He has a face-you-won’t-forget.

Whether strutting his stuff in The Lone Ranger  and American Outlaws,  taking   on edgier roles in The Doe Boy, From Cherry English, and Johnny Tootall, or doing comedy in this summer’s Canadian television series, Moose TV, one thing’s for sure.

Cliché aside, there’s something about  Cree actor Nathaniel Arcand.

Where he’s from, where’s he’s been, his triumphs and travails and sheer determination to keep on keeping on   after 16 years of struggling in the entertainment business is not a hard luck tale invented in a publicist’s office. He’s a versatile performer, singer, martial artist, director. A dad, an activist; a devil-may-care charmer wary of strangers.

He is all these things. A paradox.  

But when you see where he’s been, it helps you understand where he’s going. Nathaniel grew up poor in Edmonton, Alberta, the eldest of six kids by a single mom.  Like a lot of urban kids, not all his choices were smart—he joined a gang and cooled his heels in several jail stints for petty crimes. He got the message and by age 19 was studying to be a firefighter when discovered by talent agent Darryl Mork in 1991. The Native street kid left the gangs and firefighting behind, getting his first big break two years later on the long-running CBC series North of 60.

That’s the short version bio.  But really, who is Nathaniel Arcand beyond the face-you-won’t-forget?

“I consider myself a human being and a Cree man. It dictates my life in a lot of ways. Every since I was a kid, there was something there that always reminded me that, yes, I’m an Indian,” he says. “That’s what makes me who I am today as a Native actor. To portray the Native man in a different way than they’ve ever been seen. With compassion, heart, and thought in his words. There’s more to this acting thing than the money or the notoriety or the fame. It’s about being a good human being. And pass it on…”

His acting resume includes more than 40 appearances in no-frills indie films to large Hollywood movies, a few leather-and feather productions, episodic television dramas, and even a Lifetime movie. Nathaniel has earned his acting chops and he’s neither intimidated nor cocky. In other words, he’s hardly naïve about the entertainment business he so loves.

“I’m very grateful for the people I’ve met through acting…Most have been stand-up, good people. Yeah, a few odd ducks along the way…”

Now, being the gracious guy he is, he doesn’t share who the “odd ducks” are, so we aren’t about to speculate. But suffice to say, he has worked with some of the biggies in the film world. Sir Richard Attenborough and Pierce Brosnan, for example, on the 1998 movie, Grey Owl;  Colin Farrell in American Outlaws; Dreamkeeper  director John Fusco and heartthrobs Tom Welling and Chad Michael Murray.

Well known to audiences in Canada, Nathaniel has a loyal fan base that he both treats with fondness and trepidation. He is, he says, basically a people person; he is, he says, very private. A paradox.

“I go through that in my mind sometimes. Who out there is really for real or not? Yeah, I guess I keep my distance from everybody, but on the other hand, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I feel I should respond to my fans accordingly and try not to be rude.”

Ask anybody. Fans and colleagues and media uniformly speak highly of his friendly, unassuming demeanor. Nathaniel Arcand is, quite simply, the type of guy that everyone enjoys being around. Call it charisma; maybe it’s that face-you-won’t-forget; maybe it’s the fact that he will actually take the time to talk to 15-year-olds trying to break into acting, hyperventilating female fans, or ingratiating reporters who won’t take no for an answer.

Yet there’s still that angry young kid still lurking underneath and he’s equally candid sharing his restive side. Is Nathaniel still resentful? Has he gotten past all the garbage that poverty and racism leaves behind?

“Depends on who you ask,” he laughs. “I came from dirt poor-shit background of people calling me and my people ‘wagon burners.’ And me, still grinning and moving on and not dwelling on my past. I don’t hold grudges; I really believe you just have to go get what you want out of life.”

And so he does, taking on new challenges along the way.  A self-described “singing fool,” he’s honing his skills as a vocalist and musician, with plans to tour with an eclectic repertoire of jazz, blues, rock and country tunes. He’s also producing, directing and starring in a short dramatic movement film that he describes as “just me and another dude doing martial arts. No dialogue, just singing and dancing.”

Lest you think he’s abandoned acting, think again. Moose TV  is being aired on Canada’s Showcase network this summer, and he’s portraying a veterinarian in the upcoming CBC program Heartland, (not the TNT version) based on the teen book series.

“I do whatever I can. Mental, physical and emotional, spiritual. I work at all of it; it’s very important.  These things should be taught to our children at an early age so that they maintain that discipline into their adulthood,” he says. “Sure, we can all sit back and whine and cry about what happened in the past. You don’t have to stay on that road, you can make a difference.”

Producing. Directing. Acting. Singing. Dancing. Being open and accessible while maintaining his distance and never ever forgetting who he is and where he came from.

Nathaniel Arcand, a paradox? 
No way.