On the evening of Shannon Kook’s interview, I had just finished working my eight-to-five. I sat in my car with my laptop open, ready and expecting the usual interview process of questions and answers. Who would have thought that I would learn a thing or two about life? Interviewing Shannon Kook was, without a doubt, inspiring.
Down-to-earth, open-minded and extremely friendly are just a few ways I would describe Kook. Who asks a complete stranger how their day was? In my experience, not many, but that’s just a glimpse of Kook’s warm personality. Get to know “the UV light guy” from The Conjuring as he talks about adjusting to a new culture and his upcoming role in Dark Places. Perhaps he’ll inspire you, too!
Audrey Magazine: You were born in South Africa, but what is your ethnicity?
Shannon Kook: I was born in Johannesburg but I grew up in Cape Town too, because that’s where my mom’s from. My dad’s from Mauritius; he’s Hakka-born Chinese. My mom is Coloured. In South Africa that’s the technical term. That’s the proud ethnic term that we call ourselves. But “colored” in other regions of the world is a racist, misunderstood word. Coloured people have a mix of Malay, some black, some Indian descent. They look Guyanese or Dominican, some look black, some look white. But you can tell they’re Coloured by their accent. It’s hard to explain because Coloured culture isn’t really known around most of the world. It’s native to South Africa and it’s very predominant in Cape Town. It’s tricky to talk about but when you say you’re mixed, people don’t really understand what mixed is and what kind of mix. So it gets very complicated.
AM: How old were you when you moved to Canada?
SK: I was in my teens. I grew up there. All my roots and blueprints were formed in South Africa, and then I came to Canada and started to pursue acting.
AM: Did you attend school in Canada or did you go straight to acting?
SK: I went to the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. They audition all around the country and only accept twelve students a year. It’s pretty much the most prestigious theater school to get in to. I never expected to get in, but I had to try, because what can you do but try? I thought I’d give it a good shot and was surprised to get in. I guess I’ve been surprised continually along the way. I just knew I’d resent myself by not trying.
AM: Was it a difficult adjustment moving from South Africa to Canada?
SK: Yeah, it totally was. I’m a very friendly guy and the culture is completely different. Canada is a very multicultural place full of immigrants, but with immigrants, there are a lot of barriers and people trying to hold on to their culture and people feeling segregated from one another. People are very accepting, which is the beauty of Canada, but I found it hard to connect with people on a deeper level — it was tough. I was lonely for a long time. I’m an extremely friendly guy and I think people were suspicious of me. I was too friendly and that made people uncomfortable. But now, I’m very much at home. I love Canada and the open-mindedness of people.
AM: What influenced you to get into acting?
SK: Well, I always did it at school and as a hobby. I never thought it was something I could strive in. Then I finished school and my friends would join theater school and I didn’t. I tried to do accounting, which I’ve never done in school. From doing accounting, I realized I’m not the type of person to do something for the sake of doing it. I’m not the type of person to do something just to have a nine-to-five, and have stability and have a job. I started to realize I had to do something that actually speaks to me. The only thing I could feel that spoke to me at the time was acting. I can always change along the way and I’ll be fine.
AM: You’ve consistently done television when you were younger and you’ve grown into more movie roles. Do you prefer one to the other?
SK: I don’t prefer one over the other because they both have a different breath of life. I just accept it as it comes. I’ve liked the idea of not being attached to a role in film, but getting immersed in it for a short period of time. I’ve liked the idea of T.V. and being able to explore for a long period of time. I do like the option of getting to do different work.
I just booked my online TV series on YouTube called Carmilla, which is based on a novel. It’s a realm I think actors don’t do as much, because there isn’t much respect for it yet, the same way that TV is now getting a lot more big name actors. I think the same thing will happen with online content and a lot of things are moving in that direction.
AM: You play young Trey in the upcoming film, Dark Places. How would you describe his character?
SK: He’s a drug dealer, dabbles in dark magic and plays a big role. He’s a big influence on Ben Day and what he does in his spare time. [He’s] sort of the leader of the group; he’s the alpha male. He’s a bully and really pushes people around. He hurts animals and people, and it’s really to just make himself feel better. At the end of the day, he’s an outsider. He’s mixed and lives in a rural white town. He hasn’t felt accepted by his community, he hasn’t felt accepted by his culture, and he’s just a teen reacting in a very angry and hurtful way. He inflicts before he can be inflicted upon.
AM: Aside from Dark Places, you were also in The Conjuring. I’m a big fan of scary movies! Do you see yourself doing more horror films in the future?
SK: Yeah, definitely! I don’t turn any genre down. I don’t want to narrow my work to one genre. I’m open to all sorts of mediums of film.
AM: You have many hobbies, from singing to martial arts. Do you see yourself taking a break from acting and exploring music in the future?
SK: My first role was actually a musical called The Forbidden Phoenix, which was a wonderful experience. So I’d love to do more musicals and preserve that side of myself. I don’t know if I’d take a break from acting. I did have a music manager approach me and want me to record an album with him, but acting was taking up my time. I would like to get into directing. I’ve been taking some courses on that and I have my own studio where I shoot and coach actors. But music is definitely something I’m open to… and then writing a book or writing music. It’s all what you can set your mind to.
All photos courtesy of Gilles Toucas Photography.
