Y Crazy Mind

Kevin Dennis was only eight years old when he fell in love with acting. Growing up in the nineties in Hamilton, Canada, he and his friends would get together and make their own films just for themselves, not for the YouTube or social media hits like nowadays. They would come up with different concepts and stories and edit them to VCR tapes in Dennis’ basement. “It was painstaking work, but so rewarding when you’d show them to five people in your living room and get one or two laughs. My sequel to Braveheart was a particular hit amongst friends and family,” he said. Dennis has since come quite a long way from that kid making his own movies, and is now an internationally sought-after film, theatre, and voice actor, known for his work on shows like Reign and Busytown Mysteries , and the highly-anticipated animated feature Tabaluga , which will be making its way to theatres around the world later this year. Whether using his voice in a studio, standing in front of a camera...

Famed Actress Kim DeLonghi says there was never a moment where she wondered what to do with her life. She knew from the time she was a child that she was destined to pursue acting. However, she worried it was not a viable career, and spent years working at a bank to support her family. Once her children were grown, she knew that she was ready to become the actress she was destined to be. “It was something that was just in my heart and it chose me, I didn’t choose it,” she said. Now, DeLonghi is an in-demand actress in her home country of Canada and abroad. From national commercials for EB Games to the Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning The Handmaid’s Tale , DeLonghi’s face is instantly recognizable. She knows how to captivate an audience, and always entertains. DeLonghi is currently looking forward to one of her more recent projects, New Year’s Kiss , to air later this year. The movie is part of The Hallmark Channel’s iconic Christmas lineup, and tells the story of Ke...

For Natalie Charles, there is no greater sense of satisfaction than truly embodying her character, becoming someone else, and learning a new aspect of humanity. Acting, for this Canadian native, is a sense of release, a chance for both catharsis and escape, while educating and entertaining her audience. “There is no place to hide when your face is on screen. The camera won’t lie for you, so you better be absolutely certain of what and who you are portraying. The audience becomes familiar with the character and can know what is happening simply by looking at the performers face. It’s exhilarating,” she said. Throughout her esteemed career, Charles has shown audiences time and time again why she is such an in-demand actress in both her home country and abroad. Captivating audiences in iconic television series Suits alongside Duchess Meghan Markle, as well as the award-winning Mary Kills People and the acclaimed film Residue , Charles is a force to be reckoned with. Charl...

“Where does my character fall into this story?” “Why did the writer write such a character?” “What is the arc and purpose of my character to this script?” These are all questions Canada’s Evan Marsh asks himself before he takes any role. He knows his first task as an actor is not winning awards and being better than the rest, but simply telling a story. He focuses on his character and what they’ve gone through in their life before that first page of the script, and such a commitment to his craft is evident in every project he takes on. As an internationally sought-after actor, Marsh knows just what it takes to captivate an audience. He is known for films like The Space Between and Giant Little Ones , and television shows like Northern Rescue . No matter the project, Marsh is happy to be living his dream, knowing since childhood that this is what he was meant to do. One of Marsh’ first tastes of international success came with the 2016 movie The Journey is the Destination ....

As the co-founder of Hillcrest Merchant Partners, Toronto’s Mark Attanasio has a bird’s-eye view of Canada’s flourishing venture capital market. Along with managing partner Donato Sferra, Attanasio nurtures early-stage and mid-market growth companies. The partners describe Hillcrest Merchant Partners as a “boutique” merchant bank that focuses on a number of industries, including mining, gaming, industrials, and technology. Their services include equity and debt structuring, reverse takeovers, M&A and the private-to-public process. We caught up with Mark Attanasio to discuss his path to success and to take a look at the world of venture capital. Can you trace your career path for us? Mark Attanasio: Well, after I graduated from the University of British Columbia, I started working at PricewaterhouseCoopers. It was incredibly helpful to get first-hand experience in audit and advisory services, while also earning my CPA. After that, I joined National Bank Fi...

For Len Wong , who has made his career in cannabis, the future is looking optimistic. As the Canadian cannabis industry continues to take off, we’re seeing a willful push away from the stigmatized days of old, towards a broad acceptance of the cannabis as an agricultural commodity. Len Wong is a greenhouse specialist with a devotion to organic growing practices. He’s also the master grower and founder of two businesses: Genetix Consulting and The Grow Depot. We recently invited Len Wong for a Q&A session to talk about how his companies are helping others, why certain growing practices are especially useful for the Canadian cannabis grower, and more. What is your background and what prompted you to focus your expertise around organic growing? Lenny Wong: Well, I’ve always been dedicated to sustainability and understanding the role that organic growing plays in the environment as well as in human health. I’ve spent the last 16 years working in the areas of g...

Alexis Assadi is a writer, entrepreneur and investor. Based in Vancouver, Canada, he founded Pacific Income Capital Corporation, which is the general partner of the financing company, Pacific Income Limited Partnership. Alexis Assadi is the Chief Executive Officer and serves as a director of the general partner. These firms provide funding of up to $250,000 to business owners and real estate investors across Canada and the United States. In addition, Alexis Assadi operates various other privately-held businesses that concentrate on making similar investments. You grew up around the world. How do you think your early travels affected who you are today? Yes, that’s right. I was born in Geneva, Switzerland and later moved to Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia. At around age eleven, my family settled in Vancouver, Canada. I also had a brief stint in New York, where I worked for my uncles after graduating from university. So, there was a lot of travelling early on. I think ...

