When I first met Lanette Ware-Bushfield for coffee in 2018, I was both nervous and elated that she agreed to speak with me. Impressed by her presence and success in the Canadian film industry, I was eager to learn everything about this prolific actress. The day we met, she greeted me with a hug and sheer excitement that we made time to connect. The way she spoke about herself and her career was refreshingly self-aware, with zero self-deprecation involved. This woman loves herself and the people she works with. It became clear to me quickly that she was a dedicated and involved artist, one who made sure everybody ate when she was fed.
Six years later, I meet with her at the beginning of Summer, fresh off the high of her short film’s acceptance into multiple festivals, and she is still that same woman. Championing everyone around her and leading with purpose and passion. “I’ve had so many good people in my life who have influenced me. My entire life, I’ve had so much love, and they weren’t always family– who were great by the way, but I also had exponential support from school and clergy and environments at camps where they didn’t have any blood relation to me, yet they still loved me. So, for me, that was normal, and it’s my job to pour into others the way others have poured into me.”
Bushfield has established herself as a multifaceted and accomplished figure in both Hollywood and the Canadian film industry. With a career spanning over two decades, she has worked with incredible talents like Samuel L. Jackson, Zachary Quinto, Sharon Lewis, Ryan Destiny, Cory Bowles, and so many more. And even with an overwhelmingly successful resume as an on-screen performer, she made time to launch her company, A WWB Production Inc., where she spearheads projects that platform underrepresented stories on camera and provides opportunities to upcoming filmmakers in the industry.
In her latest project, Now What?, a short film she wrote and executive-produced, we follow Maxz and Lenny as they work out eleven years of resentment and betrayal in a hauntingly-lit bar setting. Bushfield, who describes herself as someone who has always written poetry and non-fiction, took a break from writing movies to focus on her on-screen career. But in 2025, with the current state of affairs, she felt spiritually compelled to write for the screen again. “I wanted to create roles for mature women in lead character positions so that audiences can see that the fire doesn’t burn out just because your decades are accumulating.” She tells me, “As you mature, you get stronger and better and more aware, so that is where my inspiration came from.” She then lets out her vibrant laugh. “But also, this one was for me and Liz! My measure of success on this was yay! We got it into a festival and now we can show our friends.”
The incomparable Elizabeth Saunders, who is best known for her role as Donna- the internet’s favourite baddie on the FX series From, stars alongside Bushfield as Lenny, her suspicious, former and literal partner in crime. The two actresses have admired each other’s works for many years, so this film, although culturally important, is also a bit of a love fest for the two friends. “It was literally intended for me and Liz to just work together, I can’t say that enough. She’d be in a hotel somewhere and text me about her love for my latest work, and I would do the same. It was like that for years.”
The love between Saunders and Bushfield is much more complicated for their on-screen counterparts; Maxz, who has been estranged from Lenny for eleven years, finds herself forced into reconciliation when Lenny appears at the bar minutes after taking her first shot. In 13 minutes and 47 seconds, the work carries the weight of a full-length feature. It’s intimate, bruising and tender in all the right places. Maxz faces an emotional landmine of revelations and feelings, a balance Bushfield worked intensely to get right. “I initially had trouble accessing how angry Maxz needed to be as my story editors suggested, because I love Liz so much.” She laughs. “However, they reminded me, she needed to be rightfully pissed, because even after eleven years the wound is still fresh and her engaging in the conversation shows how much she still loves. How much she’s still hurt.”
Bushfield’s character development for Maxz and Lenny was a conscious process as much as it was creating the foundations of the story.”I took a lot of time to write this one. The odd thing was that this wasn’t the original idea for Liz and I. It was always intended to be a stage-to-film project because I really wanted to showcase the weight of what each of us could bring to the roles. I came up with a lot of ideas, but landed on a story about estrangement.” She reflects. “Now What? is really about the loss of something great. Something that we were both good at. Being displaced from another human being who you feel is your equal through betrayal just felt so powerful to me.”
Crafting chemistry on-screen between the two was not only informed by their strong bond but heavily through Bushfield’s extensive work on creating backstories for both characters. “As a writer, it wasn’t difficult to create these people because I had great sources; I knew I would play Maxz, I understood the pressure of two people who’ve not seen each other in eleven years and what that would feel like. So, the character development was knowing about their pasts, and I had bibles on them.” She gleams. “I can’t imagine a world where I just plop someone in as a 52-year-old in 2025 and say GO. I need to know who they are, what they eat, who they call on a Sunday when they are feeling lonely. All of these things inform my characters, whether I am performing them or writing them. With Maxz, I understood her in a way that is very unique to the journey. As friends, I knew how Lenny and Maxz would come to a new understanding, that was how I developed the story, I knew who they were in and out.”
And while she was tracing their relationship history, Bushfield was mapping out the eleven-year mystery. Is Lenny who viewers think she is? Was this an elaborate set-up to emotionally manipulate Maxz into another heist? It’s impossible not to have these questions and the film is littered with easter eggs, something that is a trademark for Bushfield. I doubled down on Lenny – is it fair as a viewer to be suspicious of her? “Yes, full stop and that’s all I’m gonna say.” She smirks. “It’s very important to me as an artist to never answer an audience’s question fully and to always leave them with easter eggs. I love that myself, as a viewer, because I love the conversations that arise as a result. When I read a book, I love to engage with other readers of that book to understand what their perceptions were. Or when I go to an art museum, I love to ask the people I’m with what they see because 9 times out of 10, it’s always different. It’s just more fun.”
