Chad Donella loves tormented characters. When I ask him about his favourite films he muses, “I just about cried when I saw Sid & Nancy; Gary Oldman was amazing in that role. I knew I’d never be able to play that role that well.” For a man capable of channelling such inner angst, Donella is surprisingly laid back. Sporting an untucked white shirt and trendy black-rimmed glasses, the slender twenty-eight-year-old actor seems a perfect foil to the brooding Chris Boyd he portrays in Hate Crime. He also acts nothing like a man who would eventually love to land a role as poet Dylan Thomas or crazed composer Sergey Rachmaninov. As he leans back in his chair he jokes that he was the only one “who got paid fifteen million dollars for the movie, but I blew it all on Ferraris.”

Originally, Donella was called to read for the role of Robbie Levinson but asked instead if he could read for the role of Chris Boyd. Raised in Toronto by Buddhist parents, he confesses that he finds “…The idea of someone having a literal belief in heaven and hell very fascinating. People who have a super literal belief in the bible believe if they do or don’t do certain things in their life the consequences will be very tangible; they’re going to burn forever in hell. Now it’s one thing to say that, but it’s another thing to believe that.”

Donella seems to relish the starkness of Boyd’s predicament and his scenes with Hollywood vet Bruce Davison are among the films best. Though he brings a certain nuance to the enraged Boyd, Hate Crime has drawn criticism for painting the Christian right with too broad a brush. When I ask him, Donella shrugs and with a slight smile says, “I never read reviews, all I do is play the role as honestly as I can and just hope that people enjoy the work and if they don’t, my many apologies.” As for future plans Donella can be seen starring in the upcoming feature the Nine Lives Of Mera and the Canadian indie flick Dakota.

Francois Dupraz