Canada's youngest stars — from Marvel heroes to indie darlings — are a tough act to follow

When 13-year-old Liam Diaz auditioned for Scarborough, he had no idea that the Canadian indie film about three kids from a low-income Toronto community would become one of the country's most critically acclaimed films of the year.

Diaz was attending a performing arts school in his hometown Mississauga, Ont., when an acting teacher suggested he throw his hat into the ring for the role of Bing, a young, gay Filipino boy from a troubled family.

"It's definitely been a journey," he said.

"I thought it was just going to be a small little product, but I'm happy that it bloomed into a big one."

Diaz is now one of the youngest nominees ever to be considered for best performance by an actor in a leading role at the Canadian Screen Awards. Like other actors his age, he's living through the whirlwind of a burgeoning career while also trying to keep up his grades and hang out with friends.

CBC News spoke with a new generation of Canada's rising stars about the challenges of navigating the industry.

Jayden Zhang of Vancouver has always shown an interest in acting. His mom sent him to a drama summer camp, where he grabbed the attention of a talent agent. 

The auditions began rolling in — but the first one stood out for having a mysterious script, with only a few pages and little information attached to it. Eventually, it led Zhang to the role that would become his big break in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

"It's a Marvel movie. It came out last summer," Zhang said. 

Indeed, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was one of 2021's biggest blockbusters and Zhang got a prime gig as young Shang-Chi, the counterpart to fellow Canadian movie star Simu Liu's lead role.

"It was like a crazy roller-coaster that you were kind of scared to get on at first, but then it was really fun and you didn't want to come off again. It was great," he said of acting in the film. 

Stephanie Gorin, a casting director in Toronto who has worked on projects like Anne with an E, Baroness Von Sketch Show and FX's Fargo, said the challenge for young actors is to pursue acting for the right reasons.

"I think the hard thing with youth is, do it because you really love it, not because you think you're going to be a star," Gorin said.

"Don't worry if suddenly you've got a basketball final and you can't do an audition. Go do your basketball final, still live your life. I think it's important to have a balance both for kids and for adults."