CusickGallery.net: Henry Ian Cusick

This independent film was never released in the U.S.

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Official Website: Awaken-Film.com

“An intense, cautionary cinematic fable, deeply relevant to our times. The film takes a brutal, unflinching look at mankind stripped bare of the thin veneer of social convention.  It is a daring, bold, often painful journey into the darkness of our primal, carnal selves, ultimately asking the audience to answer the question, ‘What will it take for us all to awaken?'”

“During this time of uncertainty on the planet, we believe that stories have the ability to inspire shifts in consciousness that are crucial to our future as a human race.  The film’s intent is to reach widespread audiences, and encourage us all to look at ways that we can make different choices in our lives. It encourages us to move away from the ongoing conflicts that we have grown accustomed to, and towards a more unified future for all.”

“We are committed to seeing this project through, and inspiring real changes in our society through the powerful medium of filmmaking.  The film is already impactful, and is receiving a lot of attention.  In an earlier version titled 9/Tenths, the film was honored to be included in the Library of Congress for its social significance, and won a best screenwriting award, but was never released in the United States.”

Mi’s IMDb Review

10/10 Stars

Courageous and provocative

8 March 2007

I was given the tremendous honour of previewing this film. This is a piece of work that I have patiently been waiting 2+ years to see, and I was not disappointed in any way. Ms. McGuire has written, and Mr. Degus has delivered, a contemporary sketch of humanity stripped down to the essentials.

This is a story of two men and one woman, fending for themselves in the aftermath of significant terrorist attacks on major cities in the US. The viewer voyeuristically watches the layers of humanity peel back. The sense of entitlement gives way to desperation for basic human needs.

It’s an unsettling concept to consider ourselves becoming refugees of sorts…so much so, the average person refuses to even entertain such an idea. This film provokes those thoughts…just how far would you go?

While the suggestion was being made, the lesson being learned, I was thoroughly entertained by the fierce and intense performances of this trio of actors. They bled their roles. On so many levels and at different times you loved and hated each character. Their ability to evoke those emotions is a testament to the performers’ deep-seated talents, and the skill of their director to elicit that intensity from each actor for their character.

The setting, simple yet sufficient, was the fourth character. It leant much to the tale at hand, at times becoming more important than the people inhabiting it. The music was the fifth and most poignant character, drawing out the passion of the subject matter in a very subtle manner.

9/Tenths cannot be categorized as a “feel good” movie. Yet it’s an important story portrayed in a bold, skillful and artistic manner. I highly recommend this film.

Mianne Tripp, RN

LIVE INSTAGRAM CHAT WITH IAN AND ‘AWAKEN’ DIRECTOR, BOB DEGUS

Ian had his first ever live Instagram chat tonight and it was with Awaken director Bob Degus.

Fans enjoyed listening as both men discussed and reminisced about shooting Awaken (formally known as 9/Tenths) nearly 15 years ago.

For Ian, it was his first film working in the States, and it was thanks to Bob, who sponsored him, allowing him to get his SAG card.

The film also stars Gabrielle Anwar and Dave Baez.

It’s exciting to know the film will see a re-release with new and previously unseen footage.

Listen below for Ian and Bob’s full chat, and be sure to visit Awaken on its official website: Awaken-film.com

(Corrections: Ian appeared in Scandal in 2012, The 100 in 2014, and the Peru promotions in 2016. Ian played Spanish-speaking Ernesto, listed in IMDb as Terrorist, in Hawaii Five-O in 2013. Our thanks to Tatiana for identifying these.)

Someone Please Give Henry Ian Cusick a Spanish-Speaking Role Already!

Por Bianca Richards Enero 14, 2019 @PeopleEspanol

Here are some things you probably know about Henry Ian Cusick. First, he’s famous for playing Desmond Hume, whose story line involves the most tear-jerkingly romantic episodes in all six seasons of the epic TV series Lost. His Lost character was Scottish, so you might know that he’s, well, Scottish. He shot Lost in Hawaii for five years (2005 to 2010), so you might not be surprised that’s where he now lives. He’s married with three children. If you’re a fan you probably know he bailed after the first season of the Shonda Rimes mega-hit Scandal but has been on the sci-fi series The 100 from since 2016. And you might even know that he has a new TV show coming out called “The Passage,” an apocalyptic sci-fi series on Fox in which he plays a doc working on a cure for all diseases that kind of backfires.

What you might not know is that he was born in Trujillo, Peru, to a Peruvian mother, Esperanza Chavez, and Scottish father, Henry Joseph Cusick, and spent more than a decade of his early years in Spain and on Trinidad and Tobago before settling in Scotland at around 14. Yep, he speaks fluent Spanish and loves ceviche. So has his Peruvian-ness had an impact on his career? Not just yet.

Henry Ian

“I’ve always wanted to do Latino, Spanish speaking roles,” the 51-year-old actor tells CHICA. “It’s kind of weird because my name is Henry Ian Cusick, everyone just assumes that I’m Scottish and I’ve never really felt like I’ve been given the option to play Hispanic characters… I’ve never had that opportunity. I don’t know why that is.”

Indeed, scrolling through dozens and dozens of his TV and film roles on IMDB, one cannot find a single Latinidad name.

“I do find it frustrating that people label you not only on how you look but your name,” he says, noting that his sister is named Marialena [sic] [MariaElena]. “I guess they need to see me standing next to my mom to go ‘Oh, you are Latino.’”

Cusick, friendlier and more grounded than one might assume of someone with his success, was a good sport as he answered questions about Latinx representation in showbiz. He notes that throughout his career, diversity in the industry has improved significantly, but “still, we don’t see enough.”

One of the trends he noticed however is that more and more people he meets are bicultural, with “strange accents” like him, people who are “all mixed up.” This, he emphasizes, is a good thing.

We admit, Cusick’s South American heritage isn’t the biggest secret in the world. And it’s possible to find interviews with him published en Español.

In 2016, hot off his new Scandal role, Cusick spoke about his love for his birth country’s cuisine as part of a promotional campaign for tourism: “Peruvian food is an explosion of colors, of different flavors and smells…. It comes alive in the market of Surquillo. This market is the heart and stomach of Lima. Local fish, fresh vegetables and grains are sold fresh and even prepared and served by the sellers themselves,” he says. In the same interview he remembers his cousins competing to see who could make the best pisco sours, when he was old enough to try them.

In 2007, Cusick gave an interview to a Spanish-language outlet in which he recounted what he remembered from a trip back to Trujillo and Lima when he was 10. “The things that stayed with me the most were the ceviche and the anticucho, dishes that I have not been able to eat again. Then there are things that have remained of the stories that my mom has been telling me, like the typical dance of Trujillo, the Marinera.”

Henry Ian

After attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, which he never finished, Cusick became a professional stage actor in Glasgow and got awards for work in the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival in his early acting days.

His first major appearance on screen was in 2003 when he played Jesus in director Philip Saville’s film The Gospel of John released in the U.K., the U.S. and Canada. In 2005, he was cast in the second season of Lost and the rest in history.

We sincerely hope that Cusick gets an opportunity to play a Latino character and use his Spanish on screen. If he does, as we now know, no one will be able to accuse the casting director of the typical Hollywood whitewashing.

In the meantime, check out Cusick’s decidedly non-Latinx character Dr. Jonas Lear, on the premiere of The Passage, Monday January 14 at 9 p.m.

Edited by Michael Quinones