Canadian Actors
Actors that originate from Canada.
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Jim Carrey, Canadian-born and a U.S. citizen since 2004, is an actor and producer famous for his rubbery body movements and flexible facial expressions. The two-time Golden Globe-winner rose to fame as a cast member of the Fox sketch comedy In Living Color (1990) but leading roles in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994) and The Mask (1994) established him as a bankable comedy actor.
James Eugene Carrey was born on January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, and is the youngest of four children of Kathleen (Oram), a homemaker, and Percy Carrey, an accountant and jazz musician. The family surname was originally "Carré", and he has French-Canadian, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. Carrey was an incurable extrovert from day one. As a child, he performed constantly, for anyone who would watch, and even mailed his résumé to The Carol Burnett Show (1967) at age 10. In junior high, he was granted a few precious minutes at the end of each school day to do stand-up routines for his classmates (provided, of course, that he kept a lid on it the rest of the day).
Carrey's early adolescence took a turn for the tragic, however, when the family was forced to relocate from their cozy town of Newmarket to Scarborough (a Toronto suburb). They all took security and janitorial jobs in the Titan Wheels factory, Jim working 8-hour shifts after school let out (not surprisingly, his grades and morale both suffered). When they finally deserted the factory, the family lived out of a Volkswagen camper van until they could return to Toronto.
Carrey made his stand-up debut in Toronto after his parents and siblings got back on their feet. He made his (reportedly awful) professional stand-up debut at Yuk-Yuk's, one of the many local clubs that would serve as his training ground in the years to come. He dropped out of high school, worked on his celebrity impersonations (among them Michael Landon and James Stewart), and in 1979 worked up the nerve to move to Los Angeles. He finessed his way into a regular gig at The Comedy Store, where he impressed Rodney Dangerfield so much that the veteran comic signed him as an opening act for an entire season. During this period Carrey met and married waitress Melissa Womer, with whom he had a daughter (Jane). The couple would later go through a very messy divorce, freeing Carrey up for a brief second marriage to actress Lauren Holly. Wary of falling into the lounge act lifestyle, Carrey began to look around for other performance outlets. He landed a part as a novice cartoonist in the short-lived sitcom The Duck Factory (1984); while the show fell flat, the experience gave Carrey the confidence to pursue acting more vigorously.
Carrey also worked on breaking into film around this time. He scored the male lead in the ill-received Lauren Hutton vehicle Once Bitten (1985), and had a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), before making a modest splash with his appearance as the alien Wiploc in Earth Girls Are Easy (1988). Impressed with Carrey's lunacy, fellow extraterrestrial Damon Wayans made a call to his brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans, who was in the process of putting together the sketch comedy show In Living Color (1990). Carrey joined the cast and quickly made a name for himself with outrageous acts (one of his most popular characters, psychotic Fire Marshall Bill, was attacked by watchdog groups for dispensing ill- advised safety tips).
Following his time on In Living Color (1990), Carrey's transformation from TV goofball to marquee headliner happened within the course of a single year. He opened 1994 with a starring turn in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), a film that cashed in on his extremely physical brand of humor (the character's trademark was talking out his derrière). Next up was the manic superhero movie The Mask (1994), which had audiences wondering just how far Carrey's features could stretch.
Finally, in December 1994, he hit theaters as a loveable dolt in the Farrelly brothers' Dumb and Dumber (1994) (his first multi-million dollar payday). Now a box-office staple, Carrey brought his manic antics onto the set of Batman Forever (1995), replacing Robin Williams as The Riddler. He also filmed the follow-up to his breakthrough, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), and inked a deal with Sony to star in The Cable Guy (1996) (replacing Chris Farley) for a cool $20 million--at the time, that was the biggest up-front sum that had been offered to any comic actor. The movie turned out to be a disappointment, both critically and financially, but Carrey bounced back the next year with the energetic hit Liar Liar (1997). Worried that his comic shtick would soon wear thin, Carrey decided to change course.
In 1998, he traded in the megabucks and silly grins to star in Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998) playing a naive salesman who discovers that his entire life is the subject of a TV show, Carrey demonstrated an uncharacteristic sincerity that took moviegoers by surprise. He won a Golden Globe for the performance, and fans anticipated an Oscar nomination as well--when it didn't materialize, Carrey lashed out at Academy members for their narrow-minded selection process. Perhaps inspired by the snub, Carrey threw himself into his next role with abandon. After edging out a handful of other hopefuls (including Edward Norton) to play eccentric funnyman Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon (1999), Carrey disappeared into the role, living as Kaufman -- and his blustery alter-ego Tony Clifton -- for months (Carrey even owned Kaufman's bongo drums, which he'd used during his audition for director Milos Forman). His sometimes uncanny impersonation was rewarded with another Golden Globe, but once again the Academy kept quiet.
An indignant Carrey next reprised his bankable mania for the Farrelly brothers in Me, Myself & Irene (2000), playing a state trooper whose Jekyll and Hyde personalities both fall in love with the same woman (Renée Zellweger). Carrey's real-life persona wound up falling for her too--a few months after the film wrapped, the pair announced they were officially a couple. By then, Carrey had already slipped into a furry green suit to play the stingy antihero of Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).
Although Carrey maintains a foothold in the comedy world with films such as Bruce Almighty (2003) and Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), he is also capable of turning in nuanced dramatic performances, as demonstrated in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and the drama/comedy Yes Man (2008). In 2013, he costars with Steve Carell in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013).
Carrey has one child with his first wife, Melissa Carrey, whom he divorced in 1995. He married actress Lauren Holly in 1996, but they split less than a year later.- Actor
- Producer
- Visual Effects
Nathan Fillion was born on 27 March 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the son of Cookie (Early) and Bob Fillion, both retired English teachers, and has an older brother, Jeff. His father is of French-Canadian descent, and his mother is of English, German, Finnish, and Norwegian ancestry. In Canada, he attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta and University of Alberta. Before moving to New York City in 1994, he participated in improv theatre, including Theatresports with Rapid Fire Theatre and improvised soap opera Die-Nasty. He also appeared in a TV Movie Ordeal in the Arctic (1993) starring Richard Chamberlain and in Strange and Rich (1994).
Fillion's first regular role was on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968), as Joey Buchanan, for which role he was nominated in 1996 for a Daytime Emmy Award. He left the series after three years in 1997. During the late 1990's, he appeared in small roles in the films Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Blast from the Past (1999). Fillion also guest starred on Das Bootie (1997), Mama's Got a Brand New Bag (1998) and Starcrossed (1999). His biggest break by then happened in 1998, when he was cast as Johnny Donnelly on the 2nd season of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998) opposite Traylor Howard, Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo and Suzanne Cryer. He starred on the show for 60 episodes.
After "Two Guys" ended in 2001, Fillion gained critical acclaim and a large cult of fans when he starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the Joss Whedon's Firefly (2002). Unfortunately the show was prematurely canceled in late 2002. He also guest starred on several episodes of two short lived TV shows, Pasadena (2001), as Rev. Glenn Collins and Miss Match (2003), as Adam Logan. In 2003, Whedon gave Fillion another chance to display his range when he cast Fillion as the twisted preacher Caleb, a villain, in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Before and after "Firefly", Fillion appeared in many movies, Dracula 2000 (2000), Alligator Point (2003), Water's Edge (2003), If Dad Only Knew (2004) and Hollywood Division (2004).
Whedon vowed to resurrect "Firefly" in some way, and Fillion played Captain Reynolds again in the feature-film Serenity (2005). Fillion followed this film with more big screen leading roles, in the horror-comedy Slither (2006), in White Noise 2: The Light (2007), in the indie hit Waitress (2007) opposite Keri Russell and in Trucker (2008). He also continued to be a force in television, starring in the short-lived Fox-TV series Drive (2007) and appearing on a recurring role as Dr. Adam Mayfair on the 4th season of ABC's Desperate Housewives (2004), opposite Dana Delany. He also appeared on I Do (2006) and was a voice actor on many video games (e.g. Halo 3 (2007)).
In 2008, he took his first singing part (and cemented his cult appeal) as Captain Hammer in Whedon's musical Internet smash Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), with Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg. In 2009, he was cast as the title character Richard Castle in ABC's hit television series, Castle (2009). The show has aired more than 160 episodes and Nathan Fillion has won four People's Choice Awards for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor, as of 2016. In 2018, Fillion took the starring role in The Rookie (2018) as John Nolan, a contractor who starts over as a rookie police officer in the LAPD after a life-altering event. Besides starring on "Castle", he has appeared in many movies, in Super (2010) as The Holy Avenger, in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing (2012) as Dogberry, the incompetent chief of security, in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) as Hermes and in Thrilling Adventure Hour Live (2015).
His credits as a voice-actor are numerous: on Bright Lights, Dean City (2010) as Brown Widow, in Wonder Woman (2009) as Steve Trevor, in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Justice League: Doom (2012), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, in Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special (2012) as Green Lantern/Mr. Freeze, on American Dad! (2005), in Pixar's Monsters University (2013) as Johnny, in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as Monstrous Inmate and on Gravity Falls (2012) as Preston Northwest. He also voices the lead, Shojun in the animated movie, Yamasong: March of the Hollows (2017). He has also continued voicing characters in video games, such as in Destiny (2014) and in Halo 5: Guardians (2015).
He has also guest starred on The Daly Superheroes (2012) as himself, on Community (2009) as Bob Waite, on The Comic Book Store Regeneration (2015) as himself, on Twins (2015) as Mountie McMinniman, on Con Man (2015) as Jack Moore and on Space (2015) as Wernher Von Braun. He also narrated the documentary, Highway of Tears (2015).- Widely respected among peers for his fearless commitment, Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott was born to an English father and Italian mother in Scarborough, a working class suburb of Toronto. His career began fortuitously in 1976 at the CBC, cast by Deidre Bowen, Clare Walker and director Mike Newell as the troubled protagonist, Cole Buckley, opposite Kate Reid in writer Rochelle Kosar's Earthbound. He continued his novitiate in the city's leading contemporary theaters, working with Ken Gass at Factory Theatre Lab, Bill Glassco at The Tarragon Theatre and William Lane at Toronto Free Theatre. Supported by grants from The Ontario Arts Council and The Canada Council of The Arts, he moved to New York City to study on a full scholarship at The Juilliard School where he performed, among other roles, Teddy in Mark Medoff's When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?, Flute in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Soranzo in John Ford's T'is Pity She's A Whore and Tilden in the school's much-lauded first production of a Sam Shepard play, Buried Child. In the spring following graduation, he began a rewarding relationship with Joseph Papp's Public Theater both on and off Broadway with his creation of the role of Kent in Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio. He last appeared onstage in New York opposite John Malkovich, originating the role of Stubbs in Shepard's States of Shock. He has worked with some of cinema's most gifted reprobates, including Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Julian Schnabel, Gerard Depardieu, Jim Jarmusch, Ridley Scott, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Dennis Hopper, Michael Cimino, Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, John Hurt, Javier Bardem, Benicio Del Toro, Terrence Malick and Oliver Stone. Among those he hasn't, he has expressed a wish to work with the great French actress, Isabelle Huppert. "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion" Albert Camus
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- Director
Jeff Wincott is an established actor and producer originally from Toronto, Canada. He starred in the award-winning Canadian television series Night Heat playing Detective Giambone for five years. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Gemini Awards for his performance which gave him international recognition and led to an extensive film career in the United States.
Wincott went on to star in over a dozen martial arts films for which he is well-known, including Mission of Justice and Last Man Standing. Wincott has also played roles in various television shows including Sons of Anarchy, the Lizzie Borden Chronicles, Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, The Good Wife, N.C.I.S., The Night Of, and The Wire. He was featured in the high-budget action films The Invasion and Unstoppable and played a supporting role in the independent film Kringle Time for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the GenreBlast Film Festival (2021).
