Shawn Doyle on making Newfoundland proud

Actor Shawn Doyle has appeared in many films and television series throughout his successful career. Most recently, the Newfoundland native is co-starring with fellow Canadian Anna Paquin on CBC-TV's mystery drama Bellevue. The show keeps him busy, but between takes he's been spending time reading two books: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston and Making Movies by Sidney Lumet.

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams tells a fictionalized version of the life of Newfoundland's first premier, Joey Smallwood, from his life as a young boy to ultimately being the guy who guided Newfoundland into the Confederation in 1949. I think when you come from Newfoundland, especially in the arts, there's this kind of unspoken demand to do something significant that's going to make the homeland proud. And like him or love him, agree or disagree with joining the Confederation, this guy was larger than life and I think he believed in the potential of the province. The book is just hilarious, and it's imaginative and it's just completely absorbing.

I'm also hoping to shoot my first feature in the next year or so. So I hauled out one of my favourite books from one of my favourite filmmakers, Sidney Lumet. It's called Making Movies. It's part memoir and it's also part guide to technically making movies. It's always been an inspiration to me. 

Shawn Doyle's comments have been edited and condensed.