Gorgeous and gifted Inuk actor Anna Lambe from Iqaluit stars as Siaja in the hit Netflix comedy North of North season 1 is streaming now. she is a total standout in this 100% critics rated and already renewed for season 2 hit with her obvious talent and grace.…most of all he unique raw realness. she shines as brightly on screen as she does in person with a pure authentic, smart, kind and witty soul. so scroll on down as we tagged along with this beauty on her NYC press tour just as the show premiered. ahhhh….and this just in! Anna is nominated for a Gotham Award! #staytunedformore

the bare magazine: What do you love most about your character Siaja?

Anna Lambe: I love Siaja for her ambition and her heart. She’s a young mom who had to put her own personal growth on hold while raising a child, and now that her daughter is older and more independent, no longer knows who she is or what exactly she wants. What she does know in her heart, though, is she loves her community, and she wants to do anything that can help give back to it.

Throughout the season we see her try to make her big dreams for the community a reality - failing many, many times - but always pushing forward to try again. She never lets her mistakes hold her down for long, and she always puts the community at the center of what she does.

bare: After filming wrapped how did you decompress and detach - must be challenging after being so deep in!

AL: The blues after spending months filming something can definitely hit hard. Especially filming something like this, where we’re filming in a small, remote and isolated location, you spend a lot of time with your cast and crew mates on and off set. I fortunately had a soft break from the show. We shot in two parts: all the location and set work in Iqaluit, and then the boat and pool work in Toronto.

I had a week between wrapping in Iqaluit to jumping into the water work which was a much smaller crew than we had up North. Some time to process, saying slow goodbyes, made letting go of North of North easier. I also flew to London literally the day after we wrapped to go see my partner while he worked on his own show. That definitely helped lol.

bare: the show hit the top 10 on Netflix must feel like quite an accomplishment! what do you think makes the story resonate with viewers and entertain so completely?

AL: It’s wild to have been in the top 10! In multiple countries! It was so unbelievable to me - our story about this small town in the Arctic being watched and enjoyed all over the world. It always made perfect sense though - so many themes and plot lines in the story are universal experiences. Complicated family dynamics? Yep. Imperfect romantic relationships? Been there. Crushed under the weight of expectation? Felt that. In a vicious cycle of making mistakes no matter how hard you try to get things right? A tale as old as time. I think all of this, the familiarity of the human experience, while immersed in this location that many haven’t seen before, while also feeling warm, joyful, and laughing along the way, makes it an easy and fun watch for many.

bare: what other genres or stories would you like to explore?

AL: I want to do horror! Thrillers! Scary anything! Horror is my favorite genre to watch - from elevated horror to high camp. I find it so fun. On the flip side I also want to do a romcom. North of North gave me a small taste of it and now I want my “Bridget Jones-10 Things I Hate About You (but older)-500 Days of Summer” moment.

bare: we had fun hanging with you in NYC! what were some standout moments for you there?

AL: Hanging out in NYC was SO much fun! I was so nervous jumping into American press. Up until that point I had only done press in Canada, and all international press virtually. But we were such a large group running around NYC and getting through the long days together which made it easier. I’m mostly grateful everyone was really chill about everything - we all just wanted to have a nice time and serve some looks.

I loved in the mornings throwing ideas out for what I was thinking for glam and you and Wesley always going above and beyond. Getting a first look in the mirror after it was done was always exciting. I was also very grateful to have my parents come to NYC to see the North of North billboard in Times Square, as well as my manager. It was pretty surreal.

bare: you mentioned being a big foodie. what are your favorite places to eat, favorite foods and describe a dream meal? do you like to bake?

AL: One thing about me is I’m going to eat! I’ve had a complicated relationship with food for a long time, and leaning into making food a celebration has been helpful for me. When I’m in London, there are some must eat places every time I visit. Bricklane Bagel for a salt beef bagel is one. Wong Kei for beef brisket noodle soup is two. Manghal 1 for Turkish is 3. And a Greggs (vegan for me) sausage roll at some point. And then some other restaurants in rotation, but those 3 are ol’ reliable.

When I’m in Ottawa I really enjoy Raphael’s for Peruvian food, Beandigen for coffee, and there’s a place in the Byward Market that does a chicken tikka wrap. Chef’s kiss.

For my dream meal, there’s a meal I think about often that I had once in Charlottetown, PEI. It was a pasta with a very light cream and pesto sauce, some peppers and arugula, and pan seared scallops. This was back when I could still eat eggs and milk. That, with a glass of dry white wine, maybe end the meal with a sorbet or some kind of meringue dessert? Whew.

bare: who are some of your favorite indigenous musicians and designers?

AL: Elisapie Isaac’s music defined my youth - There Will Be Stars is the album that lets me know spring is here. I adore Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer. Thea May speaks, or sings, to my grungy heart. The Tradeoffs are a go-to listen for me and any time they’re playing live, I will try and be there.

For Indigenous designers, oh boy. Victoria’s Arctic Fashions and Winifred’s Designs for beautiful parkas; Greg Morgan and Mathew Nuqingaq for Inuit made fine metal jewelry; White Otter Designs, Small Feather Empire, Porcupine Kunik, Sapangak, Sailiniq, Dickson Designs, Warren Steven Scott, Sweetwater Trading, and so many more for earrings; Mobilize, Hinaani, Bibi Chemnitz, and more for streetwear; and Lesley Hampton for couture.

bare: we spied your go-to skincare and fragrance. are you pretty regimented with your skincare routine? have you stayed true to your Nest fragrance for a while?

AL: I have a strict skincare routine. I’m an acne-having girly and if I change things up, there will be consequences. I’ve worked with an acne specialist to find what routine works best for me, and it’s simply: gentle face wash, strong exfoliating acid only at night, gentle Tower 28 cream. I use the innisfree green tea hylauronic acid during the day and never, ever skip sunscreen.

Fragrance has been a real luxury I’ve been able to introduce into my life the past couple years. I get myself a perfume when I book a big job and want to treat myself. I had been eyeing the Nest Madagascar vanilla perfume oil for well over a year before I bought it and I have loved and used it everyday since.

I also really like the brand Commodity - I think their scents are very interesting. I’m currently hoping if North of North gets a season 2, or if I book something else, I can treat myself to Le Labo’s the Matcha which I have been eyeing for close to a year now.

bare: you put your outfits together yourself for some of the press tour - can you describe your style and what you're drawn to? are you a vintage clothing fan?

AL: I did! I wanted to style myself for this press tour because I thought it might help me feel a bit more “me.” Press is stressful and you already have a lot on your mind and for me, clothing textures, how it fits, if it’s tugging or pulling, literally makes me want to jump out of my skin. It was comforting to style myself knowing everything was going to fit and feel the way I wanted it to. I also just really enjoy clothes and trying out colors, patterns, textures and shapes, and I got to explore with what I thought did and didn’t work for me.

I made an effort to try and shop primarily vintage or second hand, and included pre-owned staple items to avoid overconsumption. I think in total for this press tour, I bought 1 shirt and 1 dress, 2 shoes, 1 pair of pants, and a vest new. Everything else was vintage, second hand, or I already owned it. That’s pretty good, I’d say, for 7 distinct outfits over the American portion of press.

bare: please list your top 6 Bare essentials (they can be anyone or anything).

AL: