The casting call for Gone Fishing came across my screen one afternoon. I had just finished a long hot day at work, covered in sweat I sighed and opened my phone to check for casting calls on Facebook. It was the first post to pop up on my screen. "Set in rural Alberta in the 70s, an abusive father takes his two children out to a fishing-hole" and after receiving the sides I laughed at my enthusiasm to play such a dark role. Under my laugh I was really scared, how am I going to play a father? I've never been a father, never been married, never had kids but.... I submitted anyway. Got the audition and filmed it with my sister later that week. We ran lines while the sun set and when it came time to record I could feel myself slip into character, I was prepared, I knew what I wanted and when I hit the record button I delivered one of my favourite audition tapes to this day. As I delivered my final line, the moment where the audience discovers whether my character had gone too far, whether his mind was fishing for the darkest solution, a single fly appeared, so light, so little. It buzzed around me while I stood, so still. In that moment there was peace, this tiny bug, the music of its wings so loud in such a quiet room. I didn't break character, how could I? Moments like these are rare, I basked in it, time stood still, for a moment my entire being became someone else and I knew this role was meant to find me. Days later my phone lights up, I receive an email... my sister the fly n' me booked the role, a group effort really. My sister is the best audition reader I've ever had with and the fly was a touch of fate and I was ecstatic! We filmed over the course of a couple days in Red Deer, the Red Deer River and surrounding areas. A year later Gone Fishing went on to festivals, where it won multiple awards. I was fortunate enough to be nominated as well. A special thank you to Tracey and Jesse Pickett for trusting me in the telling of their story.