Asivak Koostachin

Asivak Koostachin is a Cree-Inuk actor from Ottawa whose work threads Indigenous storytelling into Canadian film, television, and theatre. The eldest son of Cree filmmaker-scholar Jules Arita Koostachin, he grew up between Cree and Inuvialuit cultures and has spoken about using the camera as “a tool for Indigenous empowerment.”

Koostachin’s feature debut, the Gwich’in-set war drama "Red Snow" (2019), earned him Leo Award and American Indian Film Festival best-actor nominations, signalling a career built around culturally grounded roles. Two years later he played legendary Onondaga runner Tom Longboat’s spirit in "Run Woman Run" and won WorldFest-Houston’s Remi Award for best actor, while simultaneously taking American Indian Film Festival supporting-actor honours for his wistful turn in "Portraits from a Fire."

Since then he has balanced indie films and festival darlings—among them "Montana Story," the supernatural thriller "Broken Angel," and Jules Koostachin’s residential-school drama "Angela’s Shadow"—with guest spots on mainstream series such as "Letterkenny," "Cardinal," "Hudson & Rex," and the animated PBS hit "Molly of Denali."

Koostachin’s highest-profile project to date is "Duster," J. J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan’s 1970s crime saga for Max, which premiered in May 2025; as Awan, a Native getaway driver entangled with an FBI agent, he leaps from indie acclaim to international streaming screens alongside Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson.