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The Porter transports you back in time to a period in Canadian and American history when serving passengers on the train was a way for Black men to earn wages — despite unfair and racially-biased poor treatment. Mouna Traoré, who we’ve seen in The Umbrella Academy and Self Made, plays Marlene Massey, a nurse concerned with offering better healthcare to help her people.
She embodies the challenges of a working woman who’s married to a disenfranchised porter. She’s fighting to find the balance between support for her husband, bettering her community, and rising up against inequality.
BGN spoke with Traoré via video chat about her experience growing up in Canada, the importance of this story, and the dream of working with Alfre Woodard.
As a child of two immigrant parents, what was your experience growing up in Canada?
I had an interesting upbringing. Toronto is a super diverse city, and my family is very diverse. That really informed who I am today. My mom’s first husband was Jewish, so my older half-sister is Jewish. My stepmom is also Jewish, so it’s a double blended, multiracial family. I had a really beautiful childhood in Toronto.
I think it’s a great place to grow up. There’s so much food and things to do, especially within the arts, and I could access that. I went to acting classes from a young age, and then I went to performing arts camps. I pursued all kinds of artistic and creative interests. I went to a performing arts high school, and then I went to the University of Toronto to get my degree. While I was in university, I was also auditioning and acting.
What drew you to acting?
I just remember being a kid and seeing people on TV and feeling like that was what I was supposed to do. I love to perform and love attention. So I think that it was just something I was always drawn to.
When you see videos of me as a kid, as soon as the camera came on me, I was ready to perform. It came naturally. As I’ve grown into a sense of self, the things I want to do as an actor and what acting means to me have changed so much from when I was a kid.
What’s the first role that made you feel like acting is what you are meant to be doing?
I don’t know if I’ve had that yet. Everything always feels weird and shaky and scary, especially when it means a lot to you. Acting is such a big thing for me that it’s hard to distill my feelings about it because they’re always changing. I’ve had experiences that have made me feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Sometimes I’ve been in certain acting classes working on a monologue or a play or performing at a small theater.
Tell us about The Porter and the character you play in the series.
The Porter is a period drama that follows an incredible ensemble cast. It tells the story of these two gentlemen porters who work on the train for a railroad company going across Canada and into the United States for independence. They also creating a better life for themselves in the community but in very different ways. All of the other characters within the show follow the same trajectory of wanting to create a better life for themselves and their community.
For [Marlene], that looks like her work as a Black Cross Nurse, providing health care and education within her community and trying to create something that Black people can rely on that is outside white medical institutions.
Was there anything about this particular story that pulled you in or made you want to be a part of this show?
It was the opportunity to tell a story that reflected the Black Canadian experience in a way that I’ve never seen; for Black people by Black people. That was something that resonated with me. I’m half-Mali and half-Haitian. On both sides, my parents are new immigrants.
I don’t necessarily connect within my family to that history, but the impact that these men and women had on the Black community in Canada, how that has impacted the fact that my parents were able to come to Canada with immigration policy and the like, the quality of my life, and what I’m able to expect, that seemed important to represent and to honor and to give space for right now.
How has it been to work with Aml Ameen and Alfre Woodard?
Working with Alfre was such a dream because she’s in everything. I called her an icon the other night, and she’s like, “I’m not an icon.” I’m like, “To me you are.” I literally grew up watching her on-screen, and she is one of those people who see her gave me that bit of confidence to believe that I could do it.
Working with her was like a full-circle moment of working with someone who I didn’t even imagine I’d be able to work with and learn from and become friends with and grow with. That’s such a dream. I really enjoyed working with my co-stars. Ronnie Rowe and I were on a show called In Contempt together several years ago; we actually played lovers. It was nice to work with him again in a totally different period on a completely different show.
A lot of us grew in our friendships with each other. I never had any scenes with Loren [Lott]. The only scene I had with Loren was where I was leaving the Stardust in the first episode, and she was there. As we were filming, we were able to bond, and I would go to her dance rehearsals just to watch her dance because otherwise, I didn’t really get to see anything that she got to do. That was an incredible experience to build friendships and grow with my co-stars.
Are you excited about the US release of the show?
It’s exciting because it connects to so many people I’ve met over here who have family members who were porters, or who were somehow connected to a porter. For many of them, they haven’t seen the stories that their elders or their family members or relatives shared in such a way and I really am anxious to hear how they feel about it and how they connect to that.