In 2019, Jeff and his wife founded Hollow Metropolis Films in order to create and produce their own films. Their award-winning short films Ping Pong Pigeons, Platitudes, and Dystopian Snow Globe have been screened internationally. In 2020, the Wincotts co-produced their first feature film, The Issue with Elvis, with Jeff playing the leading role, Dr. Mercer. He has gone on to win three Best Actor Awards for his performance at various film festivals including the Hollywood Women's International Film Festival, the Toronto Beaches Film Festival, and the Montgomery International Film Festival. The Issue with Elvis has won over ten awards in 2021, including two Best Feature Film awards. The film will be distributed by Random Media and 1091 Pictures with a release date in 2022.
Wincott co-produced a documentary feature called Fall Fight Shine on addiction and recovery. The film premiered in September 2021 at The Art of Recovery Film Festival in the greater Miami area and won Best Documentary Feature at the Hollywood Women's International Film Festival in October, 2021. The film features Jeff's recovery story.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Michael Shanks was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Stargate SG-1 (1997), Stargate: Continuum (2008) and Elysium (2013). He has been married to Lexa Doig since 2 August 2003. They have two children.- Actor
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- Producer
Martin Hayter Short OC is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada, and has received Medals from Queen Elizabeth II, including in 2002 the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and in 2012 the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.- Actor
- Producer
Kim's film career began in 1991 with The Last Boy Scout. Two Warner Brothers' hits followed: Innocent Blood and The Client. Since that time he has starred in over forty films, including Academy Award winners Black Hawk Down directed by Ridley Scott, and Pearl Harbor directed by Michael Bay. Other films include Waterworld and Open Range with Kevin Costner, Grilled with Ray Romano, Silent Hill opposite Sean Bean, Hostage with Bruce Willis, Assault on Precinct 13, Unforgettable, Skinwalkers, and Hero Wanted.
Kim returned to Entourage for it's final season as Carl Ertz, the sleazy movie Producer. His performance garnered so much attention in previous seasons that Ertz's return was a direct request. He appeared in a recurring role on CSI Miami. Other prominent guest starring television roles include CSI, CSI NY, Cold Case, and Prison Break. He has had roles in more than 20 MOW's including the NBC miniseries Hercules, and Disney's Scream Team. These dramatic turns on television have earned him Gemini nominations for Best Actor in a Featured Supporting Role for HBO's Dead Silence and Best Performance in a Guest Role Dramatic Series for The Outer Limits.
In 2008 Kim starred in and executive produced the film The Poet. Before its wide release it won best picture and best director (Damian Lee) at the New York Staten Island Film festival.
At the AOF International Film Festival in Pasadena, Kim received the Half Life Achievement Award for acting in 2009. Kim also won best actor for playing Steve Sorrano in King of Sorrow.
Kim starred on Broadway as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, as the title role in Macbeth at the legendary Stratford Theatre, and has appeared in over fifty plays in North America.
In the fall of 2010 Kim starred in the blockbuster 3D movie Resident Evil Afterlife, with Mila Jovovich.
In 2011, Kim starred in Sacrifice, with Cuba Gooding Jr., A Little Help, with Jenna Fisher, Sinners and Saints and Robosapien.
In 2012, Kim starred in the sports comedy Goon along side Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber and Jay Baruchel, for which Kim is nominated for Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards. Goon was much lauded by international audiences and critics alike.
The FX hit series Sons of Anarchy is going into its 6th season. Kim Coates is Tig Trager, the motorcycle club's sergeant at arms. Tig fears nothing, much like Kim throughout his career.
Kim has 3 feature films opening in 2013; Rufus, Ferocious, The Dark Truth which Kim co-produced and starred in along side Forrest Whitaker and Andy Garcia,
Kim is currently filming Crossing Lines in Prague with William Fichtner and Donald Sutherland.
Kim currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children.- Actor
- Producer
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Kiefer Sutherland was born in London, England, UK, to Canadian actors Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland, who moved to California shortly after his birth. His maternal grandfather, Tommy Douglas, was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who was a Premier of Saskatchewan for over 17 years and led the national NDP party for almost 10.
Kiefer got his first film role in the comedy drama Max Dugan Returns (1983). Sutherland's first major role was in the Canadian drama The Bay Boy (1984), which earned Sutherland and director Daniel Petrie, Genie award nominations for best actor and best director, respectively. Following his success in The Bay Boy, Sutherland eventually moved to Los Angeles and landed television appearances in "The Mission", an episode of Amazing Stories (1985) and in the telefilm Trapped in Silence (1986) with Marsha Mason.
In 1992, Sutherland starred opposite Ray Liotta and Forest Whitaker in Article 99 (1992) and in the military drama A Few Good Men (1992) also starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. Later, in 1994, he starred with Jeff Bridges and Nancy Travis in the American version of The Vanishing (1993) for 20th Century Fox. In 1997, he co-starred with William Hurt and Rufus Sewell in Dark City (1998), directed by Alex Proyas, which was a special presentation at the Cannes Film Festival. Sutherland also added his second directorial credit and starred in Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997) alongside Kevin Pollak, Mykelti Williamson, Rod Steiger and Martin Sheen. He stars in the Fox drama series 24 (2001) as Jack Bauer for which he has earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Most recently, he has been seen in the movie Phone Booth (2002) as a man who calls up someone at a phone booth and threatens to kill them if they hang up.- Actor
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The towering presence of Canadian actor Donald Sutherland is often noticed, as are his legendary contributions to cinema. He has appeared in almost 200 different shows and films. He is also the father of renowned actor Kiefer Sutherland, among others.
Donald McNichol Sutherland was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, to Dorothy Isobel (McNichol) and Frederick McLea Sutherland, who worked in sales and electricity. He has Scottish, as well as German and English, ancestry. Sutherland worked several different jobs - he was a radio DJ in his youth - and was almost set on becoming an engineer after graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in engineering. However, he also graduated with a degree in drama, and he chose to abandon becoming an engineer in favour of an actor.
Sutherland's first roles were bit parts and consisted of such films as the horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) which starred Christopher Lee. He was also appearing in episodes of TV shows such as "The Saint" and "Court Martial". Sutherland's break would come soon, though, and it would come in the form of a war film in which he was barely cast.
