As a matter of course, actors aspire to Hollywood. But in the advent of the internet age, where many markets have expanded from niche to global, so, too, have people’s goals and dreams grown beyond their borders. Therefore, Canadian actor Troy Crossfield’s elation at being cast as Scott in TVJ’s Ring Games should come with little surprise.
With the hope that he will be invited to reprise the role of Scott, Crossfield relayed that his experience on the television show was fulfilling for many reasons – including dietary, warm weather and creating a space of ethnic familiarity.
“I got to eat good food. It’s a hot place. I have no complaints,” Crossfield excitedly told The Gleaner. Certainly, it seems anomalous to cast a Canadian in a Jamaican production. But Crossfield was not such a far-fetched choice. “Before Tyler Perry, I was looking up to Oliver Samuels. He was the first,” he divulged.
Crossfield’s connection to Jamaica began with his parents. His mother is from Hanover and his father from Clarendon, but his conduit to the Jamaican theatre world was through renowned broadcaster and actress, Dahlia Harris. They met as Harris played the lead role in a staging of Basil Dawkins’ comedy-drama, A Gift For Mom ,directed by Douglas Prout and produced by Ebony Nile Ventures in Ontario, Canada.
“Douglas told me there was a big actress coming from Jamaica. That’s how we connected and became friends. I told her, ‘Dahlia, anything you’re doing, please call me,” Crossfield shared.
He ended up calling her first, with a request for her to work on a short film with Canadian singer Tory Lanez. “The film never came out, but she always remembered that day. Then she called me and said, ‘I have a role for you.’ She read the script and I loved it.”
The months-long wait to confirm his casting was gruelling, but ultimately rewarding. When Crossfield finally made it to the island for a month of scheduled filming, he wasn’t disappointed.
“It was an amazing time. The cast was dope. Shout out to my homegirl, Shantol [Jackson]. She was working on this show while having her superstar career,” he observed.
Well-seasoned food and sunshine aside, the Ring Games set created an environment that he would not readily see - even if he enjoyed a Hollywood A-lister’s blockbuster lifestyle. “It was all black people, from the director to the director of photography. That’s an environment that so hard to break into in the US.”
It was a revelation that demonstrated that Hollywood is not the only place thespians can go to chase their stage and spotlight. “There’s so much more world to break into. You have people in the UK making films with Jamaican actors,” he continued.
This season of Ring Games comes to an end shortly, and Crossfield is hoping it’s not the end of the road for his Jamaican gigs. “I’m already in talks, I’m just waiting to see if they’ll give Scott another chance!”