The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Audio) - The Secret to Being Canadian Famous

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

Do we have an addiction to fame in Canada, is it even possible? TVO joins the hilarious Connie Wang on the red carpet at TO Webfest, where our up-and-coming stars and creators of tomorrow go to support each other. We ask filmmakers why fame in Canada feels so elusive and what really drives them to create. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uh, I'm gonna get changed, so... Thank you so much! You're so great! You're so great! Alright! My name is Connie... Wanger Wong. Um, it's Connie Wong. Yeah, thank you!

I'm an actress. I actually got started here at TIA Web Fest. I was the lead in tokens. And yeah, thank you. And I remember being a part of the festival in like year two or year three. So it's really cool to see, I think we're on like year nine or something

to really just grow together. Yep, so I have a standout special called Canadian Famous. Hashtag Canadian Famous. That's right. This is what it looks like to be Canadian Famous. We're here in a basement. Thank you. We're keeping a nice face because they

don't know who the f*** I am. So yeah, I'm an actress, and I'm Canadian famous, which means nobody knows me. And there's, like, a little bit of discomfort when I am known. And then that's just where I'm at in my career, because it's not familiar for me to be recognized on the street by strangers. But, like, one time time I was at a restaurant

with my best friend and my fiance was with me. And then the host was like, I know you. I'm like, no you don't. He's like, yeah, you're that girl and you do this. And I was like, I don't know what you're talking about. And my best friend's like, he's talking about you. And then he has to go on his Instagram to show me me I'm sorry I've been following you for quite some time now some do some do know me famous in

Canada so actually the Simpsons this morning and this Homer asked his dad what is it like to be famous is that's we know everybody knows your name and you don't have to know anybody else's name. But famous in Canada means that you know everybody else's name and no one knows your name. You're not on the watch, are you? My name's Willard. Willard?

Willard Red. Sarah. Sarah, that's right. I was working at a bar downtown and someone had just come in and was like, wait, were you in that friend show, like Drink of Choice? And I was like, uh, yeah. They're like, oh, I saw it like three times. You were so choice? And I was like, uh, yeah. They're like, oh, I saw it, like, three times.

You were so good. And I was like, oh, thank you. I'm going to serve you now. There's clearly, like, a complex, right, that Canadians buy into themselves about what is Canadian famous. I work a lot in French Canada. French Canada has a legitimate star system. They have tabloid magazines that follow people around. Like, that a legitimate star system. They have tabloid magazines

that follow people around like that is a star system. Why? There's not that same competition from America, right? Just before this I went out to get a coffee and I had somebody stop me on the street. So I still have that happen to me multiple times a week. Why does that happen? That happens because a lot of people know me as the first Canadian to win Survivor and it was the American version of Survivor. I just wanna go out and I want someone to just be like,

not in like the industry setting and be like, hey, aren't you the guy from that show? And I'm like, yes. And then I'm like, yes, it happened. And then I'll probably text her right away and be like, oh my God, guess what just happened to me? I made it. How do you feel about being Canadian famous?

It's an interesting experience. Canadian famous people? Yeah. How do you feel about them? I love Alanis. I love Sarah McWalker. Love Justin Bieber. It's weird because like, all random person

on the street might know me, but everyone everyone else is like why do you know her? Yeah, nobody knows us, it's great. But we know each other! Canadian Famous is like when other artists know you. Yes! For now, for now. I think the running joke about Canada is you have to be successful elsewhere to be successful in Canada. It's like we don't support our own. I think that there's this misconception

that you're a Canadian, you go on an American show, then you come back home, and then everybody is banging on your door and offering you all of these opportunities. That is not how it works. I say that it's almost like, because I won this American show, I'm able to knock on somebody else's door,

and they're willing to open the door a bit and see what I have to say, but I still have door and they're willing to open the door a bit and see what I have to say But I still have to sell myself in order to open the door So it's still very much a bit of a calling card that makes the hustle just a little bit easier But they're still hustle. We have to make the change if we want to be supportive We have to support other communities work. When you have a show like Schitt's Creek I would say and like working moms moms, like stuff like that, who have gone on to like bigger platforms like Netflix for everyone else in the world to see,

I mean, we have Canadian stars, I guess, like Ryan Reynolds, right? But if you're talking about being famous in Canada? I think it's possible. Yeah, and we'll be famous soon, so just watch out for us. I mean, this is Canadian fame right here. I think it's really interesting to look at how we can keep our stars at home. I think we're so limited in Canada for a few reasons.