The reason he was barely cast was because he had been a last-minute replacement for an actor that had dropped out of the film. The role he played was that of the dopey but loyal Vernon Pinkley in the war film The Dirty Dozen (1967). The film also starred Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Telly Savalas. The picture was an instant success as an action/war film, and Sutherland played upon this success by taking another role in a war film: this was, however, a comedy called M*A*S*H (1970) which landed Sutherland the starring role alongside Elliott Gould and Tom Skerritt. This is now considered a classic among film goers, and the 35-year old actor was only getting warmed up.
Sutherland took a number of other roles in between these two films, such as the theatrical adaptation Oedipus the King (1968), the musical Joanna (1968) and the Clint Eastwood-helmed war comedy Kelly's Heroes (1970). It was Kelly's Heroes (1970) that became more well-known, and it reunited Sutherland with Telly Savalas. 1970 and 1971 offered Sutherland a number of other films, the best of them would have to be Klute (1971). The film, which made Jane Fonda a star, is about a prostitute whose friend is mysteriously murdered. Sutherland received no critical acclaim like his co-star Fonda (she won an Oscar) but his career did not fade.
Moving on from Klute (1971), Sutherland landed roles such as the lead in the thriller Lady Ice (1973), and another lead in the western Alien Thunder (1974). These films did not match up to "Klute"'s success, though Sutherland took a supporting role that would become one of his most infamous and most critically acclaimed. He played the role of the murderous fascist leader in the Bernardo Bertolucci Italian epic 1900 (1976). Sutherland also gained another memorable role as a marijuana-smoking university professor in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) among other work that he did in this time.
Another classic role came in the form of the Robert Redford film, Ordinary People (1980). Sutherland portrays an older father figure who must deal with his children in an emotional drama of a film. It won Best Picture, and while both the supporting stars were nominated for Oscars, Sutherland once again did not receive any Academy Award nomination. He moved on to play a Nazi spy in a film based on Ken Follett's book "Eye of the Needle" and he would star alongside Al Pacino in the commercial and critical disaster that was Revolution (1985). While it drove Al Pacino out of films for four years, Sutherland continued to find work. This work led to the dramatic, well-told story of apartheid A Dry White Season (1989) alongside the legendary actor Marlon Brando.
Sutherland's next big success came in the Oliver Stone film JFK (1991) where Sutherland plays the chilling role of Mister X, an anonymous source who gives crucial information about the politics surrounding President Kennedy. Once again, he was passed over at the Oscars, though Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for his performance as Clay Shaw. Sutherland went on to appear in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Shadow of the Wolf (1992), and Disclosure (1994).
The new millennium provided an interesting turn in Sutherland's career: reuniting with such former collaborators as Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones, Sutherland starred in Space Cowboys (2000). He also appeared as the father figure to Nicole Kidman's character in Cold Mountain (2003) and Charlize Theron's character in The Italian Job (2003). He has also made a fascinating, Oscar-worthy performance as the revolutionist Mr. Thorne in Land of the Blind (2006) and also as a judge in Reign Over Me (2007). Recently, he has joined forces with his son Rossif Sutherland and Canadian comic Russell Peters with the new comedy The Con Artist (2010), as well as acting alongside Jamie Bell and Channing Tatum in the sword-and-sandal film The Eagle (2011). Sutherland has also taken a role in the remake of Charles Bronson's film The Mechanic (1972).
Donald Sutherland has made a lasting legacy on Hollywood, whether portraying a chilling and horrifying villain, or playing the older respectable character in his films. A true character actor, Sutherland is one of Canada's most well-known names and will hopefully continue on being so long after his time.- Actor
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Kevin Serge Durand is a Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Vasiliy Fet in The Strain, Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost, Fred J. Dukes / The Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Barry Burton in Resident Evil: Retribution, Gabriel in Legion, Little John in Robin Hood, Jeeves Tremor in Smokin' Aces, and Carlos in The Butterfly Effect. He received a 2012 Best Supporting Actor Genie nomination for his portrayal of Lenny Jackson in Citizen Gangster.- Actor
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Keanu Charles Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the son of Patric Reeves, a showgirl and costume designer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. Keanu's father was born in Hawaii, of British, Portuguese, Native Hawaiian, and Chinese ancestry, and Keanu's mother is originally from Essex England. After his parents' marriage dissolved, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister, Kim Reeves, to New York City, then Toronto. Stepfather #1 was Paul Aaron, a stage and film director - he and Patricia divorced within a year, after which she went on to marry (and divorce) rock promoter Robert Miller. Reeves never reconnected with his biological father. In high school, Reeves was lukewarm toward academics but took a keen interest in ice hockey (as team goalie, he earned the nickname "The Wall") and drama. He eventually dropped out of school to pursue an acting career.
After a few stage gigs and a handful of made-for-TV movies, he scored a supporting role in the Rob Lowe hockey flick Youngblood (1986), which was filmed in Canada. Shortly after the production wrapped, Reeves packed his bags and headed for Hollywood. Reeves popped up on critics' radar with his performance in the dark adolescent drama, River's Edge (1986), and landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons (1988) with director Stephen Frears.
His first popular success was the role of totally rad dude Ted "Theodore" Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). The wacky time-travel movie became something of a cultural phenomenon, and audiences would forever confuse Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart. He then joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy, Parenthood (1989) and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990).
Over the next few years, Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma with a series of highbrow projects. He played a slumming rich boy opposite River Phoenix's narcoleptic male hustler in My Own Private Idaho (1991), an unlucky lawyer who stumbles into the vampire's lair in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and Shakespearean party-pooper Don John in Much Ado About Nothing (1993).
In 1994, the understated actor became a big-budget action star with the release of Speed (1994). Its success heralded an era of five years in which Reeves would alternate between small films, like Feeling Minnesota (1996) and The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997), and big films like A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and The Devil's Advocate (1997). (There were a couple misfires, too: Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and Chain Reaction (1996).) After all this, Reeves did the unthinkable and passed on the Speed sequel, but he struck box-office gold again a few years later with the Wachowski siblings' cyberadventure, The Matrix (1999).
