Matt Barr and Justin Johnson Cortez have a lot to tease following the premiere of the CW’s Walker Independence at the ATX Festival in Austin. The pair star as Hoyt Rawlings and Calian, respec…
) husband is murdered in the first moments of the pilot episode, she is left for dead. She survived thanks to the Apache tribe who tended to her injuries and Calian, her Native guide who takes her to Independence, and an uncertain future.
He continued, “I think there’s a little bit of the West in Calian, as well, and he should be unpredictable and a little dangerous. But what was really important to me is that we see him smile and that you’ll see him laugh. I didn’t want to represent the same old image of Native American characters on screen, so I’m excited to dive in deeper and show the complexities behind this character. Show how much fun they can be.
“Across the TV landscape, there are attempts at diversity that can feel forced or like it’s treated as a novelty. It feels like you’re almost taking steps backward and even insulting,” he shared. “So to do it in an organic way is something special.”will take viewers on a journey with these characters in the present, but will also dive into ther past and what led them to Texas.
The new role helped Barr, a native of the Lone Star State, come full circle in a way. He made his TV debut on“The show was filmed in Dallas where I grew up and they shot one day on one of my friend’s ranches so they pulled me in as an extra. I remember Chuck and Clarence Gilyard running and they say, ‘Where did he go?’ and I pointed to the left so they went that way. I had no words, but I pointed. When I went to school after that, I walked in like I was Tom Cruise.