aspiring to be the Al Pacino of his generation, Pierre even went as far as looking at gruesome war footage to understand what it's like to be desensitized to violence and cruelty.

"I pretty much traumatized myself, but it made me even more passionate about this play, because there are brothers and sisters on the other side of the world who are going through this right now."

The West Coast premiere of The Monument by Governor General's Award-winning playwright Colleen Wagner was produced by Felix Culpa and Rumble Productions and directed by David Bloom. It ran Nov. 11 to 27 at Performance Works on Granville Island.