Now a bonafide box-office star, Keanu would appear in a string of smaller films -- among them The Replacements (2000), The Watcher (2000), The Gift (2000), Sweet November (2001), and Hardball (2001) - before The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) were both released in 2003.
Since the end of The Matrix trilogy, Keanu has divided his time between mainstream and indie fare, landing hits with Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Lake House (2006), and Street Kings (2008). He's kept Matrix fans satiated with films such as Constantine (2005), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008). And he's waded back into art-house territory with Ellie Parker (2005), Thumbsucker (2005), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), and Henry's Crime (2010).
Most recently, as post-production on the samurai epic 47 Ronin (2013) waged on, Keanu appeared in front of the camera in Side by Side (2012), a documentary on celluloid and digital filmmaking, which he also produced. He also directed another Asian-influenced project, Man of Tai Chi (2013).
In 2014, Keanu played the title role in the action revenge film John Wick (2014), which became popular with critics and audiences alike. He reprised the role in John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), taking the now-iconic character to a better opening weekend and even more enthusiastic reviews than the first go-around.- Actor
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Candy was one of Canada's greatest and funniest character actors. His well-known role as the big hearted buffoon earned him classics in Uncle Buck (1989) and Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). His career has handed him some dry spells but Candy always rebounded.
Born in Newmarket, Ontario, in the year 1950, Candy was the son of Evangeline (Aker) and Sidney James Candy. His mother was of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. Candy found his passion for drama while attending a community college. In 1971 Candy made his TV debut in an episode of Police Surgeon (1971) co-starring Sharon Farrell, John Hamelin, and Nick Mancuso. Candy then found a number of bit parts in other Canadian television shows and also in such small films as Tunnel Vision (1976) and Find the Lady (1976). However, his big success came at the age of twenty-seven, when he became part of the comedy group "Second City" in Toronto. Alongside such soon-to-be Canadian stars as Catherine O'Hara (one of Candy's lifelong friends), Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, and Harold Ramis, Candy was also part of the television show the group inspired. SCTV (1976) earned Candy a reputation for his quirky humor and his uncanny imitations of others.
After the television series, Candy appeared alongside fellow Canadian Dan Aykroyd in the Steven Spielberg flop 1941 (1979). However, other jobs followed and Candy landed a role, once again with Aykroyd, in the successful classic The Blues Brothers (1980). Candy played a parole officer who is part of the chase after Jake and Elwood Blues. The film was a hit and Candy followed up accordingly.
Candy acted in the smash hit Stripes (1981) where he played a dopey, overweight recruit affectionately nicknamed 'Ox'. After the success of Stripes (1981), Candy returned to the Second City with the other former stars, in SCTV Network (1981). Candy also hosted "Saturday Night Live" before landing himself a role in the Ron Howard film Splash (1983), a romantic comedy about a mermaid who washes ashore and learns to live like a human. Candy played a sleazy womanizing brother to the character played by Tom Hanks. The film was a bigger success than even Stripes (1981) and a number of people have said that Splash (1983) was his breakout role.
He took a second billing in the comedic film Brewster's Millions (1985) where a man must spend thirty million in order to inherit three hundred million from his deceased relative. Candy played the man's best friend, who accidentally gets in the way as much as helping out. Candy continued making films tirelessly, including the film Armed and Dangerous (1986) where he and Eugene Levy play characters who become security guards.
1987 was an especially good year to Candy, giving him two classic roles: Barf the Mawg in the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs (1987) and the bumbling salesman Del Griffith alongside Steve Martin's uptight character in the John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). The latter film is a golden classic and is one of Candy's greatest films. He followed up immediately with The Great Outdoors (1988), once again alongside Dan Aykroyd. Candy landed another classic role in the film Uncle Buck (1989) which was about a bumbling uncle who must look after his brother's three children.
Although he was in the smash hit Home Alone (1990), Candy's career fell into a slump, turning out unsuccessful films in the early nineties. This caused him to change his strategy by taking more serious roles. The first of these serious roles was the corrupt lawyer Dean Andrews in the 'Oliver Stone' film JFK (1991). The film was a big success, and Candy moved on from this victory to make the film Cool Runnings (1993) about the first Jamaican bobsled team.
Candy was well known for his size, six feet two and weighing around 300 pounds. However, he was very sensitive about the subject and in the nineties tried to lose weight and quit smoking. He was aware that heart attacks were in his family: both his father and his grandfather died of heart attacks and Candy wanted to prevent that happening to him as best he could.
In the mid-nineties Candy filmed the Michael Moore comedy Canadian Bacon (1995) then went to Mexico to film the western spoof Wagons East (1994). It was in Mexico that Candy had a heart attack and passed away in March 1994. Canadian Bacon (1995) was released a year after his death and is his last film.
