Skene Kittle attends the Edmonton International Film Festival premiere of *Dark Match*. *Photo submitted*

By Tom Victoria

Skene Kittle shares his experiences with the world. As an actor, he makes people smile, cry and laugh.

The Canadian explained why he savors his craft.

“I have this thing that's coded into me where I desperately feel the need and the joy to share things with others,” he said. “It's not hard for me to enjoy things for myself. It's not hard for me to appreciate things on my own, but it just gives me such greater joy to share the experience with somebody else. If I was on a vacation and I saw this beautiful jungle sunset and it was the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen, I would feel remiss that somebody else wasn't there that I could show it to or just that experience.”

Skene, 22, said acting enables him to do that with every project.

“With acting and with filmmaking as a whole, it really tapped into that idea of being able to take these stories, take these characters, take these experiences and present them in a way that I can share with other people,” he said.

Skene said while many people pursue other pursuits, performing is his passion.

“They're like, oh, I want to be an engineer or a pilot,” he said. “There's a little voice in the back of my hand that says, why not acting? Why not something in theater? Why not something in cinema? Anything like that. And I'd have to remind myself that to them, that's their acting. But to me, it truly feels like there's nothing else in the world that invokes such a feeling of larger than life. It makes life makes sense to me.”

Skene answers questions at a film screening. *Photo by Shawn Goldberg*

Skene’s resume already lists a variety of work from history to horror.

HIs first major project was the horror film Dark Match, which was released last year.

“That was filmed in December of 2022,” he said. “I had started acting that year in February of 2022. I just did background, a commercial. When I got my first on-camera speaking role, it was for this movie, Dark Match. When I auditioned for it, I remember seeing on the call sheet it said some of these roles will be volunteer. And I was like, oh, okay, it's a little passion project.”

Skene discovered that was an erroneous assumption.

“I had gotten the role and they were emailing me about craft services (catering for film),” he said. “I'm like, okay, they're feeding us. They got some budget. This is nice.”

Skene then learned the production offered more than food.

“You had to be a local,” he said. “It was shooting in Edmonton. I'm in Calgary. I was like, I'm gonna stay with a friend and pretend I'm local. Fast forward now. They're putting me up in a hotel because they're like, we noticed that you're in Calgary. And I'm like, oh, they're gonna fire me. They realize I'm not local. But they're like, no, put you up in a hotel. I get to the hotel and it's gorgeous. It's beautiful. It's amazing. Okay. This turned into a big production.”

Skene noted there were professionals among the cast.

“As I was going to bed, I was just about to fall asleep and I was like, maybe I'll take a look at the call sheet one more time,” he said. “Just see who I'm working with because I hadn't done that yet. I'm reading down the names and take a second glance. Those sound awfully familiar. Surely that's not the Chris Jericho (pro wrestler, actor and singer). Certainly that's not Steven Ogg. I search it up and I'm starting to have a little panic attack of joy.”

Skene spread the news.

“I'm calling my mom,” he said. “She's freaking out. When I realized I was working with these incredible stars, it was unbelievable for me.”

Skene then portrayed a larger than life historical figure.

“My next big role was Legends of the Pony Express where I played Wild Bill Hickok,” he said. “We shot that in September of 2023. That was a really quick turnaround. That was because it was a documentary drama, really well done. It was amazing. It came out in March of 2024, so only a few months and still we were waiting on Dark Match.”

Skene’s wait was worth it.

“And then finally they announced that they were going to do the festival circuit,” he said. “So we did Montreal, we did Calgary, Edmonton. They went out into Madrid and Spain, Austria. I had also wrapped up finishing a project in March of 2024, so I'd already done two other projects while this one was still waiting to come out. And so when it finally did, it was really nice to reconnect with the cast.”

Skene said the screenings allowed him the opportunity to spend time with the other actors.

“When you're filming, socializing can be very secondary,” he said. “Everyone's there to do a job. Usually when it's all over and you have free time, you're too tired to do anything. During the festival circuits, after a screening there, we had the wonderful, incredible care of Dept. 9 Studios. The producers, they are unmatched in their generosity and their care and attention to making every experience as grand and as fun as it can be. Every screening, there's an after party. We go to a bar or a restaurant and they have food for us.”