There are likely many people who don’t think the title corporate development specialist/investment consultant falls under the definition of talent. Semantics aside, skill and talent are often synonymous; Lila Janakievski can be referred to with either. Los Angeles based award-winning law firm D’Alessio Law Group recently approached Lila to join as CFO & Financial Consultant because of her proven and acclaimed record of success. While Lila’s area of expertise is in making plans with financing and growth strategies, she transitioned from a highly successful career in managing public equity funds (heavily based on Canada’s natural resource sector) to that of entertainment and tech. Her early work with startup companies in the natural resource sector (specifically agriculture and renewable fuels and energy) focused on the corporate development of companies, working as a member of an executive team developing the financial roadmap for the ventures, raising required capital among invest...

Elisia Mirabelli sees the design of each production she works on as a puzzle, and it is her job to put it together. She merges colors and unexpected textures to create a work of art, and dives into the records of a previous time to recreate history. She expresses the emotion behind a story through a collection of objects and blends her curiosity and love of design every day. For all of these reasons, she loves what she does as a production designer for film and television, combining her passions for the performing arts and interior design. Throughout her career, Mirabelli has shown her versatility and innate talent on every project she has taken on. This is exemplified by her work on various Family Channel and MTV movies, the award-winning film Pretty Thing , the celebrated web series Night Owl and more. Her understanding of all aspects of film production make her work as a production designer both efficient and pointed, with every single prop and set piece conveying a messa...

Canadian actor PJ Johal is an affable and charming person. It’s disturbing to watch him as Farid Singh in “The Guard.” It’s almost like seeing someone’s evil twin. Statements like this during an interview cause Johal to smile, which is disconcerting in its own way due to his portrayal of Singh. The duplicitous character in this Canadian drama series is someone whom most viewers would find despicable, which again makes the actor smile. Being so pleasant in his personal life and so menacing on screen means that he is doing his job properly.  An actor must believe that the evil intentions of their character are based in as much truth and reality as the inclination in helping or saving someone. The difference is that one is insane but the character only judges logical actions/reasoning within the given circumstances of the character’s life and environment. “The Guard” is a Canadian television production about the heroic men and women of the Canadian Coast Guard…and heroes need a villain. ...

Mahaloness is a contemporary artist from Calgary specializing in full spectrum painting, mural, animation and digital hybrid art. We have conducted an interview with him. How long have you been specializing in full spectrum painting, mural, animation and digital hybrid art? I have been developing my full spectrum art over the last 15 years, really honing in on my skill set in the last ten years. I went full immersion while in Toronto in 2004 attending film school with the aim to become a filmmaker. I was on a quest of self-discovery, with the desire to learn the art of self-expression. While in film school I was introduced to storytelling, and skill sets necessary to make a film. One of the skills I learned was storyboarding which put me into a regular practice of visualization and translating that into drawing. While in Toronto I was regularly exploring and documenting my experiences through street photography, writing and drawing. This was my first real encounter with urb...

After meeting the devil herself at a lonely crossroads not far outside of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Jim Jackson got an exclusive interview with the Princess of Darkness and a short-lived staff position as her PR writer. From that gig, he came away with a supernatural ability to tell a tale. Jim’s mission is to show that the stories we all grew up with – the heroes, the monsters, the adventures – are still solid, muscular realities that can shape our lives (for good or for ill). Jim is the author of Stones in My Passway: a Novel in Blues and How to Tell a Really Good Story about Absolutely Anything in 4 Easy Steps. He’s also a public speaking instructor, wine lover and amateur blues musician who can be found on the lonely, sepia-hued plains of Southern Alberta, or traveling the country, notebook, corkscrew and mouth harp in hand, looking for really good stories. Why do you think people are so taken in by a well-told story? Stories are who we are. When I say “I,” I mean ...

Marketing specialist Jonathan Singer rubs elbows with some very well-known clients. Names like Google and Sir Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Group) populate his resume. Singer’s work with Manny Kapranos of Canada’s Bombardier meant catering to the likes of Julia Roberts, Lewis Hamilton, John Travolta, The Rolling Stones, and numerous other luminaries. While his role was multi-faceted, Singer’s work can be described as manifesting the ideal environment and experience for Bombardier’s customers and special events. Jonathan’s reputation is synonymous with achieving excellence and satisfaction in almost unimaginable situations. When dealing with the rich and famous, Jonathan is the professional you want in charge of ensuring everyone feels entertained and at ease. Singer’s renown as the guy who always delivers is the culmination of countless successful events in the world of film, tech, finance, and sports. His secret ingredient is hyper-detailed focus on perfection. He seemingly poss...

Artists have always been the part of society that challenges us. They soothe us and at the same time make us uncomfortable by challenging us to consider what we truly think and feel as opposed to what we’re told; it’s a part of the creative individuals’ DNA. Anyone who studies any art form throughout years, decades, eons, and centuries has witnessed the fact that artists support and also demand variations and innovation. In a world that is exponentially modernizing and digitizing, the most rebellious counterculture move might be to present live art in person. It’s something that Canadian born actress Ava Cummings has always felt drawn towards. Choosing to pursue her acting/singing career on stage rather than on set, this isn’t the only uncommon facet of the career of this actress. While she doesn’t restrict herself to it, the majority of her musical theater roles have been in faith based productions. When considering these factors in her career path, Ava seems unexpectedly punk in a c...