Candy was loved by thousands of people who loved his classic antics in Splash (1983) and The Great Outdoors (1988). He was well-known for his roles in Stripes (1981) and Uncle Buck (1989) and he himself never forgot his Canadian background.- Actor
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Donal Logue's versatility and talent makes him one of the most well respected and beloved actors today. Born in Ottawa, Canada, Logue moved all over the United States, from the Boston area as an infant to various towns on the Mexican border. He returned to Boston to attend Harvard University, where he majored in Intellectual History and discovered his love for the performing arts. While in college, he appeared in over thirty plays, worked for two summers in the American Repertory Theatre's Harvard/Radcliffe Summer Stock Company, and spent a short time doing theatre in England. After graduating, Logue joined the Cornerstone Theatre Company which developed community theatre in rural parts of the United States. From then on Logue dedicated himself to pursuing his passion for acting. In his 20 plus years in the industry, Logue has starred in films such as, The Tao of Steve, the story of a larger-than-life, philosophizing lothario, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, and won him a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Performance. His other film credits include Sneakers, Gettysburg, Blade, Runaway Bride, Reindeer Games, The Million Dollar Hotel, Comic Book Villains with Michael Rapaport, Confidence, Just Like Heaven, and The Groomsmen with Ed Burns. Recently, Donal co-starred in Max Payne with Mark Wahlberg, as well as Charlie St. Cloud with Zac Ephron. He also appeared in Zodiac, directed by David Fincher, based on the Robert Graysmith books about the notorious Zodiac serial killer. Following the US release of Zodiac, he co-starred in Mark Steven Johnson's Ghost Rider with Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes. Logue made his directorial debut with the independent film Tennis, Anyone?, which appeared at the US Comedy Arts Festival. He wrote, starred, and directed the film about two Hollywood has-beens who try and find meaning in their lives through a series of celebrity tennis tournaments. In television, Logue joined the cast of the NBC series "LIFE" about a former police officer who returns to the force after having been wrongly imprisoned for years. In 2007, he headlined the critically lauded ABC comedy "The Knights of Prosperity" in which a group of blue collar guys band together to plan a heist of Mick Jagger's New York City apartment. Prior to "The Knights of Prosperity" Logue starred in the Carsey-Warner produced show, "Grounded for Life" which aired for five seasons. He was also featured in a recurring role on "ER" as Sherry Stringfield's love interest. In 2010, Logue finished a critically acclaimed season on "Terriers," a television series created by Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan for FX. He begins production on the Marc Cherry pilot "Hallelujah" for ABC in March of 2011. Logue lives in Los Angeles and has two children.- Writer
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Daniel Edward Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Hélène (Gougeon), a secretary from a French-Canadian family, and Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd, a civil engineer who advised prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Aykroyd attended Carleton University in 1969, where he majored in Criminology and Sociology, but he dropped out before completing his degree. He worked as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and managed an after-hours speakeasy, Club 505, in Toronto for several years. He worked with Second City Stage Troupe in Toronto and started his acting career at Carleton University with Sock'n'Buskin, the campus theater/drama club. Married to Donna Dixon since 1983, they have three daughters. His parents are named Peter and Lorraine and his brother Peter Aykroyd is a psychic researcher. Dan received an honorary Doctorate from Carleton University in 1994 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1998.- Actor
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Bruce Greenwood was born on 12 August 1956 in Noranda, Québec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek (2009), Thirteen Days (2000) and I, Robot (2004). He has been married to Susan Devlin since 1985. They have one child.- Actor
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Barry Robert Pepper was born on April 4, 1970, in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada. He has two older brothers named Alex and Doug Pepper. The Peppers didn't stick around Campbell River for too long. They had been building a ship in their backyard for years. When Barry was five years old, the ship was done and the family set sail. The ship, named "The Moonlighter," was a 50-foot craft that would be their home for the next five years. They navigated through the South Pacific islands, using only a sextant and the stars as guides. While visiting such exotic locales as Fiji and Tahiti, Barry was educated through correspondence courses and sometimes enrolled in public schools. He grew up around Polynesian children and credits them for his love of dance, music and other expressive arts. Barry had plenty of time to practice his newfound loves, too. Without television as entertainment on the ship, the family relied on games and sketch acting for fun. When the five-year cruise was over, the Peppers returned to their native Canada, where they set up shop on a small island off the West Coast near Vancouver. They built a farm on the outskirts of a small artists' town, which was populated mainly by hippies, poets, musicians and other craftsmen. While in high school, Barry was enthusiastic about art and excelled in sports. In addition to playing volleyball, he was an excellent rugby player. He graduated in 1988 from George P. Vanier High School in Courtenay and then enrolled in college and majored in marketing and graphic design, but after getting involved with the Vancouver Actors Studio, he changed his course. Once again, he was using "the stars" to navigate. Barry landed his first role on Madison (1993) (a sort of Canadian 90210) and other prominent television series before moving on to more prestigious roles in the US. Television movies followed, most notably the mini-series Titanic (1996), which costarred George C. Scott. Still, Barry's career really wasn't taking off. He was a hard-working actor, but not a star. That all changed in 1998. After a string of big screen duds, Pepper obtained his breakthrough role as a Bible-quoting sniper in Steven Spielberg's WW II drama Saving Private Ryan (1998). With the success of the film came sudden stardom for its cast--complete with photo spreads, interviews and even some Oscar buzz. Barry followed the film with a small but noteworthy role in the blockbuster, Enemy of the State (1998) opposite Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Next he co-starred in an Oscar-worthy film starring Tom Hanks: Stephen King's The Green Mile (1999). Barry received much critical acclaim in 2001 for his portrayal of Roger Maris in the made-for-cable drama about the 1961 home run race between Maris and Mickey Mantle called 61* (2001).- Actor
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Born Ryan Thomas Gosling on November 12, 1980, in London, Ontario, Canada, he is the son of Donna (Wilson), a secretary, and Thomas Ray Gosling, a traveling salesman. Ryan was the second of their two children, with an older sister, Mandi. His ancestry is French-Canadian, as well as English, Scottish, and Irish. The Gosling family moved to Cornwall, Ontario, where Ryan grew up and was home-schooled by his mother. He also attended Gladstone Public School and Cornwall Collegiate & Vocational School, where he excelled in Drama and Fine Arts. The family then relocated to Burlington, Ontario, where Ryan attended Lester B. Pearson High School.
Ryan first performed as a singer at talent contests with Mandi. He attended an open audition in Montreal for the TV series "The Mickey Mouse Club" (The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989)) in January 1993 and beat out 17,000 other aspiring actors for a a spot on the show. While appearing on "MMC" for two years, he lived with co-star Justin Timberlake's family.
Though he received no formal acting training, after "MMC," Gosling segued into an acting career, appearing on the TV series Young Hercules (1998) and Breaker High (1997), as well as the films The Slaughter Rule (2002), Murder by Numbers (2002), and Remember the Titans (2000). He first attracted serious critical attention with his performance as the Jewish neo-Nazi in the controversial film The Believer (2001), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. He was cast in the part by writer-director Henry Bean, who believed that Gosling's strict upbringing gave him the insight to understand the character Danny, whose obsessiveness with the Judaism he was born into turns to hatred. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as Best Male Lead in 2002 for the role and won the Golden Aries award from the Russian Guild of Film Critics.