Skene connected with the irrepressible Jericho, lead man for the band Fozzy.

“I had the opportunity to get closer to Chris Jericho, who is an extremely polite, nice person,” he said. “He loves to party and he loves to party with you. He's a really incredible guy. We also had the pleasure of working with a lot of other wrestlers on this movie, Mo Jabari, who plays Enigma.”

The movie’s plot entails members of a small wrestling company encountering a cult. Skene explained director and writer Lowell Dean’s inspiration.

“This movie takes place in the ‘80s,” he said. “The director said that it was inspired when he was growing up with Stampede Wrestling in Calgary and he grew up in Saskatchewan. The Hart family (whose most famous member is Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart) was a huge inspiration. I never really grew up on wrestling when I was a kid. I thought that they were trying to make it real and I was like, it's fake. As a 6-year-old, I was like, this is a scam. I didn't really understand it. I didn't get it. I'm a huge fan now though, needless to say.”

Skene said there are ample acting opportunities in the Great White North.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to audition for several high-end American productions,” he said. “Hollywood likes to pick between local stars. With more Hollywood projects being filmed in Canada, it is easier than ever to get good opportunities.”

However, Skene emphasized an important distinction.

“You can be a household Canadian actor and still be a no-name to Hollywood,” he said. “The rule of thumb is Vancouver is the L.A. of the north, that being where the majority of American projects are shot, and Toronto being the New York of the north, being where a lot of theater and music happens as well as a lot more Canadian Productions.”

Skene also poses for the lens wearing a variety of fashions.

“I model with Mode Models here based out of Calgary,” he said. “I started acting in February of 2022, and I started modeling in July or June of 2022. This is one thing that I find interesting is acting and modeling seem like they're siblings. They go hand in hand.”

With Skene’s gregarious nature, it’s not surprising he was destined to perform.

“It's literally the first thing I can remember,” he said. “I would be 4 years old and if I was bored, I would pretend there's a camera on me and I would perform for this invisible camera.”

As Skene matured, he worked on nonprofessional productions.

“As you start it, you got to do films with your friends or student films,” he said. “Usually those are ran by people who don't yet know how to make a movie. It can become very quickly chaos and it doesn't work out. Three times out of five, you're not gonna end up seeing that project.”

However, Skene still values that work.

“It still gives you that sense of I want to do that again,” he said. “I want to do that more. Even down to the auditioning.”

Skene eventually got his break.

“I always knew I wanted to get into it,” he said. “But I never figured out how to do it until my friend, who was already doing background acting and extra work messaged me one day and said, hey, I have a gig in a few days and my agent is asking if we have any friends because we need more extras because it's filming in Calgary and there's not really a market. I was like, absolutely, I'll help you out.”

Skene was sold on the career path since the first day filming for the Amazon television show High School.

“I got on set and from every step of the way, it was mind-blowing how almost better I even thought it was going to be,” he said. “How it completely nailed home that feeling of this is larger than life. This is what it's all about. It was a phenomenal experience that completely affirmed and cemented the fact that this is what I need to do with my life.”

Skene is enamored with every facet of acting.

“It's like when you're a kid going to a festival for the first time and you're like, this is so extraordinary,” he said. “And then doing your first scenes in background. And then when I got my first actual audition, I was breaking down, nervous. I was sweating. I was panicking. I just couldn't believe it. It was almost painful doing the audition. And then after you finish it, you send it in and you're like, I want to do that again. I want to try the scene again this way. I want to do it this way. I want to try it in a different voice.”

Then there was a whole new set of emotions when Skene is the center of a scene for the first time.

“When I finally got on set, and I'm like, okay, this is my first big time,” he said. “This is it. The camera's on me. The focus is on me. Somebody came and got me, said the director's ready for you. I'm walking past 50 to 100 crew workers who are all working on this. It's this huge production.”

Skene recalled the moment when the camera focused on him.

