Sudbury-born actor stars in steamy new CBC series

Sudbury-born actor Ace (Aason) Nadjiwon to be cast as one of eight lead roles in new CBC drama series ‘SkyMed‘.

The show itself is being described as a “steamy” TV series that will turn up the heat this summer. Each episode is about an hour long and tells the story of young nurses and pilots in command of air ambulances in remote northern Canada.

Nadjiwon plays the character of Captain Austen Bodie who is described as an “arrogant, handsome, and brave” pilot, otherwise known as the “golden boy” by his peers on the show.

“Over the course of the season, the trials, triumphs and heartbreaks of high-stakes work in the Unforgiving North will challenge each of them to face their fears and grow,” reads a press release.

The series was filmed in northern Ontario and Manitoba, and for Nadjiwon – who has lived most of his life in British Columbia – it took some getting used to the colder temperatures.

“When I was in Winnipeg which, mind you, is so beautiful,” Nadjiwon told Sudbury.com in a phone interview. “It was so cold. I remember one specific day, it’s 6am, we’re filming this scene and it’s like minus-40 or whatever, and I’m trying to emote in this scene – It’s a scene where Bodie s gets a little pissed off and it’s a little more of a softer scene, and I go and emote and my face literally doesn’t physically move and I just start laughing. I ruin the whole scene.

“And they’re like what’s going on?” Like I couldn’t move my cheeks…they were just completely frozen.

Nadjiwon spent about six months filming from August to the end of January with the cast and the experience, he said, was mostly positive – except for the freezing temperatures.

“One of my favorite things (about the production process) was just honestly getting to know and spending time with my cast and crew. But when it comes to filming, there are so many parts that I liked them,” Nadjiwon said.

While Nadjiwon now lives in British Columbia, he lived in Sudbury for the first four to five years of his life. He told Sudbiury.com that most of his family is still here in the Nickel City area, including his aunts, uncles and grandparents. Although he doesn’t see them often, they cheer him on through the screen when they see his work on television, he said.

“They’re very excited to see me on TV and (they support me) to pursue my dreams. I’ve had a lot of support from my family in Sudbury and I’m very grateful and grateful for that.

He started his acting career six years ago as a dancer and choreographer. He had come across a Facebook ad looking for actors and that’s when he landed his first role in “Ramp-up: all inclusive”. Since then, he fell in love with the art of acting.

“This (role in Step Up: All In) was life-changing,” Nadjiwon said. “It was the first time that I could simply express myself artistically. And that was the first time I had woken up excited at 5 a.m., and that was new to me.

Nadjiwon had also been on The CW’s Batwoman, Riverdale and Arrow, Paramount+’s The Twilight Zone, and Sony Picture’s Honey Girls.

With his new role on CBC’s SkyMed, the Jamaican/Ojibway-Canadian actor hopes audiences will enjoy the show and perhaps even identify with some of the show’s characters and themes.

“I think one thing he (Captain Austen Bodie) deals with is racism on the show. And I also had to deal with that,” Nadjiwon said. “I mean, I’ve been to a job and I’ve been discriminated against. I’ve been looked at weirdly in a restaurant where people think I don’t belong. And so I feel like a lot of the audience is going to identify with that.

The series incorporates dialogue in a few Indigenous languages, including Nêhiyawêwin (Cree) and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway). SkyMed also addresses the realities of health care in many remote communities accessible by air. SkyMed will premiere Sunday, July 10 at 9 p.m. on CBC TV and will also be available on the free CBC Gem streaming service.

Eden Suh is a new media reporter at Sudbury.com.