After appearing in the sleeper The Notebook (2004) in 2004, Gosling won the dubious honor of being named one of the 50 Hottest Bachelors by People Magazine. More significantly, he was named the Male Star of Tomorrow at the 2004 Show West convention of movie exhibitors.
Gosling reached a summit of his profession with his performance in Half Nelson (2006), which garnered him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. In a short time, he has established himself as one of the finest actors of his generation. Throughout the subsequent decade, he has become all three of an internet fixation, a box office star, and a critical darling, having headlined Blue Valentine (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011), Drive (2011), The Ides of March (2011), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), The Nice Guys (2016), and La La Land (2016). In 2017, he starred in the long-awaited science fiction sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017), with Harrison Ford.
Ryan has two children with his partner, actress Eva Mendes.- Actor
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Ryan Rodney Reynolds was born on October 23, 1976 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the youngest of four children. His father, James Chester Reynolds, was a food wholesaler, and his mother, Tamara Lee "Tammy" (Stewart), worked as a retail-store saleswoman. He has Irish and Scottish ancestry. Between 1991-93, Ryan appeared in Fifteen (1990), a Nickelodeon series taped in Florida with many other Canadian actors. After the series ended, he returned to Vancouver where he played in a series of forgettable television movies. He did small roles in Glenn Close's Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995) and CBS's update of In Cold Blood (1996). However, his run of luck had led him to decide to quit acting.
One night, he ran into fellow Vancouver actor and native Chris William Martin. Martin found Ryan rather despondent and told him to pack everything: they were going to head to Los Angeles, California. The two stayed in a cheap Los Angeles motel. On the first night of their stay, Reynolds' jeep was rolled downhill and stripped. For the next four months, Ryan drove it without doors. In 1997, he landed the role of Berg in Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998). Initially, the show was reviled by critics and seemed desperate for any type of ratings success. However, it was renewed for a second season but with a provision for a makeover by former Roseanne (1988) writer Kevin Abbott. The show became a minor success and has led to additional film roles for Ryan, most notably in the last-ever MGM film, a remake of The Amityville Horror (2005). Ryan was engaged to Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, another Nickelodeon veteran, between 2004-2006.
He has been married to Blake Lively since September 9, 2012. They have three daughters. He was previously married to Scarlett Johansson.- Actor
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Best known for his portrayal of troubled high school football star "Tim Riggins" on NBC's acclaimed television series, Friday Night Lights (2006), actor Taylor Kitsch has scored big with audiences and critics on both the big and small screens.
Taylor Kitsch was born on April 8, 1981 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, to Susan (Green), who worked for the BC Liquor Board, and Drew Kitsch, who worked in construction. He grew up in Vancouver. During his childhood, he aspired to become an actor, which eventually was the real reason behind his move to New York. There, Taylor pursued his dreams by studying the art of acting with coach Sheila Grey. Not too long after that, Taylor was cast in several film and television roles, such as John Tucker Must Die (2006), Snakes on a Plane (2006) and Kyle XY (2006).
Moving to New York in 2002 was the prize that Taylor received after being scouted by modeling scouts in Canada. Taylor was signed to "IMG Models" and became a regular face for the famous clothing lines, "Abercrombie & Fitch" and also "Diesel". Taylor was also signed under "Untitled Entertainment" during his two years stay in the city. While Taylor was living in New York, he found time to become a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. In the year 2004, Taylor decided that it was time for him to move to Los Angeles to learn more about the acting course. Taylor stayed in Los Angeles for about eight months and did some print work with "Nous Modeling Management". It wasn't too long until Taylor realized that he didn't want to be in Los Angeles. Taylor thought that things were running a little bit too fast for him, then making the decision to move back to Vancouver for the summer of 2005 to spend more time with his family. In 2006, Taylor then signed with "Endeavour".
What shot him to bigger fame was his role in the movie, The Covenant (2006), with actors Steven Strait, Toby Hemingway and Chace Crawford. In the stylish thriller from Lakeshore Entertainment and Sony Screen Gems, four young witches do battle with a powerful, centuries-old supernatural force. In "The Covenant", fans got to know who Taylor really is. Even though the movie wasn't as successful as people hoped it would be, Taylor became more recognized since acting in the movie. In the movie, fans also got to see a more fit and toned version of Taylor.
Fortunately, after "The Covenant", casting directors from the football teen drama, Friday Night Lights (2006), saw the talent that Taylor had. They eventually hired Taylor to play the role of "Tim Riggins", one of the Dillon Panthers' main players. On "Friday Night Lights", Taylor managed to show his acting skills to fans and television critics who were very impressed with Taylor's acting skills. USA Today called the series "one of the best-acted, best-written, best-produced shows on television". After receiving fame and gaining a big fan base from "Friday Night Lights", Taylor received the acting publicity he had always been waiting for.
During the show's summer hiatus, Taylor filmed the feature Gospel Hill (2008), alongside Julia Stiles, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Giancarlo Esposito, the film focuses on the bigoted former sheriff of a southern town and a one-time civil rights worker whose intersecting lives are still haunted by events that took place decades earlier. Old wounds are reopened as residents of a black neighborhood are forced out of their homes to make way for a multi-million dollar development.
In February 2008, he signed on to play "Gambit" in the "X-Men" franchise spin-off, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). He subsequently starred in the films The Bang Bang Club (2010), John Carter (2012), Battleship (2012), and Savages (2012). Despite being famous, Taylor is still a very humble guy and has said that he'd prefer to skip the whole tabloid craze. During his free time, he enjoys doing charity work and listening to music, especially those in the country genre. With all the success and a humble attitude, we're pretty sure that Taylor is going to be one of the "Must Watch" stars for the coming years.
When he's not on set, Kitsch pursues children's charity work and enjoys spending time with family and friends.- Hayden Christensen was born April 19, 1981 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His parents, Alie and David Christensen, are in the communications business. He is of Danish (father) and Swedish and Italian (mother) descent. Hayden grew up in Markham, Ontario, with siblings Kaylen, Hejsa, and Tove. Hayden set out to become an actor when a chance encounter at the age of eight placed him in his first commercial, for Pringles. When he was thirteen, he had starring roles in several dramatic television series.