What’s next for you?
I am developing my own projects, and I’m really working on developing my voice as a writer. That’s really important to me. The pandemic made it very clear how important it was to me. I really want to focus on comedy writing and speculative fiction writing.
The Porter, which originally aired on the CBC in Canada and premiered May 5, 2022, on BET+.
The Porter transports you back in time to a period in Canadian and American history when serving passengers on the train was a way for Black men to earn wages — despite unfair and racially-biased poor treatment. Mouna Traoré, who we’ve seen in The Umbrella Academy and Self Made, plays Marlene Massey, a nurse concerned with offering better healthcare to help her people.
She embodies the challenges of a working woman who’s married to a disenfranchised porter. She’s fighting to find the balance between support for her husband, bettering her community, and rising up against inequality.
BGN spoke with Traoré via video chat about her experience growing up in Canada, the importance of this story, and the dream of working with Alfre Woodard.
As a child of two immigrant parents, what was your experience growing up in Canada?
I had an interesting upbringing. Toronto is a super diverse city, and my family is very diverse. That really informed who I am today. My mom’s first husband was Jewish, so my older half-sister is Jewish. My stepmom is also Jewish, so it’s a double blended, multiracial family. I had a really beautiful childhood in Toronto.
I think it’s a great place to grow up. There’s so much food and things to do, especially within the arts, and I could access that. I went to acting classes from a young age, and then I went to performing arts camps. I pursued all kinds of artistic and creative interests. I went to a performing arts high school, and then I went to the University of Toronto to get my degree. While I was in university, I was also auditioning and acting.
What drew you to acting?
I just remember being a kid and seeing people on TV and feeling like that was what I was supposed to do. I love to perform and love attention. So I think that it was just something I was always drawn to.
When you see videos of me as a kid, as soon as the camera came on me, I was ready to perform. It came naturally. As I’ve grown into a sense of self, the things I want to do as an actor and what acting means to me have changed so much from when I was a kid.
What’s the first role that made you feel like acting is what you are meant to be doing?
I don’t know if I’ve had that yet. Everything always feels weird and shaky and scary, especially when it means a lot to you. Acting is such a big thing for me that it’s hard to distill my feelings about it because they’re always changing. I’ve had experiences that have made me feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Sometimes I’ve been in certain acting classes working on a monologue or a play or performing at a small theater.
Tell us about The Porter and the character you play in the series.
The Porter is a period drama that follows an incredible ensemble cast. It tells the story of these two gentlemen porters who work on the train for a railroad company going across Canada and into the United States for independence. They also creating a better life for themselves in the community but in very different ways. All of the other characters within the show follow the same trajectory of wanting to create a better life for themselves and their community.
For [Marlene], that looks like her work as a Black Cross Nurse, providing health care and education within her community and trying to create something that Black people can rely on that is outside white medical institutions.
Was there anything about this particular story that pulled you in or made you want to be a part of this show?
It was the opportunity to tell a story that reflected the Black Canadian experience in a way that I’ve never seen; for Black people by Black people. That was something that resonated with me. I’m half-Mali and half-Haitian. On both sides, my parents are new immigrants.
I don’t necessarily connect within my family to that history, but the impact that these men and women had on the Black community in Canada, how that has impacted the fact that my parents were able to come to Canada with immigration policy and the like, the quality of my life, and what I’m able to expect, that seemed important to represent and to honor and to give space for right now.
How has it been to work with Aml Ameen and Alfre Woodard?
Working with Alfre was such a dream because she’s in everything. I called her an icon the other night, and she’s like, “I’m not an icon.” I’m like, “To me you are.” I literally grew up watching her on-screen, and she is one of those people who see her gave me that bit of confidence to believe that I could do it.
Working with her was like a full-circle moment of working with someone who I didn’t even imagine I’d be able to work with and learn from and become friends with and grow with. That’s such a dream. I really enjoyed working with my co-stars. Ronnie Rowe and I were on a show called In Contempt together several years ago; we actually played lovers. It was nice to work with him again in a totally different period on a completely different show.
A lot of us grew in our friendships with each other. I never had any scenes with Loren [Lott]. The only scene I had with Loren was where I was leaving the Stardust in the first episode, and she was there. As we were filming, we were able to bond, and I would go to her dance rehearsals just to watch her dance because otherwise, I didn’t really get to see anything that she got to do. That was an incredible experience to build friendships and grow with my co-stars.