“And finally, they set me up,” he said. “This didn't make it into the movie, unfortunately, but here's a fake cigarette and just smoke the cigarette and look past the camera. I remember sitting there. It's so cliche, but time slowed to nothing. I saw this hulking man with a huge camera covering his face and just this void. I saw the director over here and people over here. There's a boom over me and I'm sitting there and I'm just taking it all in.”

Skene poses at the Fantasia film festival in Montreal. *Photo submitted*

Skene made a comparison to how he felt.

“It's like I'm a caveman going to space for the first time,” he said. “It was awe-inspiring and it destroyed any preconceived notion I had of what it felt to experience wonder. And they said, ‘Action!’ I did the scene. When I came out of it, my skin was tingling, my heart was pounding. I was full of this adrenaline. I felt lightheaded but in the best way possible. After they said, great, that's good. You can go home now. That was it. That was my entire day. I was there for 12 hours and I shot for five minutes.”

Skene couldn’t rest.

“I just went home and I couldn't sleep that night because I needed to do it again and so absolutely, it completely affirmed any notion I had that this is what I need to do in life.”

Skene said the butterflies never go away no matter how many times he’s on camera.

“It still doesn't go away to this day,” he said. “When you're going in front of the camera, it's not a feeling of this is what I want to do. I'm going to kill it. I'm going to do great and it's going to be fine. There's so many feelings of I don't want to mess this up. I hope I do good. It's stage fright. You get up there and it's completely nerve-wracking. You're sweating.”

Skene said any self-doubt is quashed by such experiences as the premiere circuit for Dark Match.

“I hit a really low point of that feeling, questioning whether or not I could do this,” he said. “During that, I did the Dark Match premiere circuit and I saw it for the first time and it completely reminded me this is why I'm doing it. This is why I'm here. To be a part of this world, to be part of cinema. The stage fright never goes away. It's always nerve-wracking but it's always just as exciting. And every second that you spend doing this job, it reminds you that it's where you're supposed to be.”

Skene finds some emotions easier to convey than others.

“The whole job as an actor Is to make something that isn't real real,” he said. “I find rage and anger to be the easiest to tap into. The hardest are two things that might be unexpected. One is if you ask any actor, usually laughing when you don't feel like laughing. The hardest scenes I ever have to do are where I have to just be the chill guy in a romance or the quiet, charming guy. I don't know why I find that so difficult, but I just find myself being bland.”

Skene said it’s much easier to cry crocodile tears.

“I can do that any day of the week and you can spot it,” he said. “When you know how to do it and you're watching the movie, you're like, that's a technique. But it takes so much preparation and dedication to make yourself truly cry in a scene. I remember the first time I was able to do it. I was with my friend who I was living with at the time. We were both actors and we'd help each other out with our auditions. I just put myself in a dark room.”

Skene tried everything he could think of to elicit sorrow.

“I listened to some songs that make me emotional,” he said. “I looked at some scenes of acting. I'm watching the end of Schindler's List. I'm getting a few things that get the waterworks flown a little bit. I got in the headspace. I go and I try to shoot it, and it wasn't quite getting there. And then my buddy just looks at me and he goes, how's your mom doing? I immediately start breaking down and crying because the scene had to do with the character's mom had died. So we were talking about my mom, and how did it feel if she died? And immediately I'm bawling my eyes out.”

Skene said such interaction helps tap into emotions.

“What really helps is an emotional coach who can be there and pinpoint a couple things,” he said. “We started doing it to each other, and we found out that the most effective way to really make someone cry was when they're acting is there's personal buttons that you can push that get the flowing. I did this scene, and I was bawling my eyes out during the scene. It was great. It was fantastic. It was an amazing audition.”

Skene is prepared to deal with a director who is a perfectionist, such as the late Stanley Kubrick or David Fincher, requiring dozens of takes for a scene.

“I'd be excited for them because I feel directors like that, whatever they're doing, there's a method to their madness in most cases,” he said. “Sometimes, the writing and the directing can both make or break a performance. I've seen directors take people who can't act or who are just beginning to act and haven't really got their craft down yet and turn them into Oscar-worthy performances with a few words. As an actor, it really can make or break whether or not the writing and the directing is there. So if it was something like a Stanley Kubrick where I have to do it 50 times, sign me up.”

