Exclusive Interview: Zach Smadu Talks Transition from Stage to Screen, Family Law, and More

From the stage to the screen, Zach Smadu has emerged as one of the industry’s most versatile storytellers. He’s brought dynamic characters to life in projects including Cardinal, The Expanse, and Kim’s Convenience.

This fall, he stars in the award-winning series, Family Law. The drama follows a group of flawed family members who work together at their father’s law firm in downtown Vancouver.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Zach about his career, Family Law, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling?
Zach: I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic. I never suffer from stage fright. I’ve always had more energy than most people know what to do with, which means I’m usually the loudest person in the room. [laughs] So when I was in Grade 5, my dad came home one day and asked if I could learn this “monologue” for an “audition.” I didn’t know what either of those things were, but I soon learned Shakespeare’s classic “All the World’s a Stage” from As You Like It and spent that summer in a Summer Shakespeare program for kids. We learned and rehearsed the play, built the sets, designed costumes, and hung and set the lights…we knew everything there was to make the magic of theater. From that moment, I was hooked. I’ve never looked back.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Zach: Andorlie Hillstrom, Rob Ursan, and a company called Do It With Class (DIWC). After that first summer with the Shakespeare program, I was invited by Andorlie to join this new children’s musical theater company she was forming in Regina, Saskatchewan, where I grew up. It was the most unique, immersive, extracurricular program any child could dream of. We’d spend about nine months of the year in classes learning and training in all things music, theater, and dance while rehearsing for a couple of major stage productions. It’s where all my foundational work was learned and all my stage experience built. I was with DIWC until I left for university. Because of Rob and Andorlie, I had more theater musical training and stage experience than most young professionals. Plus, I had the confidence and the belief that I could actually pursue this as a career.

PC: What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned on the stage that you’ve been able to apply to your career on screen?
Zach: It’s the power of preparation. It’s everything. Theater is the actor’s medium. In theater, you have time to rehearse. You will often take months learning lines, discussing characters, changing the blocking, playing with scenes, and allowing ideas and themes to come to you, all in preparation for when you finally take the stage and share it with the audience. On stage, in relation and reaction to the living, breathing audience, the actor can harness every minutia of the craft—how to time a joke, how to let a moment of suspense breathe, and so on. In film and TV, it’s a different world.

You rarely have any time for rehearsal. In fact, you have less time than you think. There are so many moving parts in cinema; it gets made at a different pace and costs a lot more. So, speaking specifically from the actor’s perspective, if you’re not ready for it, by the time you get to set, the scene can be over before you know it. I quickly learned that it’s my job to bring the work in. The work happens before “action” happens. Theater gave me the tools and the know-how to be prepared, so when I’m finally in front of the camera and have an hour to capture a pivotal scene forever, I’m ready.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out?
Zach: It’s all been so valuable and insightful in different ways, but the first thing that comes to mind is working on Cardinal. That was the first show where I got to be there all the time for three seasons and where I really saw the inner workings of what it took to be a working screen actor. Until then, I had done plenty of bit parts or episodes or MOWs, but this show allowed me to see what it really took to be an actor on screen. The whole team, cast and crew, were terrific. But our two leads, Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse, taught me so much. They led by example what it meant to be the lead of a show—ever humble with grace and humor, always professional, joyful to be around yet so prepared it was intimidating. I saw through them how much work and focus it takes to do the job, but it must come from a place of ease and relaxation. It was my masterclass in acting for the screen.

PC: Family Law made its premiere in the States. What should audiences know about the series and your character?
Zach: Audiences should be ready for everything and anything. Family Law is something special. It’s a show that seamlessly weaves the best parts of comedy and drama through its beautiful writing, storytelling, and character development. When I first read the script, I didn’t quite know what it was. It was making me laugh and then cry in a matter of moments. Everyone feels so natural in it. The characters are complex. They have their faults and their charms. The relationships are nuanced. I’m just so proud of it all.

What to expect from Daniel? Despite his overt bravado and confident demeanor, there’s much beneath the surface. There’s a softness and uncertainty that I adore in him.

PC: The series does a beautiful job balancing comedy and drama. For you as an actor, does one come more naturally than the other?
Zach: Well, who knows! Obviously, specific roles or shows lean heavily on one world. So, you have to play within those parameters. I naturally try to find humor in anything. But with this show, we can mine this world through both lenses. I love being in a heated, dramatic moment and then, on a turn of a dime, being able to find a physical comedy bit to complement it in some strange way. I think it makes the characters much more palatable. Much more human. In real life, I’ve been to funerals where people suddenly burst out in laughter. No emotion is exclusive to the other, and I try to capture that balance in my work.

PC: There are so many interesting dynamics within the series. Which was your favorite to explore in Season 1 and why?
Zach: For me, it all boils down to relationships. Daniel’s relationships with Abby, Harry, and Lucy are all familial and professional. And the jockeying between them is so fun. There can be a scene where Daniel is trying to be “the big dog” at the law firm and crushing it as a family lawyer, yet he’s undercut by his fellow lawyer and half-sister, Abby, because of how his dad treats him as a son. These dynamics are in constant play in every scene—it’s amazing to dance with them all.

To keep up with Zach, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Family Law on the CW.

Photo Credit: Richie Lubaton