The young teenager from London stars in an Essex County TV series

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A five-part CBC miniseries written by an Essex County graphic novelist premieres Sunday and stars a teenager from London.

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Essex County, based on the graphic novel by Jeff Lemire, stars Londoner Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, a 13-year-old eighth grader at St Michael’s Catholic Primary School. The show airs at 9 p.m. on CBC and is available to stream on CBC Gem.

Essex County “tells the story of four distinct characters bound by bloodlines. From old Uncle Lou to young Lester to Anne the country nurse and Ken the stoic farmer, the four main characters move in and out of each other’s lives, slowly weaving bonds between them that ultimately save and redeem them.” it says in press materials.

Wojtak-Hissong plays Lester, a boy who moves in with his uncle Ken, a farmer, after the death of his mother.

“I love meeting people on different sets and I was lucky enough to be cast and take Lester from a drawing in a book to a real character,” said Wojtak-Hissong, whose older brother Adrian started acting 2015

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“One thing that draws me to acting is the ability to bring someone else’s vision to life.”

The cast includes Brian J. Smith as Lester’s uncle, Ken Holly Parker as Anne and Stephen McHattie as Uncle Lou.

“It was an amazing experience with such an incredible cast,” said Wojtak-Hissong, who appeared in The Kindness of Strangers (2019), The Banana Splits Movie (2019), Dreamkatcher (2020), Land (2021) and “Blood” (2022) ).

“We came together as a group to make Essex County a real thing and help shape these characters and bring them to life.”

Wojtak-Hissong attended a summer theater camp at London’s Palace Theater which sparked his interest in acting. He read scripts with his mother when his brother Aidan auditioned, but said he was too shy to take the next step and audition.

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“Once I got over my fear, I auditioned and (director) Lone Scherfig cast me for Kindness of Strangers,” Wojtak-Hissong said.

This is Wojtak-Hissong’s first work in television. He said Lester’s role was difficult given the subject matter.

“Lester lived in a bubble with his mother and when she died, that bubble burst. . . . Everything in his life collapsed,” he said.

“It was really difficult for him because he was very shy, liked to draw and kept to himself. He didn’t have much confidence, he walked with his head down and his shoulders slumped. He was in a depressed state and he and his uncle didn’t get along.

“They were two very different people and Lester hid his feelings behind the (superhero) mask he wore that his mother made for him. Wearing that mask was a way for him to connect with his mother.”

Although the series is set in Essex County, it was filmed in and around North Bay last summer.

Wojtak-Hissong said the other cast members “all helped me so much to become a better actor.”

“They didn’t have these big egos and they know so much,” he said. “It was just incredible working with such talented people, truly an amazing experience.”

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watch box

What: Essex County, a five-part CBC miniseries written by Jeff Lemire and starring London resident Finlay Wojtak-Hissong

If: Sunday, 9 p.m

Where: Available on CBC and for streaming on CBC Gem