Skene does his research for a role.

“With Wild Bill Hickok being a real person, I felt a tremendous amount of responsibility to research and understand who this person was and how they behaved,” he said. “It was such great fun to do that. It was such a wonderful experience to be able to completely immerse myself in somebody who actually existed because you have so much information you can go off of.”

Skene isn’t shy to offer suggestions if they will enhance a scene, such as with the Hickock role.

“Thankfully, the showrunners, the director and the writers were extremely nice, really easy to get along with and also very collaborative,” he said. “This was me dipping my toes and also feeling like I had maybe a little bit of say because I not only was the focus of what we were shooting, but also that this was a real guy. They were fitting me. They were putting the guns on me. And Wild Bill Hickok famously liked to have two Colt revolvers. And they were giving me one. I'm like, just so you know, he very famously carried two just in case you want to maybe throw an extra one on me.”

Skene knew facts about every aspect of Hickock’s style.

“And then they were putting the gun belt on me, and I'm like, actually, he very famously did not like holsters,” he said. “He used a piece of fabric that he would wear around his waist and that he preferred that over a holster. And they're like, we're just going to use the holster. I'm like, fair enough.”

Although the crew didn’t follow all of Skene’s suggestions, they appreciated his preparation for the role.

“I was able to say this is how close if you want to get to the character, what you can do,” he said. “And through them being collaborative, they said a couple times we're glad you did your research.”

Skene was able to have input.

“Later on, we were blocking some stuff and figuring out what we were going to shoot,” he said. “There was one creative choice where they said how are we going to tip them off that something's wrong in this environment? And they were like, we could do this and we could do this. And at this point, this is a risk by chiming in. This is a huge risk because they're doing their thing, but I'm going to test the waters. I’m like, what if there's a hat on the ground? And they're like, that's a good idea. I kept adding on, and it became a relationship where I felt comfortable in the environment to not overstep, but that I could voice my creative opinion.”

Skene was inspired by another character’s costume.

“At first, I suggested having the other horses that we had be set loose and uncorralled, but then I saw the actor they had cast for the stock tender and his very large hat,” he said. “I then had the idea to have his hat be laying in the field leading up to the cabin with blood on it. They loved it and that’s the shot that ended up in the film.”

Skene continued that initiative with later productions.

“When I filmed later on, Slant, that hasn't come out yet, I got really close with the writer,” he said. “I got really close to the director. He was a very collaborative director. There were many opportunities with him to say, what if we did this instead? What if you tried this? I like this. There were a few things that we were able to change and a few things that we weren't.”

Skene explained the film’s title.

“I believe they named the film Slant to highlight the downward trajectory of the main character’s morality as well as nodding to the racial slur.”

Skene learns more than acting during productions.

“On my first ever day on set of anything doing background, one of the PAs (production assistants) came up to me and said, hey, did you know your name Skene means dagger in Scottish? And I was like, I didn't,” he said. “That's really cool. Because my uncle's name, Dirk, also means dagger.”

Blades came into play later for Skene.

“And then flash forward to Dark Match,” he said. “It didn't really get used in the final cut of the movie, but for all of the shooting, I had a dagger as my prop. Flash forward Slant. We're shooting the scene and one of the characters has a crossbow. And they're like, I don't really feel like I should have a crossbow in the scene. I don't even think I should be pointing the gun at this person right now. And I was like, what if I had a gun? And they're like, that's a good idea. We should do that. So they gave me a gun. They're like, you know what? That doesn't really work. They're like, this might work better. And they handed me a dagger.”

“When it comes to anything, your performance, how you’re remembering your lines, how you’re saying your lines, everything changes when the camera’s actually on you.”

Skene has a method to remember his lines.

“Everyone has their own thing,” he said. “Everyone works differently. That was definitely my biggest fear when it came to getting in this job. But I found a personal life hack for me that works like a charm. I memorize chunks and then another chunk, and then those chunks together. And then when I have that chunk, I memorize the next little bit and then work back and do the whole thing. I found by doing that method of focusing on one line and then the next line and then both those lines together all the way to the bottom. I think my record was I memorized 14 pages in an hour.”

