'The English' Star on First Nations Role—More Than 'a Bow and Arrow'

The prospect of playing a bona fide villain in Amazon Prime's gritty new drama, The English, was far too good to resist for William Belleau.

Not only because the actor would get to star opposite some big names such as Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, but also because roles such as this don't come along often for Indigenous American and Canadian First Nations actors.

"It was so freeing and liberating," Belleau tells Newsweek and praised the show's creator, writer and director, Hugo Blick, who "broke the mould" for Indigenous representation during the era in which The English is set.

The epic chase Western sees aristocratic Englishwoman Lady Cornelia Locke (Emily) and a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout, Eli Whipp (Spencer), join forces in 1890 middle America to move across the unforgivably violent landscape.

They are faced with physical and psychological tests as they try to reach the fictional town of Hoxem, Wyoming.

Once there, they realize they have a shared past and are also drawn into an investigation of creepy unsolved murders run by the local sheriff Robert Marshall (Stephen Rea) and young widow Martha Myers (Valerie Pachner).

Best known for his work in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Belleau plays Kills On Water, a brutal bandit leader who wants information from Eli and tries to get his hands on it in the worst way possible.

The actor explains he relished playing the bad guy because First Nations characters in film and TV set in that era were usually portrayed as nothing more than carrying "a bow and arrow and ... speaking broken English," but this role ignored those stereotypes and offered a more rounded character.

"As a First Nations we rarely get to play a villain... he felt very layered," Belleau explains.

"Hugo allowed me to break that mold and have a voice to [perform] one of these cool villains."

The actor adds: "It was such a huge blessing that I felt valued as not just a First Nations performer, but as a storytelling entity, regardless of my background. And I'm thankful that we have directors like Hugo out there to allow guys like myself a shot, to play this Kills on Water villain."

The elation at playing Kills on Water was further buoyed for Belleau by sharing his experience with his biggest cheerleaders—his mom and dad.

Both residential school survivors, his parents have acted as "huge guides" throughout his career and his dad shared some sage words when Belleau struggled to articulate the "amazing experience" of working on The English.

"'You're in the realm of the spiritual, son, and it's hard to put words around that but it's not a wrong place to be'," Belleau recalls his father saying.

"My dad always makes so much sense."

The actor then recounts the time he made his high school stage debut when he had a "small supporting role," but his dad made sure to turn up to every one of the five performances.

"They let him in for free for the last two," Belleau shares as he reminisces on the "great support he has had."

It's this connection to his family and people that make it "necessary" for him to regularly return home to Alkali Lake in British Columbia, about six hours north of Vancouver where he grew up on a small reservation.

"I live in two worlds... it's a practice I do to keep sane in this business and to practice my own language traditions," Belleau explains, adding that he hunts and goes fishing in the "traditional sense, not the sporting sense," as a practice that was handed down to him.

"I guess it's a form of spiritual relaxation."

It was also a relief for Belleau to move to Vancouver after studying acting in New York because it makes it easier for him to get back home and connect with his land.

He left home in 2006 with the full support of his parents, but even though he "cried in the terminal before boarding the plane," the jarring experience of moving to a new city has helped hone his craft.

The actor now feels more like a storyteller as well as a thespian which helped him to explore Kills on Water as a human rather than coming from a place of judgement.

He describes getting ready for the role "like going on my first rollercoaster" where the scariest part was actually lining up to get on the ride and describes how the anticipation of playing Kills on Water filled him with apprehension.

"I slowly work my way out of the fear with my mother's guidance," Belleau says, describing how he threw himself into research into the era and distracted himself with daily tasks like going to the gym.

The actor talks about still feeling imposter syndrome despite his many years in the industry but has learnt that "fear is a beacon" that can be overcome and has nothing but encouragement for others.

"I want to tell you that if you're scared to do it, but if it's something that speaks to your heart, I say 'take the first step towards it'," Belleau says.