C&I Q&A: Tamara Podemski Of Outer Range

Outer Range is back, Tamara Podemski has returned as Sheriff Joy Hawk, and all is right with the world. Well, at least as right as it can ever be in a world where characters cope with time tripping, preternatural appearances and disappearances, and a humongous hole smack dab in the middle of the west pasture of a Wyoming ranch family’s spread.

It’s a literally awesome world for Podemski, whose Sheriff Joy started out investigating a possible murder in Season 1, and finds her duties greatly expanded — to put it mildly — throughout Season 2, which kicks off Thursday, May 16, on Prime Video.

The actress, who was born in Toronto to an Israeli Jewish father and a mother of Saulteaux heritage from Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan, has already made her mark in such diverse movies and TV shows as Coroner (for which she received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress), Reservation Dogs (along with her two acting sisters, Jennifer and Sarah) and the HBO comedy-thriller series Run. But now Podemski — who also is an outspoken activist for First Nation causes — says she is having the time of her life while acting opposite such notables as Josh Brolin, Lily Taylor, MorningStar Angeline and Imogen Poots, and portraying the most complex character she’s ever had come her way.

Podemski — who’ll soon be seen co-starring with Lily Gladstone in the film Fancy Dance, and Alexander Skarsgård in the HBO sci-fi series Murderbot — graciously agreed to make time in her increasingly busy schedule for an interview with C&I. Here are some highlights from our conversation edited for brevity and clarity.   

Cowboys & Indians: I’m going to have to be careful here because I don’t want to spill any beans. Let me start off by saying I admire your performance in the series, particularly this season. Very much. Congratulations.
Tamara Podemski: Thank you so much.

C&I: OK. There is an episode in the second season where, let’s just say, you are on camera a lot. Okay? Is that safe to say?
Podemski: Yeah.

C&I: And I’m wondering, when you got the script for that episode, whether there a little voice inside your head that went, “Yes!”
Podemski: Oh, yeah. When you get a script that allows you to dive deep into your character’s world, it is always a moment of celebration. I think it stays in that place of celebration for a while until you’re faced with the day before shooting it. And then you realize the incredible responsibility and, yeah, I guess the incredible responsibility you have, too, when given an opportunity like that, that you just want to bring it on all levels.

C&I: And this season involves — I think you can safely say this — a certain amount of time-tripping on the part of Sheriff Joy Hawk.
Podemski: [Laughs] Yeah, you can say that. Yeah.

C&I: Do you feel like you could have easily survived back then?
Podemski: Who I am right now? Could I have survived at that point in the past?

C&I: Yes.
Podemski: Well, it wasn’t a great time to be a Native American. There’s certainly been more disruptive times, but I think that was a particular era of the early treaties. There are allyships, there is the conquering of the West. It was a pretty intense and violent era in the country. And so, I think every Native American at that time had a difficult time surviving. I don't think throwing me back into that time would’ve — I just don't think I would’ve fared any better.

C&I: While you’re playing Sheriff Joy in the here and now, when you put on the cop uniform — particularly when you strap on the belt — do you find yourself having a new strut, or maybe even a new swagger, to your walk?
Podemski: Yeah. I mean, the whole uniform, the belt — and actually, Sheriff Joy doesn’t wear a belt. She has a holster, and I think she has some cuffs, but she doesn’t do the whole get-up. I actually found it quite restrictive. And so also, because she’s a sheriff, sheriffs tend to have a variety of relaxed wardrobe. So, I found a really nice balance, because I feel like she needed to be able to fight and be able to move and run. And I think we found a nice balance. But absolutely, I think it’s less about the gun and the holster than it is about that stiff polyester uniform that just doesn’t know how to breathe in New Mexico heat. That was more challenging.

C&I: What do you think has been the toughest nut for you to crack while you have been developing this character?
Podemski: I think that she doesn’t exist in the real world. When I’m given a character that, on paper, she’s queer, she’s Native, she’s a woman, she’s deputy sheriff in a small town in conservative American town — there was nowhere to pull from.  This person literally does not exist in America. So I did a lot of research. I called upon many people, whether they were was in public office, or even in the police academy, to help me ground her in something authentic and real.

And that, I think, was the most difficult thing: Finding how to bring someone who actually doesn’t exist in this modern day and time, because it is such a strange choice for somebody of such a specific lifestyle to want to try to fit into small-town Wyoming, and find a space for herself in a sheriff’s department. So that was both the challenge and the really fun and interesting thing to do, because it really makes you curious about human behavior and what would make someone want to exist in that space and also want to excel in that space.

C&I: Is there something on your resume that maybe hasn’t gotten as much attention as Reservation Dogs or Outer Range — or even Coroner — that you’re particularly proud of, and you’d like people to maybe dig up and take a look at?
Podemski: Absolutely. For sure, the first film I made, I think, was Sterlin Harjo’s first film. Sterlin Harjo created Reservation Dogs. Well, we made a film about 20 years ago, maybe 15 years ago, called Four Sheets to the Wind. And we shot it in Oklahoma, just like Reservation Dogs. And that was the one that I won the special jury prize for acting at Sundance. That was the one that really skyrocketed my American career for sure, but also started a friendship with Sterlin that had lasted to this day. Any time an indie film gets exposure at Sundance to introduce people to new artists and new voices  – I love those stories. Four Sheets to the Wind, it's a classic. That’s what Sundance is about, to celebrate new voices, and that was a very special film that I’m proud of. And I think that the second one, which was just unfortunate because it came out during Covid, was Run.