Skene discovered insufficient rest impedes recalling lines.

“If I haven't had a full night's sleep, I can't memorize anything,” he said. “When it comes to anything, your performance, how you're remembering your lines, how you're saying your lines, everything changes when the camera's actually on you. For me, I found that method of memorizing and then just practicing. And then when I finally end up shooting, I usually remember all my lines.”

As Skene was drawn to performing more and more, he found inspiration from a comedic actor.

“I find Chevy Chase to be one of the most magnetic actors of all time,” he said. “There's something about the way he acts. I remember watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Just seeing his performance and being like, I want to capture that. I want to hold people's attention like that. I want that comedic timing. I need to tap into whatever that gold is.”

A more serious thespian also ignited Skene’s passion.

“When I first watched Interstellar, which is still my favorite movie to this day, seeing Matthew McConaughey time and time again nail these performances where even just with a simple look,” he said. “It resonated something deep within me. Matthew McConaughey's performance in Interstellar was the first master class of acting that I saw. I said, that's what I want to be as an actor. If I can dish out a performance half as good as that, I'll be proud of myself because it encompassed everything to me that I felt like acting was.”

Watching an online program about cinema also contributed to Skene’s interest.

“The most important thing when it has come to my career and my life as being an artist even was a YouTube channel called Sinfix,” he said. “They would just dissect movies and explain why it's good, basically why this scene makes you scared, why this scene makes you laugh. Why this acting performance made you feel like this. It explained on a very technical and scientific level how either the way it's directed, the way it's written or the way it's performed makes you feel these certain ways.”

Such analysis of filmmaking impacted Skene.

“Just experiencing that left me with this determination that if I could make one person in life feel something, if I can alter somebody's way of thinking, if I can alter somebody's emotion or feeling with something that I create or act, then I've achieved my life goal,” he said.

“My happiness comes from sharing and experiencing things with and for others. Just the thought of being able to connect with a fan base blows my mind.”

Skene doesn’t have much he would refuse to do in a film.

“If it was artistically well done and added, I don't think there's much I would say no to,” he said. “I've heard stories of simulated intimate relationships not being simulated. I wouldn't do that. When it came to frontal nudity, it would have to be justified for me to where it makes sense or that it would enhance whatever we're doing. If it was just kind of for no reason, I wouldn't want to.”

Skene follows method acting methods without taking too far, such as drastic weight loss or gain.

“When I was playing Wild Bill Hickok and I was playing that real person, I tried to do many things as he would or talk how he would talk, walk how he'd walk and stuff like that,” he said. “My belief is when it comes to my own physical health, I try not to put myself in jeopardy or in a dangerous position or a drastically unhealthy position.”

Skene also doesn’t want to mistreat others just for the sake of practicing the part off camera.

“You hear stories of Daniel Day-Lewis being so in character that he was insufferable or people hated working with him because he was just a jerk,” he said. “I wouldn't go that far. I would not feel right hindering other people's experiences to elevate mine. But other than that, if it elevates mine and it doesn't interfere with anybody else's and it's not actively going to severely harm me, I would do it.”

Skene cited an example that wasn’t going too far in an effort to prepare for a scene.

“Steven Ogg and Jonathan Cherry are very pleasant people, very nice people, very funny and jokey, bubbly people,” he said. “They had a very intense scene to shoot. Both weren't method acting, but just getting in that headspace, getting so they were a little bit more quiet, a little bit more mellow. The hair girls were being like, hey, you're not being as nice to me today. And they're like, oh no, we're just trying to mellow out. We're not mad at you. We're trying to mellow out.”

Conversely, Skene recalled how some actors go as far banning people from even looking at them.

“I get along really well with the crew members,” he said. “During a production, I befriended one of the locations people. He was great company. We were talking about this stuff where some actors have rules where if you look at the actor, then they'll fire you. When you get in the background, there's the first thing they tell you is do not speak unless spoken to. Do not talk to the actors. Don't interfere with the actors. Don't ask them for autographs, pictures, nothing. Let them be.”

