Known for Indigenous roles in Letterkenny, Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs, Kaniehtiio Horn becomes “just a girl” in Alice, Darling.

If you’ve been reading about Canadian actress Kaniehtiio Horn lately, it’s probably for one of her Indigenous roles — say, the Canadian Screen Award-winning role of Tanis in Letterkenny, the supernatural deer lady in Reservation Dogs, or Villain Feather Day in the just-cancelled Rutherford Falls.

But one of Horn’s attractions in Alice, Darling, which has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, was that her character, Tess, was just “a girl.”

“I remember at one point thinking, ‘Is this character indigenous?’ They were like whatever,” Horn said in a Zoom interview, citing producers Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott. “And I was like, ‘Cute, okay, cool. So I’m just a chick.’”

It’s not that Horn isn’t proud of who she is and where she’s from — she still lives on the Kahnawake Reservation near Montreal, where she grew up. She plans to direct a TV series about her mother, Kahentinetha Horn, a former model known for his Indigenous activism, including during the 1990 Oka Crisis, also known as the Kanesatake Resistance.

As a four-year-old, Kaniehtiio had a chilling front-row view of the standoff between police, soldiers and Mohawks opposing the expansion of a golf course on sacred land near Oka, Que.: She was in the arms of her 14-year-old Sister Waneek (who later became a gold medal water polo player and Olympic champion) when violence broke out at the end of the siege and her sister was stabbed in the chest by a soldier’s bayonet.

So, yes, Horn is aware of the importance of Indigenous actors and characters on our screens.

“Every Indigenous person in entertainment is pushing things right now and we’re at the forefront of representation,” she said, “but it was really nice just playing a girl and the actor nerd in me loved those scenes, in who found it easy to dialogue…find out what motivates these people,” she said of Alice, Darling.

The film stars Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick as Alice, a woman in an abusive relationship, though she doesn’t characterize it that way, at least initially. The truth about her situation comes out during a vacation with her friends Sophie, played by Nigerian-American actress Wunmi Mosaku (“Loki”, “Lovecraft Country”), and Tess. Alice’s friend Simon is played by Canadian actor Charlie Carrick.

In the production notes for the film, Nolan, who co-founded the Toronto production company Babe Nation with Tapscott, noted that the film shifts the focus from abuse to the friendship between the women. “Ultimately, it’s a story of female resilience and empowerment.”

Horn liked the nuanced way the film treated Alice’s relationships.

“It’s not in your face, which I find psychologically more interesting. Dealing with those complicated relationships with friends, especially jealousy that can happen among girls – I mean, women are complicated. I just thought it was really well written and just a lot of fun bringing those relationships to life.”

Horn’s character, Tess, is described as a brilliant artist who is loyal and generous, but also bold, outspoken, and sometimes judgmental.

It’s more by accident than design, Horn said, that she plays so many strong female characters.

“I’m surrounded by strong women,” she said. “And I also think it’s a strength in a character to have flaws and admit that you have flaws. And so I hope there are layers to these characters that I’m playing.”

In Canada she is probably best known for the irreverent small town comedy Letterkenny on Crave. Her character, Tanis, is a tough indigenous woman, leader of her reservation, a loyal friend, and a savvy businessperson.

In Reservation Dogs, which launched its second season on Disney Plus this week, Horn plays the mythological deer lady who punishes bad men. And in Rutherford Falls, which Peacock canceled after two seasons last week, she’s gym owner Feather Day, a thorn in the side of aspiring Indigenous casino owner Terry Thomas, played by compatriot Michael Greyeyes.

Her other work includes the TV movie Moccasin Flats: Redemption, for which she was nominated for a Gemini Award; an ACTRA Award-winning role in the comedy The Trotsky; a Canadian Screen Award-nominated role on the web series Ghost BFF; and one of her favorite roles, hostess Gina in the alternative history drama The Man in the High Castle.

Horn had great difficulty getting cast for Indigenous roles early in her career, after completing the professional theater program at Dawson College in Montreal.

Her fair skin and blue eyes, coming from Mohawk and German-Scottish roots, meant she was passed over for roles that went to black actors.

“It’s been almost 20 years since I graduated from theater school and I never thought I would ever play an indigenous person,” she said. “And looking back, I think, well, that’s kind of sad, but at the time I just thought, well, it is what it is.”

Coincidentally, it was a non-Indigenous performer that cemented Horn’s interest in acting.

She acted in plays in elementary school, but it wasn’t until she saw Newmarket’s own Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in fifth grade that “it clicked, ‘Oh, this guy makes people laugh. This guy gets paid for it.’”

When Horn graduated as a classically trained actress, she felt like she could play anything, “so I just auditioned for everything.” Now, as a mom to a toddler, she’s more selective. “Having my son has really changed me in a sense that I value my time.”

She eventually started getting Indigenous jobs, usually when an Indigenous person was behind the camera. “The second I opened my mouth, they were like, ‘Oh yeah, she’s from the Rez,'” Horn said.

Horn becomes one of those Native Americans behind the camera, including on Letterkenny spinoff Shoresy, on which she is a consulting producer.

Having Indigenous peoples in all areas of production takes the stress out of Indigenous actors on set feeling like they represent an entire community, she said.

“It was a big part of my career,” said Horn. “So I hope that by being a part of ‘Shoresy’ I’ve really relieved a lot of stress from the (Indigenous) actors who were there…

“We need to encourage indigenous people not only to be directors, producers and actors, they also need to be involved in sound design and set dec (decoration), clothing (and) hair and makeup. We have to fill all these roles.”

But while that representation is vital, she added, “I really want to be known as an excellent actress, not an excellent Indigenous actress … hopefully Indigenous actors can play more roles where they’re just playing one person.”

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