Rising starlet Vinessa Antoine brings the culture of cool to CBC

BY: Pamella Bailey

When Scarborough native Vinessa Antoine moved to the US to pursue an acting career, she had no idea her big break would come right here at home. At 28, the budding actress plays a prominent role in CBC’s Being Erica, now in its third season. She plays Judith, Erica’s BFF, a sassy, straight-talking lawyer who knows what she’s all about. But getting to this point has been quite the journey.

Antoine’s initial passion was dancing — she began studying classical ballet at the age of four. But as the daughter of Trinidadian parents, a career in the arts wasn’t the natural expectation. “My parents’ generation didn’t really understand the arts as something important,” says Antoine. “Choosing dancing as a career is just not something you do in Trinidad.”

A year into university, Antoine was accepted into the prestigious Alvin Ailey dance program in New York City. She left her university studies to work full time, determined to pursue her dancing career much to the chagrin of her parents. “It really put a fire under me to go after my dream. I knew if I was going to do this, I would really have to want it for me.”

Three years later at the end of the program, she was ready for a change. “I wanted to break out of my shell,” says Antoine. “I knew that I wanted to express myself in other ways, not just dancing.” She took some acting classes, signed with a manager, and with a few TV and stage credits under her belt headed to Los Angeles.

For the first time, the young actress worked full-time at her craft, booking commercials and auditioning for big-budget films. But while LA honed Antoine’s acting skills — she booked roles in CBS’s The Unit and ABC’s All My Children — she struggled to make a personal connection with people. “In New York you could go to Brooklyn and feel a bit of the West Indian vibe,” says Antoine. “But in LA, I couldn’t feel that. I couldn’t conform to this black American girl they wanted me to be. They had no idea how to relate to this Trinidadian girl.”

Now back in Toronto, Antoine admits she will eventually have to return to LA to take her career to the next level. “In Canada we don’t have a star system,” she explains. “Here we tend to move laterally. You can get to a certain point in Toronto then you move to Vancouver or Montreal. But we don’t have huge Canadian stars unless the US gives us the nod, and then we’ll say, ‘Oh yeah, Jim Carey really is great.’”

For now, Antoine is thrilled with her role in Being Erica, a drama-comedy she describes as “intelligent, witty and very Canadian.” She is also at work writing her own screenplay, which features an African-Canadian in a leading role. “I stopped waiting for the perfect role,” says Antoine. “I know the stories I want to tell and I know how to tell them.” Not surprising for a rising star who knows exactly where she’s headed.

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