Henrick Vartanian
Actor Scott Speedman has the eye-catching lead role in “Edwin Boyd,” a flashy real-life criminal and folk hero in his native Canada whose persona and personal style are quite far afield from the low-key hunk’s own demeanor and personality.
“Boyd” recently won the Skyy Vodka Award for Best Canadian First Feature FIlm at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The true-crime action-thriller tells the story of the WWII veteran who struggles to provide for his family as he harbored dreams of Hollywood stardom. Boyd eventually turned to robbing banks in an over-the-top personal style that brought him the fame he craved as well as tragedy.
“Dismayed by public indifference toward veterans, humiliated by his inability to provide for his children and wife, Edwin resorts to unlawful activity,” notes the TIFF write-up. “But what start as friendly and flirtatious bak robberies, performed by a dandy wearing thick makeup, evolve over time—and with experience—into a career not unlike that of Clyde Barrow or Butch Cassidy, in which crime and love mix with explosive results.”
“Edwin Boyd” was filmed in January and February on location in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Writer/director Nathan Morlando corralled a supporting cast that includes Brian Cox, Kevin Durand, Brendan Fletcher, William Mapother, Kelly Reilly and Charlotte Sullivan.
“I didn’t know anything about him at all,” Speedman notes of the title character. “To be honest, I’d never heard of him. I started doing my research but then… I started working on just the spirit of the character as I saw it. It was important to get that down.”
Boyd’s obsession with fame was a challenge for the reserved Speedman. “I shy away from a lot of that stuff,” he says. “But he sort of comes alive in front of a camera. He seeks it. I mean, in some sort of way, every actor wants that at some point in their younger days. But, no, that was the part that was interesting [for me] to try to find.”
As well, Boyd became something of a folk hero because he had fun even as he robbed banks at gunpoint. “He had a blast!” Speedman laughs. “It was really important to show how much fun he was having. It was an escape for him. It wasn’t a scary bank heist. It was his art, in a sense.” 
“Canadian’s rarely mythologize homegrown criminals,” notes the “Toronto Sun“ of Boyd’s “colourful, bittersweet saga,” and termed the movie version “compelling, beautiful to behold and populated with a great ensemble led by Speedman.”
Morlando “uses all the tricks of the gangster genre—bursts of action sequences, romantic subplots, pretty girls, crazy sidekicks—but it doesn’t misuse them,” said The Film Experience website. “Sure, you’ve seen this stuff before… but the two hours go by like two minutes as Speedman charmingly reincarnates Boyd.”
CLICK HERE for a YouTube interview with Speedman filmed at TIFF earlier this month.
CLICK HERE for its TIFF summary.