Are you excited about the US release of the show?
It’s exciting because it connects to so many people I’ve met over here who have family members who were porters, or who were somehow connected to a porter. For many of them, they haven’t seen the stories that their elders or their family members or relatives shared in such a way and I really am anxious to hear how they feel about it and how they connect to that.
What’s next for you?
I am developing my own projects, and I’m really working on developing my voice as a writer. That’s really important to me. The pandemic made it very clear how important it was to me. I really want to focus on comedy writing and speculative fiction writing.
The Porter, which originally aired on the CBC in Canada and premiered May 5, 2022, on BET+.
Writer: Tom Taylor / Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo / Boom! Studios
Goodness gracious, we have reached the penultimate issue of one of the best comic book stories of recent memory, and Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo are determined to make sure we don’t get a chance to breathe. As a brief recap to the events of Seven Secrets #16, the events foretold since the first issue finally came to pass, and Casper was struck down after a valiant effort to stop Amon. However, the story of the Seven Secrets is far from over, and Seven Secrets #17 wastes no time handing the microphone to Eva to help contextualize every other incident in the series thus far.
Eva’s been a stalwart supporting character since the series start and getting her view of all of the events that have transpired in a few compact pages is emotionally devastating in the best way possible. Witnessing the birth of Casper and the inciting incident of all of the other things to come as part of the set up to the finale is a brilliant move on Taylor’s part, and Di Nicuolo knocks the art out of the park. And this framing of what Eva went through and her immediate response is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Seven Secrets is a series that manages to maintain a sense of optimism even as the final boss looms over the literal horizon in a terrifying visage of power. The Holders, even with the circumstances stacked against them, remain resilient in the face of the demon. The crescendo of the second half of the issue is an incredibly evocative sequence. Taylor’s dialog continues to illuminate the rich mythology of the world while still leaving a couple of lingering questions for next issue, and Di Nicuolo takes full advantage of the different set pieces and magic to deliver stellar spreads.
I can’t really say that I’m ready for the final issue of Seven Secrets. Casper, Eva, and the entire cast of characters have been near and dear to my heart over the course of the series, and the incredible storytelling and artwork Taylor and Di Nicuolo have provided respectively have resonated deeply since 2020. Seven Secrets #17 was a near perfect way to segue into the conclusion of the series. While I’m excited to see how it all resolves, I’m also sad to see one of the most inventive series come to an end. Still, I’m hyped and that’s more than enough of an ask these days.
9.6 “Perspective Shifts” out of 10
Enjoying Seven Secrets? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
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Writer: Charles Soule / Artist: Ryan Browne / Image
It’s an incredibly simple concept. Imagine that you are going about your day and suddenly, a small phantasmal figure appears in your line of sight and says, “You can have one wish.” Which, in and of itself, would probably bring a veritable treasure trove of shenanigans. But now imagine that eight billion people have also gotten to make a wish. That’s the entire premise of this latest speculative fiction comic that is Soule and Browne’s Eight Billion Genies, and the chaos starts pretty much from the get.
Eight Billion Genies #1 starts with a little bit of a wonky framing as the narration sets the action in a small bar in a Michigan town “tomorrow.” We see the proprietor of the bar interact with various acquaintances and customers before the scope is slowly expanded to other people across the world. Soule does a great job of fleshing out the different characters with dialog and manages to create a solid rapport. Who wouldn’t emphasis with an almost twelve-year-old trying to make the best of a rough home situation, or the wise barkeep with a clearly mysterious past? Brown brings all of the characters to life, while also keeping the pages flowing as more characters get introduced and the more fantastical elements of the story kick in.
When the titular, ephemeral genies show up, everything quickly escalates and within just the first second so many chaotic things happen in a wonderful cacophony of inner desires and truly imaginative imagery. As the time scale escalates from eight seconds to eight minutes, Soule and Browne takes us through several different scenarios in a rapid succession and deftly create a polar sense of impulsive and foresight, of selfishness and selflessness. It’s a high concept premise that is executed brilliantly.
Eight Billion Genies #1 is a refreshingly vibrant first issue that dives headfirst into its conceit and just presses the gas pedal as hard as possible. Soule’s quick wit and writing paired with the surrealistic art from Browne work wonderfully in concert for this wild premise, and I’ll be following very closely to see what happens in the next issue/eight hours next month.
9.2 “Wishes Granted” out of 10
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