If you ask Jared Abrahamson why he got into acting, he'll tell you, "I had to get out." Abrahamson grew up in a small Manitoba mining town called Flin Flon and eventually worked as a miner himself. When he wasn't working underground, he was training as an MMA fighter, and even began fighting professionally under the name "Wolfblood." But then he reached a point, when he was about 20, when he was ready to pack his bags and head west to try something new.

It's not the usual path for a Hollywood-bound actor, but it seems to have worked out for Abrahamson. He plays Eric Borsuk, one of the lead characters in the film American Animals, about the true story of four college students who carry out one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history. Abrahamson joined Tom Power from a studio in his new home of Vancouver to talk about his road less travelled.

American Animals opens in theatres across North America later this month.

— Produced by Tayo Bero and Jean Kim