#CanadianScreen week presents the #AcademySocial

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With the Canadian Screen Awards just underway The Academy Social returned on Thursday, March 10 at 99 Sudbury. Celebrating those who exceed in social media, Liz Trinnear and Jus Reign hosted the ceremony and multiple awards were handed out for categories in social media innovation.

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Kristian Bruun

Many Canadian talent were present for the red carpet. We spoke with some of the biggest innovators in Canadian TV. The first talent we spoke to was Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black, Murdoch Mysteries) about the upcoming season of Orphan Black. He tells us how he portrays his character Donnie, “I try to take a few people in my life that I’m very close too, and tie them into the character so that’s how I like to relate to Donnie because I don’t have kids of my own . But I know that world and it’s so much fun to play within that. There’s so much about Donnie that’s intrinsically me but he’s very much not like me at all. That’s the fun of it, it’s like playing dress up everyday” . Bruun  assures us that we will be seeing lots of Donnie in the new season. When asked how Bruun goes The Xtra Mile, he tells us it’s all about preparation and constantly pushing to become a better actor. “It’s tough . It’s tough competition out there and you got to really dedicate your life to work. Not just work, but the stuff you do for free. That is also considered part of the job. If you put more time into that, it’s gonna pay off  You’re going to  get more work in the long run. I focus a lot on that as well” 

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Jessi Cruickshank

The next talent we spoke with was Jessi Cruickshank (eTalk Daily, Canada’s Smartest People), who we spotted wearing a flora based dress from New York based Toronto Designer Tanya Taylor with a black leather jacket from All Saints along with wedge like heels from Stuart Weiszman.  We asked Cruickshank who she is most excited to see this weekend, and she mentions Jon Montgomery (The Amazing Race Canada) because she believes ginger’s should all be friends. She chuckles by telling us about her Instagram post that singer Meghan Trainor stole her hair and that she should go back to being blonde. When asked how Cruickshank goes The Xtra Mile, she tells us, “”This day and age, we’re here at the Academy Social. I’m sure half the people are going to be on their phone, texting and tweeting. Part of the reason I’m not great at texting and tweeting and snapchat is because I want to interact with people . I think I go The Xtra Mile by never having the phone at the table when I’m at dinner, I’m never checking anything when I’m in the presence of another human being, and very conscious of my phone use. That for me, this day and age is going The Xtra Mile.”

Three Facts you might not know about Jessi Cruickshank
1. She was born in an A&W Restaurant in Calgary, Alberta.
2. She is currently wearing spanks in the photo above
3.She has a phobia of Hamster hands, which literally make her physically ill.

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The event then proceeded with the ceremony to honour the impressive achievements made by Canadian innovators in social and digital media.

Thanks to Jones Media, Bell Media, The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and more!

Catch the live broadcast of the Canadian Screen Awards Sunday, March 13 at 8 p.m. ET on CBC