LUVSMOKEYY aka Damien Castellane talks Rez Ball, Music, and What Comes Next

RONN!E from Daybreak Star Radio got the opportunity to sit down with musical artist and actor Damien Castellane aka LUVSMOKEYY about his role in Netflix’s new movie Rez Ball. Already familiar with one another, the two banter back and forth about music, acting, and the experience of growing up on the rez.

Damien Castellane plays Ruckus Largo, a sanitation worker who is part of the basketball team that the movie centers around. After losing their star player, the team must pull together to heal, grow and show the world how rez kids play ball.

Talking about his character, Damien comments that he feels lucky to have gotten the opportunity to play a character he can connect with as much as he did. When his friend sent him the audition notice and encouraged him to apply, Damien wasn’t sure why they would want to cast a kid from the rez but took the risk and applied. Though originally auditioning for the role of Tyson, Damien jokes that once they discovered his height he was quickly given the opportunity to audition for Ruckus instead.

Once he was cast the set itself was a different beast altogether. The biggest hurdle was being so far from his comfort zone and his home. Luckily, he had the other actors around him to build connections and a new comfort space. Though those connections were built during the hell-ish week and a half long basketball practice that all the players were put through, the actors formed a strong bond that’s still holding strong.

When asked about what he hopes people take from the movie, Damien discusses how he wants people to watch Rez Ball and understand the deepness of the context. Indian country gets a lot of backlash and hate from people who don’t understand that a lot of the darker sides of living on the rez come from generational trauma. The movie dives into alcohol, drugs, and suicide, all things that are too prevalent on the rez today. Damien wants people to see these aspects and either feel seen by them or get a greater understanding of native people and what they go through.

As far as advice to other Indigenous people looking to follow their dreams LUVSMOKEYY was very clear, be you. Don’t follow anyone else’s path, find your own. Don’t listen to those who tell you that you can’t, show them that you deserve to be there.

Though he is new to the acting world, Damien has been creating music since he was thirteen. He loves putting his heritage into his music and expressing himself and his experiences in that way. He currently has an album out called AJz World, dedicated in loving memory to his brother who sadly passed on March 9th of this year. The album is available on all streaming platforms.