Photo: Derek Monias, the student council chief at Dennis Franklin Cromarty school in Thunder Bay, Ont., interviews Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds in front of a live audience. The students have been preparing for the interview for weeks, developing questions for him. (Joaquin Powassin/CBC)

By Jasmine Kabatay - CBC News - December 15, 2022

While Ryan Reynolds might not impress Shania Twain, he sure impressed students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School Wednesday when they interviewed him.

The high-profile interview stemmed from a collaboration between the school's media class and CBC Thunder Bay, where CBC journalists come to the school once a week. Students are taught about the inner workings of the media industry and create their own story ideas.

Student Chief Derek Monias, from Sandy Lake First Nation, helmed the interview, speaking with Reynolds for more than 30 minutes over Zoom. 

"[I'm] starstruck, emotional, amazed. So many different emotions. I'm so happy right now," Monias said right after the interview finished.

"At first I was so nervous because we're meeting a big celebrity. But then eventually ... he felt like a friend," Monias said. "It felt like it was just us in that moment."

Reynolds, who logged in from New York City, told Monias he agreed to do the interview because, for him, it was a small effort, but for Monias, it could help his career.

"For me, it's, what is it, 30 minutes of chatting with a young, upstart journalist who I hope will one day be kind to me when you're in the big leagues," Reynolds said.

"You land an interview with me, now you'll go after someone else and be able to say, 'well, Ryan did it.'"

WATCH | See the full interview with Monias and Reynolds:

'None of us really thought it was going to happen'

The school serves students from remote fly-in First Nations in northwestern Ontario, who travel to Thunder Bay to study each year.   

Greg Chomut teaches the media class at Dennis Franklin Cromarty and said the idea to get Reynolds as a potential interviewee snowballed when the crew started thinking about people they wanted to interview.

"And it came to Ryan Reynolds. None of us really thought it was going to happen, but Derek really wanted to make the pitch to Ryan Reynolds, and we were encouraging [students] to kind of get crazy with it. And we sent out a tweet and … he responded right away."

With a response from Reynolds, the media club got started right away on working up questions, figuring out the logistics for the interview, and ensuring everyone had a role when the time came.

"There was a role for everybody, big and small. The quieter, more shy students were helping the elders and greeting people at the door and holding up signs for Derek. And some of the more confident outspoken ones had roles that fit that. So it was a really cool experience," said Chomut.

Jolene Banning is a journalist from Fort William First Nation and is an instructor with the club, alongside CBC Thunder Bay's Mary-Jean Cormier. 

Banning said she is beyond happy for the students and everything they've accomplished during the media club, especially making the goal and achieving it.

"There was a few times, during the interview, where I really thought I was going to tear up because I was just so proud of everything that Derek had accomplished and the way he was handling the interview. It just, it made me feel so proud," Banning said.

Everyone has a place

With the media club, it's important for all the students to know there are different roles that people play and that everyone has a place regardless if they're shy or more outspoken, Banning said. 

Banning said she became involved with helping the media club because she wanted students to know they have a voice and show them how they can use it for stories, and how these skills can help them in the world.

"The other important part for me was just letting these students know that we really believe in them, that we really support their dreams and that we really want them to succeed and be cheerleaders for them the whole way," said Banning.

Monias and Reynolds spoke on a range of topics from Deadpool, the contribution Reynolds makes to First Nation communities across Canada, and Shania Twain's name drop in her famous song That Don't Impress Me Much during a December performance.

Monias also asked Reynolds if he would be interested in coming to Wake the Giant, the annual music festival welcoming students to Thunder Bay each September. To the delight of the student audience, he said it's something he'd like to do if he can make it. 

After the interview was finished, Monias and the team congratulated each other and Monias said he was impressed that Reynolds was interested in the questions, and he loved that Reynolds is learning about First Nations culture.

"It seemed like he took just the time out of his day, his busy schedule, just to talk to us. And we all crafted questions," Monias said, "And I noticed a lot of my original questions were in there. And I'm so glad that we liked them. And I'm so glad that we had a big, nice, big class to help us."

To read this original story and more news, follow this link to the CBC News website.