Still, even for a seasoned writer and performer, some scenes were difficult to execute. The flashback letter in particular, which served as the heart of Maxz’s choices, took as long to write as the entire film. “That letter killed me because it had to be right, because it was the entire core of where I was going and what I was trying to say. What’s tricky about this project is that it’s not going to be for everybody because I don’t make it easy for the audience. I make you work a little bit for where I am leading you, so the letter had to make sense and it had to connect all the dots, however intended to leave viewers still wondering.” The scene was devastating, and I can understand why the film’s impact hinged on its reception. In a moment where Maxz is at her peak rage, continuously rejecting Lenny’s invitation to another heist, she gives her the letter that, if you can imagine, makes Maxz’s reality twenty times worse. What makes the scene especially heartbreaking is the chilling narration by Diana Chrisman, actress and voice-over artist for KIA Canada. “We were so lucky to get her.” She declares. “Shout out to Bob Charters, my sound supervisor, for introducing us because she hit it out of the park. Because Quinn is not in the scene, I needed the emotion to be there, and we worked in the booth really hard. It was the toughest and most important part. She is a true voice over actor.”
Taking on the roles of writer and actor exemplifies Bushfield’s expansive talent and skill, and unwavering commitment to storytelling. Balancing these roles requires a harmonious blend of creative vision, leadership and adaptability. When I asked her why she chose to add executive producer to her role on the film, unsurprisingly, her answer was right on brand. “I’ll tell you the reason off the bat – to empower the next generation of BIPOC filmmakers. I wanted them on set, and I wanted to hire them myself. It was important to me to bring along as many talented people who don’t get the opportunities I could, and what better way to do that than to run your own show?” She says. “I approached this as a bootcamp for really talented folks; I put really great people in power, where they aren’t thrown into the deep end of an opportunity that they might not be ready for, who may not have these credits. This will help them get a gig on a larger show.”
Working as an executive producer isn’t new to Bushfield, and her vision has always been to help the next generation and then some. “I do run my own company where I have my own slate of projects that I will EP – I sort of always run my own show if it’s something I have written myself as an IP owner. If it’s in your head, you have the vision. But I’ve always liked the idea of creating an environment of love. This is who I am and, as an EP, I can do that.” She says. “I can bring in people who I know are good people, I can choose who I know will be supportive and who are loving. To me, that is the role of an EP. That they are at the helm of this wonderful opportunity and ensure everyone involved feels like it’s their project too.”
When time is our most precious asset, to speak to someone like Lanette truly is a gulp from a river of water enchanted with kindness, wisdom and warmth. With years of experience in both industries, one might believe she would be changed, an ego developed or disenchanted by it all, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. “I will always be that little girl watching Cicely Tyson on TV saying, ‘I wanna do that, mama,’ enamoured by the people I look up to. I’m still gonna be a fan of the people I look up to, even if I’m working with them.”
As she says this, I am reminded of just how long two decades is and the amount of challenges that could present for an actress who existed before the me #MeToo era and when roles for women were not as confronted for their limitations as they are now. 2025 has been a great year for Bushfield, kicking off with The Fire Inside, The Madness, and Seven Veils. But she reminds me that all these accolades and achievements took work. “I can honestly say that I am in an interesting place and position as an actor in 2025 that I have never been. My agents, my managers, we all know my name is in a better place than it was because more people know it in the decision-making world. All the years of having to prove myself are behind me because some of my best work is. Now I feel that the real work can begin.”
And she is not jaded by the time that it took to earn her flowery seat at the table, and she urges younger actors not to be either. “This doesn’t happen overnight, and the beauty of working and all these other elements is that it’s the preparation that gets you there; that’s why they call it a pyramid.” She gestures, “There are only a few people at the top. Why? Because you have to work all of the first floor to start moving up, and it should be like that. You don’t want to be thrown to the top, man. Let me tell you, it goes faster than you think, and it’s more ruthless than you think. You’ve got to be Cynthia Erivo to sing that final song in Wicked. You have to surpass the expectations on set- that’s the baseline requirement.” She smiles. “If you’re not at that level yet, that’s okay, keep doing your thing and keep climbing. You will recognize the fruits of your labour once those credits start adding up and people come to naturally know you.”
With skin in the game comes options and confidence. Bushfield approaches her craft with a deeper sense of responsibility to her age group, her gender and to the younger generation. The intimacy she shares with her craft is no longer driven by the urgency to prove herself, she now selects roles that resonate on a more personal level. “I know the industry sees actors in ‘Type’, but I need those other colours outside of the line to be inspired and to be excited about the work. I have had to turn down a couple of offers. I am at an age where if I am not learning or growing, then I don’t need to do things that I have already done.”
This evolution as an artist has also been informed by unlearning some of the earlier assumptions of a fulfilling career: that you can do it alone. “I had to unlearn that as an EP, especially, because when you try to do it alone, it leads to errors. You need to delegate, I can’t be mom, driver, cook, get to set on time, workout, write a new series! Like, what? No!” She laughs, “There is no way. Without help, you will crash, and no AI can help you with that.”
That clarity and maturing of vision is what makes Now What? a striking short film and Bushfield one of Canada’s best. As our time together comes to an end, I couldn’t let her leave without knowing if there is more to the story. Too much was left unsaid, unexplained, and I just had to know: Are we getting more?
“You are getting more.” She tells me.”You are getting a much bigger, juicier more.”
