Sask. Indigenous content creator makes major TV debut

A Saskatchewan TikTok creator known for his "Indigenously Indigenous" comedy skits has made the jump to TV with a role on the series The Curse. 

Brett Mooswa is from Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, about 300 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. He said he started creating content on TikTok during the pandemic to bring laughter to others — and that eventually brought him to the attention of Nathan Fielder, the director and a lead actor on The Curse. 

He said a representative from the production team reached out to him to read for a part.

By the end of the process, Mooswa found himself in a "pinch-me" moment on set next to Emma Stone, who has starred in films including The Amazing Spider-Man, Zombieland and La La Land, for which she won the Oscar for best actress in 2017.

"My first time ever acting and I'm standing across from Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone," he said. "Every time I would try to say my lines, my head would go blank."

Mooswa said he got the opportunity to be on the show from creating his social media content and "just being who I am," and that carried through into his TV role.

After he auditioned for the part he was originally supposed to play, the director and production team decided to develop a new character, he said.

"What they wanted was essentially everything that I already did," he said. 

Mooswa said that when he first started making TikTok videos, he was hesitant because he didn't know if people would follow him.

"I started posting my own videos, my own kind of style and everything, and using my voice a lot," he said. "There was an Indigenous community there that was very supportive of what I was doing. Then it just took off like fire."

When it came time to be on the TV set, he said everyone there was supportive and they made it a really great experience. 

"This is something that I definitely want to continue doing," he said.

Mooswa said he wants to be a positive role model for Indigenous youth, to show them you can be your authentic self. 

"Opportunity comes just from being yourself, and just from putting yourself out there."