Skene discovered the same rule applied to crew members.

“I mentioned that I feel like there were some certain people on set who were cold to me,” he recalled saying. “I'd look at them to smile at them or say hi, and they'd look away or just give me a blank expression. Just not very welcoming. It's a job. Not everyone's there to be a rosy bunny. But he said we're not allowed to talk to you. We're not allowed to talk to the actors. And I'm like, we're talking. We've been talking every day for a week. And he's like, yeah, but have you noticed you said hi to me first every day. We have the same rules.”

Skene then took the initiative to interact with all of the crew.

“I was floored,” he said. “I was flabbergasted. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna test this out then. I then went around set, and all those people who I felt were almost rude and cold, I would go, hey, how's it going? And they'd be like, oh, it's going great today. They just completely bubble up and be the nicest person. Every day, I would say hi to them and they give me a big hello with a big smile. I realized I would be the first person to say hi to that guy every day on set.”

“But if it gets to the point where I can’t walk three blocks downtown without somebody stopping me, then I’m a very social person. I love connecting with people. That sounds awesome to me.”

Skene would want a crew to know he wasn’t trying to be rude if he was preparing for a difficult scene.

“I thought about it,” he said. “Because everyone's connected in headphones, everyone on set has an earpiece, I would want them to say, hey, Skene’s coming to set, and he needs to be in a certain headspace. He's going to keep his head down. Just so people don't think I'm being rude to them. And in turn, I really want to get the best performance I can out of this.”

Skene is willing to sacrifice a personal life to take acting as far it can go.

“I've set myself up in a way where I have the freedom to do so,” he said. “My happiness comes from sharing and experiencing things with and for others. Just the thought of being able to connect with a fan base blows my mind. I've moved to Vancouver away from my family, my friends and my girlfriend. It took seven months for me after I moved out for me to do my first social thing in Vancouver. I am willing to sacrifice. I have and I will continue to do so until I get to a place where I want to be.”

Skene said while it would be nice to get a coffee in peace, it’s not a crisis if he would be recognized in public.

“It's far more worth it to make somebody's day as simple as meeting me than to peacefully get a coffee for myself,” he said. “We showed a screening and somebody came up to me and said, hey, I thought you were amazing. It was just one person and I was freaking out. But if it gets to the point where I can't walk three blocks downtown without somebody stopping me, then I'm a very social person. I love connecting with people. That sounds awesome to me. If they're a fan, then obviously what I've done means a lot to them. That is one of the most incredibly humbling thoughts that I could have. It would be more worth it for me to connect with that person than having some privacy going over the coffee.”

Skene stays fit.

“I work out,” he said. “I have an eight-day workout schedule with two days off. Especially with modeling, it's very, very demanding. There definitely is an extreme amount of fitness discipline when it comes to modeling and when it comes to acting. That's what's nice about acting is there's roles for every way you look. But I do find staying relatively fit, usually that's what the industry calls for as a baseline.”

Skene said it’s vital to be fit for oneself and not others’ expectations, though.

“It's important make it work for you and remind yourself that it's keeping you healthy, it's keeping you active,” he said. “Once you really start doing it for somebody else, it becomes negative. You got to figure out how you can do it for yourself, but I do think it is important.”

Skene also keeps in mind other aspects of his appearance.

“I have my lobes pierced,” he said. “I always wanted my ears pierced. And it's probably the easiest thing to cover up when it comes to body modification in this industry. When it comes to being an actor and a model, you do have to disclose those when you get a job. Every time you get a job, they ask you: Do you have any piercings? Where are they? Do you have any tattoos? Where are they and what are they? When it comes to tattoos, I want tattoos. I've always wanted tattoos. I don't know why. I don't see myself getting any for the very foreseeable future because I know a lot of people who were refused jobs because they had tattoos.”

“Without a doubt, I am a creator. I am an artist and when it comes to the screen and storytelling, I feel a sense of wonder and larger-than-lifeness.”

Skene explained tattoos are often taboo for a reason people may not expect.