C&I: Can’t say I’ve caught that one yet.
Podemski: It’s funny, because when I was pitched Sheriff Joy, they were like, “It’s the first native gay sheriff character we've seen on television.” And I had to say, “No, I actually just played that.” That was in the HBO comedy Run with Phoebe Waller-Bridge. And that was a gay native sheriff — but a very different kind. But that character and that project, I’m also very proud of. Especially because it allowed me to do comedy, which I don’t get to do a lot. And obviously, appearing opposite Phoebe Waller-Bridge is just a highlight of my life. Yeah.

C&I: OK, the inevitable question. What is Josh Brolin really like?
Podemski: With no disrespect, I often refer to him as a teenage boy because he’s just got this, “Yeah, dude, let's do this” attitude going for him.

C&I: Oh, yes.
Podemski: He’s got this super teenage energy that is electric and contagious, and it’s a really great energy that you want to have for a leader of a very big cast. For an ensemble cast, there’s a lot of storylines at once. Sometimes, we’re really far apart from each other. Sometimes, we’re there together. Especially in Season 2, all of us were in different spaces, so you need the thread, and Josh is very much the thread.

And especially to have him directing this season was a special experience. I hope he continues in his directing career, because I think he is very good at it. But I think also, there is something very special when you have an actor directing, because they know the language. They know what is easy, what is clear. I felt like it was a really natural way to work and understand what he wanted and what his vision was. So, yeah, I hope it’s the beginning of a directing career for him because he was really good.

C&I: In recent years, it seems that there has been a great deal more inclusive representation of Indigenous People in both period dramas and contemporary stories. Do you feel like you’re living at the right time?
Podemski: Well, I like to think I’m always living at the right time, but not because of that. I do think that there’s a real difference in what happened here in Canada. Twenty years ago, we had big TV shows that were had full native casts, native writers, native directors. We've seen that moment even in America, and some more independent levels. We've been hustling hard. We've been doing our thing. I just think maybe the people started to notice more.

For us, in the work of it, and in the storytelling of it, we’re doing the same thing. And I know that I don’t feel much different in that, other than a few more people are noticing. And I guess I don’t like to be fooled by a trend of visibility, because I need to see the long run. Now, we want to be in those rooms. Let us be in the rooms. Let us direct the shows. We have the chops, the skills, the talent. Let us go beyond Indigenous-specific stories. We had Indigenous producers and costume people in props. We had our speakers. We had our background actors. We had our writers, our directors. Part of what was amazing about Season 2 of Outer Range is that the door was just blasted open. And there is more Indigenous representation in one episode of Outer Range than we've seen over a year on mainstream commercial television.

So, there are, for sure, these exceptions, but before I believe it's really happening and changing for good, I need to see this play out a few more years. And I don't want people to think we’re not there because of a diversity quota. We’re not there because diversity sells. We’re there because we are good enough to tell human stories and stand toe to toe with some of the greats like Josh Brolin, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lily Taylor. That's what I think this moment is about. The moment that the doors are open, you show that you can play on this field.

C&I: Once again, I am being careful, treading on eggshells here. But I think the final episode of Season 2 is dramatically satisfying in that it wraps up many things. On the other hand, the door is left open — wide open — for a Season 3. Are you hoping for a third season?
Podemski: I would hope for it, yeah. First of all, I have fallen in love with Sheriff Joy. I am more proud of her than I’ve ever been playing a character who you’ve been rooting for and championing. And I got really upset with her in Season 1 because of some of the decisions she made and how she compromised some of her values.

C&I: But you were willing to forgive her?
Podemski: I love her so much, and I would love to see who she becomes. And I think, aside from the work, yeah, it would be great to continue to have the job of it. To me, sometimes it’s like you have to return to the world. You have to enjoy the world. You have to enjoy the character that you’re going to live in for that period of time. So, yeah, I would, of course, love to return to Joy and her wife Martha, and their girl Rose. It’s a beautiful family, and I think they’re such a beautiful addition to the Outer Range world.

C&I: Finally, this isn’t your first rodeo. You have been active as an artist for — well, I don’t mean to make you sound old, but for a while. On the other hand, are there still moments now when you’re on the set, and you find yourself thinking, “Holy hell, I am working opposite Gary Farmer,” or someone equally famous? Where you go, “Damn! I’m on this set. I’m acting with this person. And I’m getting paid for this.”
Podemski: Oh, I still get that all the time. I don’t let a second go by that I don’t acknowledge I’m one of the lucky ones. I get to do my dream job. And absolutely to choose this job in this industry is a crazy idea. And for 30 years, it has broken me and lifted me up over and over and over again. So, these are the nice moments when we get to celebrate a show, but all the moments in between the shows. There’s some hard realities of what it is to live — well, first of all, as an artist, and also be in this industry. So, every time that it’s a positive experience where you get to tell a good story in a good way with good people — I just thank my lucky stars at night.