For Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie, Everyday on ‘Sterling Point‘ Was the “Best Day Ever”

For Sterling Point star Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie , filming the Prime Video series brought him right back to his childhood. “It felt like when you’re 9 years old, and you’re at summer camp and every day is the best day ever,“ the 23-year-old tells The Hollywood Reporter on a Zoom.

The Megan Park-created series is a big step forward in Lavoie‘s career. The actor, much like several of his cast members on the show, has been acting since he was a child. He got his first gig a decade ago after his mom had spotted a Facebook post about an open casting call for a child actor who could speak French and was indigenous. Lavoie, who is of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation heritage and grew up on a First Nation reserve in Quebec, was intrigued but a little apprehensive. Related Stories TV Amélie Hoeferle on Sisterhood, 'Sterling Point' and How She Found Her Love for Acting TV Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says Manager Fired Him Due to Age Just Before Booking 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Supernatural'

“I didn’t have any experience whatsoever in theater or acting at all, so it was definitely scary having to learn lines and going into audition,“ says Lavoie. But his mother was persistent and encouraged him to at least give it a try. Thankfully, the team loved his audition and cast him on the spot.

That 20-day indie film shoot became the moment he fell in love with acting. He signed with an agent in Montreal and continued working on French-speaking productions. Despite leading a show in Canada, Premier Trio , he found he wasn‘t getting English self-tapes. While Lavoie loved his time working on French-speaking roles, he had aspirations to break into the English-speaking productions as it‘s a much smaller industry.

“[ Sterling Point ] is the biggest project I’ve ever done in my life,“ he says. The show has allowed him to break into the English-speaking market.

Lavoie is still grateful to work on the show and get to work with Park and executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. But perhaps the person he was most grateful to work with was Jeffrey Dean Morgan, or “JDM,” as Lavoie calls him.

In Sterling Point , Lavoie plays Ellis, a Canadian teen who meets the show‘s leading lady and newcomer to town, Annie, played by Ella Rubin. He becomes one-third of the show‘s main love triangle. Morgan plays his father, Joe, who is later revealed to have his own dealings with Annie‘s family.

“When I found out that he was going to play my dad, I couldn’t believe it, honestly,” the actor says. “I personally was a fan of The Walking Dead as a kid, so when I found that out, I kind of shat my pants a little bit. I was like, ‘Crap, Negin’s my dad. What?'”

The young cast of the show, rounded out by Amélie Hoeferle, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Bo Bragason, Keen Ruffalo and Mabel Strachan, were very close during the shoot. Lavoie knew none of the other actors — no one on the cast knew each other before the shoot — but everything felt natural.

“Everybody got to know each other so well and so quickly. I just love these people so dearly, and everyone’s just such a good actor,“ he continues.