Indigenous actress Grace Dove, who is Secwepemc from Tsq’escen’ (Canim Lake Band) is adding yet another role to her resume in the new ABC series “Alaska Daily.”
Dove, who portrays the Indigenous reporter Roz, co-stars alongside the Academy-Award-winning actress Hilary Swank (Eileen Fitzgerald) in the series that tackles the important topic of MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women).
Dove has been active in the film industry for many years, most notably in her role as Leonardo DiCaprio’s wife in “The Revenant.” Dove also appeared in the Netflix film “How It Ends” (2018), alongside the Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker.
In an interview with Dove, the actress explained what it is like working with Swank and the personal importance she feels playing an Indigenous actress exploring the topic of MMIW.
Dove said the MMIW crisis is an issue close to her heart.
“I've spent the last few years telling really important stories through films and using my voice for Indigenous peoples to bring awareness,” Dove said. “But for this to be on ABC and to be sharing information about the MMIW crisis on network television is so powerful because I really believe that this story is going to be in living rooms where some people might be hearing about this for the very first time.
“To have a show that is authentically portraying the stories, we have two Alaska Native writers in our (writer’s) room and are making sure it's done right. It's time, and I'm really grateful that the network and that (writer and director) Tom McCarthy made this possible.”
Dove said she knows her character, who works in collaboration with Swank’s character, Eileen Fitzerald, is cutting edge and might be tough to process for some viewers.
“Going into it, I knew that Roz would be creating a lot of controversy and standing up for her people with a lot of responsibility,” Dove said.
But ultimately, Dove said playing Roz is a lot of fun as is starring opposite Swank.
“You know, having someone come in, who's never been to Alaska [to] try to take over…I think it creates perfect chemistry. It's been so much fun. Hillary is so generous in her work…between takes, we're laughing and joking…But ultimately, as the series progresses, we do want the same thing, and that's to tell important stories.”
You can stream “Alaska Daily” on Hulu.
Featured image courtesy: ABC
sarah
says:It’s sooo awsome to have another native based show to entertain and make people think about MMIW!! I hope this is just another stepping stone to elevate the platform and add more indiginious movie, tv, docu series about us !!