Trickster’s Joel Oulette Talks Bringing an Indigenous Hero to The CW

Trickster, the Canadian import airing its debut on The CW on Tuesday, January 12th, is unlike any show we’ve had on American television before now. The series features a lead cast that is almost entirely Indigenous and First Nations talent, assembling to tell a modern Indigenous story of what happens when Raven, the Trickster, shows up in a village in British Columbia.

Raven, or Wee’git, appears in the guide of a man named Wade (Kalani Queypo), who we see attempting to steal a child from a troubled woman named Maggie (Crystal Lightning) in the opening moments of the series. Wade returns 17 years later, touting a mysterious connection to the series’ protagonist, Jared (played by Joel Oulette), Maggie’s son, who is now a teen who’s barely keeping it together. Joel took some time to talk with The Mary Sue about what it means to bring an Indigenous story to such a wide audience and the challenges of carrying a series for the first time.

(Some quotes have been edited for clarity).

The Mary Sue: So, I’ve seen the first two episodes of Trickster and it’s such a fascinating show. It really feels like the first of its kind, especially for American audiences to have a mainly Indigenous cast telling an Indigenous story. So how does it feel? What does it mean to you to be part of that? 

Joel Oulette: I mean, it feels amazing. All the films that I’ve been in have been Indigenous and I am just grateful to be a part of that, and just trying to tell Indigenous stories and get them out there to as far as they can go. And I feel like when I first went on Trickster, that was just groundbreaking because I didn’t really know what I was stepping into. I was really nervous, but just seeing all the diversity around me and just like these amazing, actors … And I feel like America is going to be blown away by what they are going to witness with this being an all-Indigenous amazing cast.

It’s so refreshing to watch. And I like that the show doesn’t make any of these protagonists perfect saints. Everyone is very complex. These are very complex characters with complex issues and they reflect some of the many of the issues facing real Indigenous people.

Yeah. Intergenerational trauma, you know, that’s one of the topics that’s brought up a lot and no one really knows how native people are still affected to this day. If you think about it, some people’s parents went to residential schools; with what they did in those schools, that definitely carries on through generations. Just seeing this story come about and showing you it’s still real, it’s still like happening. Showing you that Indigenous people have a lot of power in what they do and the stories they create. This is the attention that they need; that we need.

I love how this show integrates some of my favorite Pacific Coast myths and figures. What was your relationship to the folklore this show explores before you were cast?

I’d known of the Raven, who is like a sick part of the show. With my culture Cree, it’s different, [but] Trickster based is off of Haisla, which is the Raven. The Raven, it’s the person who’s kinda mischievous, but he’s also really wise and really, really full of stories and he teaches you, but he also can play with you and mess around with you too. And in a fun way.

As an actor, you had a really big job coming into this show. Not only are you at the forefront of this show that is breaking so many boundaries, but you’re on screen for like 90% of this show. You had a lot on your plate. So were there any challenges or was it intimidating or fun?

Like what I said before, it was so intimidating from the start. I was fresh out of high school. I think I did one film, one short film before, and I was still new to it and I didn’t understand what it meant on the big scale. And just getting thrown into that, it was awesome to get put out of your comfort zone in such a unique way, so it really taught me a lot. I’ve had a lot of mentors too. Kalani and Crystal helped me out so much … I don’t think I could have pulled it off without them.

Can you tell us a bit about the show? I think some people have described it as Supernatural or Stranger Things meets Breaking Bad. Jared starts the series making drugs, so it’s got that it’s got a grittier element than a lot of the other kind of supernatural shows we’ve seen.

Yeah, no, it definitely is. There’s a sense of realness to it. I feel like a lot of people can relate to a lot of the things that the characters are going through … That’s a very good comparison though. I feel like I heard a lot of people say Stranger Things and Breaking Bad. Yeah. I think that’s spot-on too. I mean, you got a little bit of everything in which is so exciting.

Tell us about your character, Jared, and who he is at the beginning of the show and what his journey is?

You start out and you see Jared, just a regular, you know, 17-year-old Indigenous kid, living in a Haisla village. You see him being the parent to his parents, he’s the most mature one in his household and that’s really iconic in itself because you don’t see that a lot—with the kids making their mom’s fish sticks all the time and taking care of them. But you see him start to question things because characters and strangers that come into his life and tell him some news that just flips his world upside down, and he’s on this pathway to figuring out who he really is. Jared is trying to keep it all together. He’s the glue to everything I think. And when he starts seeing things and starts hearing things, it’s just it’s too much.

For you, as a young Indigenous actor, what does it mean to you that other young Indigenous actors are going to be seeing this on TV and see you? 

You know, thinking of myself as a kid and being Indigenous, you never really see a lot of Indigenous TV shows or anything like that … you know, you see Tonto and you’re just like, no. When people see this, I think they’re going to feel more confident in themselves. And it’s pretty much like a native superhero and that’s what the world needs right now, more diversity in TV and film. And you’re going to see it rise even more and more and more over the years, which I’m just really excited to see.

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Trickster Premieres on Tuesday, January 12th at 9:00 on The CW.

(images: Siena Films/THe CW)

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