I think there's limits in terms of funding. There's also so many layoffs and so many budget cuts that we're even limited in terms of channels and places where there can be homes for our content. Luckily people are able to be independent and scrappy and find places online to put their content but in terms of you know those established channels and networks we just don't have as many opportunities here. We know how hard you have to work to produce a show especially in a city like Toronto. It's so busy and so expensive. You're always gonna have a lot of traffic in the background of all you take. Yep

I'm Isabella Shimuda. Today I pitched my show and I won Best Pitch. It's called Alicization. Look out for it. What is it like for you to be here at TL Wefos? Oh, it's incredible. I love being in the space where you get to see essentially the Queen's of Tomorrow. I'm very proud to make Canadian content and to have been celebrated by my peers. It's pretty cool. Okay, so what does successful mean to me? In career, it means being sustainable,

like being able to, and growing, like being proud of my work, but also growing and creating a foundation for myself. That's what success is for me, I would say, is sustainability and growth. So I've been performing since I came out of my mother. I, it's just one big old spectacle. English is actually my second language. I didn't even grow up speaking English. I spoke Mandarin. I, it's just one big old spectacle.

English is actually my second language. I didn't even grow up speaking English. I spoke Mandarin. I had to be put into ESL when I was five. My dad's like, she was born here, and they're like, she can't speak. So I'm very bi-cultural, and like very extreme cultural upbringing, which I'm very grateful for now, like in my 30s,

because it really gives me a strong point of view. Went to theater school, did the traditional route into acting. I was a full-time actress since 2018. Then once we hit like 2022, 23, when the Hollywood, the writer strikes started happening, it was dry for me and I was getting worried and I was like, you know what, I got a pivot.

I got a pivot and I remember waking up last year around March and being like, I love Netflix stand-up specials and I was like, I could totally do that. I mean, I'm an actress, like I'm a little bit myself. I'm like, why don't I just make a really long bit and just perform, like why don't I just make a really long bit and just perform? Like, why don't I act as a comedian?

That's kind of the take that I took. That's the angle that I took to get myself doing it. So then within six weeks last year, I created my one hour special, which is called Canadian Famous. Feel free to come closer. I don't bite. And that's when I really became a multi-hyphenate artist,

which I think is so important for any artist who wants to be sustainable these days. So that was my first stab at it, and it was successful. I sold out that show four days before. People were calling me for tickets, and I was like, I can't. Like, it was awesome. And it's such an authentic story too.

It's like so Canadian and just so pure. It's just so me. So that's why I'm so proud of it because it's vulnerable too. It's my stuff. So that's what I'm really proud of. Being successful means for me is being able to not have to have a side job and just do this full time. What's your side job?

I was a daycare teacher. Success as a Canadian filmmaker or slash creative is for me is creative fulfillment and finding people who share my sense of humor and enjoy what I make and then other people who wanna make more stuff with me. Success would be oh my gosh, I've seen Aced It and I feel seen, I feel heard and that's so important. So that is the success moment for me,

is having someone watch our show and then understand what that, I guess, means, that identity. Do you think we're a little addicted to fame in this country? I think so. And I'll speak about my own addiction to fame. It's like this needing to be for me when it's out of control, it's when I'm not heard for existing. And that's when it's out of control. But when I can hear

myself and when I speak and I like, I can hear me and people hear me and they look at me. But I don't need to be reaching for that fame that's out there. So that's my experience of fame. And then when I talk about fame too, it's also, then it's with career, then that's different. You do want exposure and attention for my business. That's an important part of Connie Wong, the actress, the comedian.

So I can see how it all gets collapsed with like personally feeling like wanting fame, because I feel like everybody in a way wants fame, but then when I really look at it, I think everyone just really wants to be heard and seen for who they are. And that's why we're so obsessed with fame, but when you get down to it, I don't think it's it.

For certain businesses and public figures, you need that for your career. But for everybody, every ordinary person, people just wanna be heard. you