An Interview with Evan Adams
conducted by Liz Kelso
Liz K: How similar are you (personality-wise) to your character Thomas in �Smoke Signals�?
Evan: I like to think I�m not like Thomas at all!!! Seriously, I have worked for so many years to speak perfect English,and not to be awkward or uncool. I like to think my voice is sexy, not whiny. Thomas is also a much nicer person than I am. I am neither patient, nor spiritual (sorry!), not a storyteller and definitely not magical. I tried hard to make Thomas the kind of Indian my grandmother would have been proud of, but whom I never get be. I suppose we�re both short, long-haired and quick to smile though. But those weren�t even my teeth in the movie! I wore a dental appliance to make Thomas�s teeth bigger and more asymetrical.
Liz K: What was it like growing up for you ? Are you from a big family?
Evan: I grew up on a remote reserve (reservation) called Sliammon, about 150 miles north of Vancouver in Canada. I grew up with my 4 older sisters and my little brother. I love my family very much and we�re really, really close, but growing up near a small, redneck town was tough. My memories of my youth are tempered with a strong feeling of poverty and fear, combined with wonder (we lived in the rain forest on the edge of the sea). I go back there as often as possible (it�s not the same place, 30 years later, and I�m not the same person) and see my family. They�re all still there.
Liz K: What is your birthday?
Evan: I was born at 12:41 PST, November 15, 1966. I�m a Scorpio. My mom said I had the fattest head of any of her 7 kids (I was her 6th). My nickname when I was growing up was Titos, which means, well, �Fat
Head�.
Liz K: What is your middle name, Leslie or Tlesla?
Evan: Tlesla is my Indian name. It means �One Who Is Strong�. Tlesla was anglicized to �Leslie� because that�s what was done in those days. In my writings and movies, you may see either name. �Evan� is a name
my mother found in a book and �Adams� comes from my great grandfather, whose name was Ah-tom but was anglicized to �Adam�.
Liz K: What are your favorite hobbies and/or past-time activities?
Evan: I get no time at all between school and acting. But I still get urges to play volleyball and soccer (which I played until I went back to school 3 years ago), and I like to do stuff with my hands. Painting,
carving - and I like to color too, of all things! We get huge diagrams to memorize at med school - they�re easier to recall, I find, if you color them in. Especially anatomy. Anyway, you will find me coloring most of the days of the year!
Liz K: What types of TV shows, music and books do you like?
Evan: I especially like �The Simpsons�, �Law & Order� (cuz I workshopped �Indian Killer� with Ben Bratt and I am very loyal to my friends) and �ER�. Music-wise, I adore Sarah McLachlan, Janet Jackson and
Robbie Robertson. Books: anything by Alice Walker, Alice Munro, Louise Erdrich, and my pals Shermie (Sherman Alexie) and Greg Scofield.
Liz K: What is your favorite movie of all time?
Evan: Easy. �Schindler�s List�.
Liz K: What types of jobs have you held in the past?
Evan: I�ve been a professional actor for 14 years, and I spent a few
of those years writing for the stage. So, mostly all I�ve done is act. Oh, I was a garbage man once! It was kind
of a family business one year. My middle sister Grace drove the truck, and my youngest sister Maureen and I slung garbage in the back. It was filthy work, and we were constantly falling and slipping � once I even fell under the garbage truck � and my
sister Grace was the fastest and worst garbage-truck driver ever! But we laughed and laughed our way through it all. I have really fond memories of riding the back of that zoomin� rez garbage truck with my sisters.
Liz K: Why did you choose medicine?
Evan: I�ve always wanted to be a doctor. Acting was a looooong
diversioin from my original intention. A
casting director spotted me on the street one day, and the next day I
was auditioning for a principal role for
a feature film, which I eventually landed. But I�ve always wanted to be
a doctor. I decided at 29 that I�d
better get back to it or lay it to rest forever. My parents were
orphaned by the TB epidemics of the 1930�s
and �40�s. My earliest memories are of hearing of their deaths and that of various aunts, uncles and cousins.
My family deserved a better life than they got, and my desire to make their quality of life better extends to
others. I�m trying to do my part to make the world a better place, especially for Indian people, through the
health sciences.
Liz K: What type of medicine are you planning to pursue?
Evan: I don�t have to decide until the year before graduation, but I
think I�d like to go into Family medicine
with a further year of Emergency. I like the diversity these fields offer. I don�t know though � psychiatry
looks kind of cool too, but it�s such a long residency! I still want to act, so I have to take that into consideration when choosing my specialization.
Liz K: What medium do you prefer? Movies, TV or theatre?
Evan: Well, I do like the theatre � I always swore it was where I
would stay. Real acting � the memorization and delivery of hundreds of lines consecutively, complete with blocking, done only once, in the heat of the moment, in front of a crowd you�re perceiving � really occurs in the theatre. BUT, of late,
I�ve had to leave my snobbery behind. Some truly inspired and magical performances have happened for the
camera. I would like to, one day, give the kind of performance on film I have only dreamed about for the
stage. It�s as long a road to give a good film performance as it is to giving a good stage one.
Liz K: Do you have any future movie plans? Do you have anything in the works?
Evan: Sherman Alexie continues to develop �Reservation Blues� and
�Indian Killer�, in which I have
roles. I will be doing the series �History of Canada� in Saskatchewan
this season as well. I hear I am close
to signing for another film out of LA, but I perhaps shouldn�t mention
it till it�s confirmed.
Liz K: How did you feel when you won your acting awards?
Evan: Absolutely surprised. I didn�t think I had done that great a job
as Thomas. I certainly did my best,
but I still get seriously nauseous when I see my performance in �Smoke
Signals�. I�ve also never considered
myself a talented actor. I know I�m hardworking and that always got me
a certain distance� Oh well, why
think about it too much? I think people responded to the character �
and for that I give credit to Sherman
Alexie.
