SHARMA MACDONALD Award-Winning Actress & Filmmaker We caught up with actress, Sharma MacDonald. Tell us a little bit about yourself Ms Sharma MacDonald? I am an award-winning actress and filmmaker born and residing in Toronto, Canada. I am also passionate about serving my community. My television credits include Breakout series on National Geographic/Discovery Channel and CTV/NBC’s Saving Hope as well as Host on YES TV Canada’s Let’s Talk. Moreover, I have stepped onto the stage in theater performances of Nora and Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore. In honour of “Canada 150”, I was recognized as one of the top 150 Black Canadians for my contributions as an actress, filmmaker, and community role model. My current short film titled 2020, which I co-wrote and star as lead actor, is a winner at New York’s Kwanzaa Film Festival, and an official selection at Ritu Rangam Festival in India, Toronto Black Film Festival, and Halifax Black Film Festival thus far. I am born to Jamaican parents who always instilled in me the importance of using my platform for good and it has been my goal through life to tell untold stories.
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How did you get involved in acting and becoming a filmmaker? Please explain. I got involved in acting through classes I was taking
with an acting agency at the time; we had a mock audition workshop with a notable casting director in the city. The casting director was impressed with my audition, so much so, that I got booked on the spot for my first television role. However, as I started to audition for more roles, I realized that not as many were being offered to BIPOC. This is when I became involved in filmmaking as I began writing my own scripts and creating my own films, telling stories that were reflective of the multicultural community around me. How did you get started? I started in the industry as a model, actually. Through modeling I got a hint of what it was like going to castings but acting was always my first love. Thus, I did some cold calling to different acting agencies, went to audition for them and finally found an agency that I felt was a good fit. Then, as they say, the rest is history. What pushed you to become an actor/actress? I’ve always been interested in acting. When I was younger, I would love watching soap operas like The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. To this day, it is a dream of mine to have a role on B&B! I remember that my teacher in Junior High