“What a lot of people don't know is tattoo artists automatically own the rights to their tattoos once they put them on you,” he said. “There was this famous case where this lady was in a movie and she had a tattoo of this mountain on her back or something. The tattoo was based off a picture and the photographer tried to sue them because they used her picture, but the tattoo artist actually owned the rights because it was his art. You have to get releases when you get tattoos. Actors, if they get tattoos, they just get it up front. But sometimes, you have to track down artists. Sometimes, they won't give it to you.”

Skene said covering up tattoos isn’t easy.

“There's the problem of covering them up,” he said. “It's a pain. It takes hours. On Dark Match, quite a few of the actors had tattoos. It took average about two hours to put on the makeup to cover up. And it never quite looks right. It falls off quickly with sweat and water and dirt. It's just a big headache that the industry doesn't want to deal with. Unfortunately, that's just an aspect of my life that I can't live out right now is getting tattoos. But that's a pretty easy sacrifice for me just to make the hiring process easier.”

Skene would like to make his own film someday.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Without a doubt, I am a creator. I am an artist and when it comes to the screen and storytelling, I feel a sense of wonder and larger-than-lifeness. On some scale, I’ve done all three. I’ve produced music videos and short films as well as writing and co-directing. To end up doing that as a career and at a large scale down the road is everything to me. It is my life.”

Skene dispensed advice to aspiring actors.

“Just don't let anybody tell you you can't,” he said. “Never underestimate what you can do. And once you achieve it, don't undervalue it. I can attribute pretty much everything I've done to just being myself. It's the way I got into acting. I was approached by the CEO of Mode Models because he said you got the looks, but you just seem cool. You seem like a good guy.”

Although Jericho and Ogg were interesting to meet, another actor had a greater impact on Skene.

“I first met Micheal Eklund on my first day of Dark Match,” he said. “I was outside my trailer talking to a couple extras and he came up and joined the conversation. We quickly got along very well and from then on he took me under his wing and has done everything he could to help me wherever he could. He said he saw the love of film I had and said that’s what we need in this industry.”

“She said I believe in your acting, I believe in what you're doing, but I believe in you the most.”

Skene, at left, models at the 2024 Drag Me to Brunch event at the cowboys festival in Calgary. *Photo submitted*

Eklund helped Skene wherever he could.

“He introduced me to his agent and whenever we were at events like red carpets or screenings or Q&As, he always made sure I was included,” the younger thespian said. “Photos on the red carpet? He made sure I got my closeups. Interviews? He made sure I had one. Q&As? He made sure I was on stage. Micheal has done more for me than I could ever thank him for and I wouldn’t be where I am without him. He is a teenager at heart yet incredibly wise. He’s like an older brother and to this day we remain good friends.”

Skene’s natural charisma led to making other connections, including Eklund’s agent.

“I didn't really have professional headshots at the time,” he said. “I didn't have a demo reel. I didn't have a really good resume. But I sent it to her and I said, hey, I'm Skene. I'm an actor. Michael told you about me.”

Skene gets no reply.

“She just ignored me and I was like, cool,” he said. “I'm going to take that as a challenge. I'm going to try and improve anywhere I can improve. I'm going to work on anything I can work on. I'm going to get myself some better headshots. I'm going to get a better demo reel. I moved to Vancouver and I told her, I've moved, I've got all this, here's all my information, here's my new stuff, here's my headshots. I need to be represented by you. Let's meet for lunch.”

Skene’s effort paid dividends.

“She literally said, you know what? I like the energy. I like the commitment,” he said. “We met and throughout the interview, it kept slipping into real conversation. She said I wasn't expecting to enjoy this interview that much. She said I believe in your acting, I believe in what you're doing, but I believe in you the most. That floored me. I went after one of the most elite level agents in Canada as a nobody, as a nothing actor.”

But the agent, other actors and directors know that Skene has much to offer with his passion and talent.

Skene’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skene.kittle/

Actor shares characters, stories and emotions

“She said I believe in your acting, I believe in what you're doing, but I believe in you the most.”

Singer pursuing dream