CORNWALL, Ontario – Growing up in Cornwall wasn’t easy for blossoming actress Helena-Alexis Seymour.
“At my Catholic elementary school, I was always teased for looking different, being different; having big curly hair and a flat nose,” said Seymour. “There were not a lot of black people in Cornwall when I was growing up. I was one of two in my school, before I went to Viscount (Alexander Public School).”
Seymour owes much of her acting success to the perseverance, strength and compassion that she learned at a young age in the face of adversity. She remembers returning home from school, pleading with her mother on many occasions to not send her back. But Seymour learned from her mother that challenges are opportunities to grow.
After growing up in Cornwall, Seymour’s family moved to Ottawa. Seymour always had a passion for acting and modelling, and she began to take on different roles, her first in a cereal commercial.
“All these years I have never given up and just kept pushing,” said Seymour.
Seymour has acted in various roles, working in the films A Diva’s Christmas Carol, Birdman and xXx: Return of Xander Cage. She is also a reoccurring character in HBO’s The Line and has worked in Lifetime films. Throughout her career, Seymour has travelled across North America, landing in Los Angeles where she now resides.
Seymour’s upcoming role as Jessica Wu in season two of Chronicles of Jessica Wu is one very close to her. She explained that the character of Wu is a young, female superhero with autism who is fighting to better humanity and discover who killed her step-father.
“To be that girl is an amazing experience,” Seymour said about Wu. Seymour is proud to play a bi-racial superhero who uses her unique skills to better the world.
Seymour explained that she extensively researched autism to better understand and relate to her character. Now in post-production, Chronicles of Jessica Wu will return to Amazon on April 2 which is World Autism Day.
“I’m so excited to watch it and see how all my hard work of researching autism will translate into film,” said Seymour.
Seymour doesn’t return to the area often, unless she is visiting friends or family. But she has reflected on lessons from our community, both good and bad, and applied them to her life and career, proving successful and resilient.
