Kahnawà:ke actress nominated for Canadian screen award

A few years ago, Brittany LeBorgne, 31, was about to give up on her dream of becoming an actress. It was a dream she kept alive since she was a five-year-old girl, playing dress up and performing for large imaginary audiences.

Fighting her self-doubt during what she calls her “Debbie-Downer period,” she decided to give it another shot after the then TV pilot series Mohawk Girls landed its first season in 2011.

Fast-forward five years, and LeBorgne is now a nominee for the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards (CSA) in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role.

“I never thought I’d be nominated so early in my career,” confessed LeBorgne. “You never think it’s going to happen for your first big role.”

Leborgne’s first big role is as Zoe in APTN’s Mohawk Girls, a Type-A personality perfectionist Mohawk girl who escapes from her pent-up frustrations with some kinky sex.

“She takes me out of my comfort zone, and that’s always a challenge. As an actor, it’s good to push yourself and do things that are out of your comfort zone because that’s how you grow.’

LeBorgne is up against Belinda Cornish (Tiny Plastic Men), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), and, most notably, Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), who many have seen in Home Alone, Beetlejuice, and Waiting for Guffman.

“It’s sort of unreal that I am up against Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy!” said LeBorgne, who is admittedly a huge fan of Schitt’s Creek. “Catherine O’Hara is such a brilliant comedic actress, I can only aspire to one day be as great as she.”

APTN’s Mohawk Girls is also nominated for ‘Best Comedy’, ‘Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series’ (Tracey Deer), and ‘Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series’ (Cynthia Knight).

The TV series began filming Season 1 in 2013. It finished airing Season 3 late last year, and has been approved for Season 4.

Mohawk Girls creator and director Tracey Deer describes the show as “Sex and the City for the Native set.” Deer was the first Mohawk woman to win a Gemini Award for her documentary, Club Native.

The CSA gala will be held in Toronto on March 13th.

(Watch LeBorgne act out one of Zoe’s hilarious kinky sex scenes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSIOy0n5A8M)