His biggest break was a major part in the Fox Family Network's Higher Ground (2000). On the series, Hayden showed off his acting talent as a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, and turns to drugs in despair. Later, he appeared in the television movie Trapped in a Purple Haze (2000), where he co-starred with his friend Jonathan Jackson. Hayden also had a role in the film The Virgin Suicides (1999).
On May 12, 2000, it was announced that Christensen would star as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). The star was chosen by director George Lucas because he felt that Hayden had raw talent and good chemistry with actress Natalie Portman. Lucas stunned the movie world by picking the then-unknown actor after he had turned down such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonathan Jackson, as well as 400 other candidates.
His role as the troubled, misunderstood teenager Sam Monroe in Irwin Winkler's Life as a House (2001) won him 'Breakthrough Performance of the Year' from the National Board of Review. The film also placed him as a nominee for 'Best Supporting Actor' at both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Hayden then starred in Shattered Glass (2003), quoted by some of the real Stephen Glass' colleagues as giving an eerie and uncanny portrayal.
Since his Star Wars days, Hayden has headlined several action films, including Jumper (2008) and Takers (2010).
When not working, he enjoys spending quality time with his family (such as big brother Tove), hanging out with his friends, and exploring other hobbies such as the blues, jazz and piano.
Hayden was in a relationship with actress Rachel Bilson from 2007 to 2017. The two have a child, born in 2014. - Actor
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After starring in the hugely successful blockbuster The Hunger Games (2012) (for which he received two awards), Alexander has gone on to work in films such as Lone Survivor (2013), The Final Girls (2015), and Bad Boys for Life (2020), and received critical acclaim for his performance as Bjorn Ironside in the global hit television series Vikings (2013).
Alexander Richard Ludwig was born in Vancouver, Canada, on May 7, 1992. He has three siblings: Nicholas, Natalie and Sophia, and a cat named Puss in Boots. His mother, Sharlene Martin, is a former actress and assists in managing his career. His father, Harald Ludwig, is a board member of Lions Gate Entertainment and president of Macluan Capital Corporation. As one of the stars of History Channel's top rated show "Vikings", Alexander's Bjorn Ironside is the eldest son to the king and the successor to the crown. Completing its third season, Vikings has been experiencing overwhelming success: "New York, NY - February 24, 2015 -The season three premiere of History's hit scripted series Vikings raided 4.6 million total viewers, 2.4 million Adults 25-54 and 2.3 million Adults 18-49 in Live +3 delivery, ranking it as the #1 show on cable in Live +3 in all key demos and total viewers on Thursday, February 19." Additionally, Alexander co-starred in Sony's dark comedy The Final Girls (2015) co-starring Malin Akerman, Nina Dobrev, Taissa Farmiga and Adam Devine. This film premiered at SXSW on Friday, March 13, 2015 at 10 pm and received rave reviews. Alexander just completed filming the independent picture "Go With Me", co-starring Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles and Ray Liotta. The producers of this film are anticipating a 2015 release date. Alexander is an ambassador to the Bvlgari Brand, as well as being an independent fashion consultant to the sport line RYU.
He is a passionate musician, an undeniable adrenaline junkie and a gifted spokesman. Those who work with him speak of his dedication to his craft, coupled with his humility and charm and his work on Vikings (2013) has made him one of the most promising and sought after stars of his generation. When he isn't acting, Alexander can be found writing for film and television as well as surfing, extreme skiing, skydiving, traveling the world, and working with a variety of philanthropic organizations.- Actor
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Joshua Carter Jackson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His Irish mother, Fiona Jackson, is a casting director originally from Dublin. His American father, John Carter Jackson, is from Texas. Josh spent the first eight years of his life in California before returning to Canada. At the age of 11, Josh decided he wanted to pursue acting. Knowing how cruel an acting career could be, his mother took him to his first audition in hopes of discouraging him. Instead, he landed a commercial for Keebler's potato chips. Since then, Josh has had a full career ranging from theater to television.- Actor
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Canadian actor Michael Cera was born in Brampton, Ontario, to parents who worked for Xerox. His mother, Linda, who is from Quebec, has English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry, and his father, Luigi Cera, is Italian (from Sicily). Michael is the middle child between two sisters. He was educated at Conestoga Public School, Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School and Heart Lake Secondary School until the grade nine. Cera then completed his high school education via correspondence.
During a childhood illness he repeatedly viewed Ghostbusters (1984), learning the dialogue. It was this that sparked his interest in performing. He went on to take classes in improvisation at The Second City Toronto. Roles followed in commercials and TV, but he first came to major public attention when he was cast as George Michael Bluth in the critically acclaimed comedy series Arrested Development (2003). After the cancellation of this series, Cera successfully transitioned into movies, scoring starring roles in various projects such as Superbad (2007), Juno (2007), Youth in Revolt (2009) and as the eponymous hero in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).
Alongside acting, Cera is also a musician - he sings and plays guitar and bass.- Actor
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Kevin Joseph Zegers started acting at the tender age of six. He has starred in more than 40 films, including Air Bud (1997), Dawn of the Dead (2004), and Transamerica (2005), and has also appeared in several modeling campaigns.
Kevin was born in Woodstock, Ontario, to Mary-Ellen (Veldman), a teacher, and James Zegers, a quarry worker. All of his grandparents were Dutch immigrants. He lives in Los Angeles, CA, with his wife, agent Jaime Feld (CAA). Their daughters, Zoë Madison and Blake Everleigh, were born on August 17, 2015.- Actor
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Scott Speedman was born in London, England, to Scottish parents, Mary (Campbell), a primary school teacher, and Roy Speedman, a department store buyer. He grew up in Toronto, Canada. He was an aspiring swimmer and held a record amongst the best for distance freestyle, unfortunately, an accident put that career path on hold forever. He went to Earl Haig High School in Toronto and went to the University of Toronto in 1994 - 1996. On a dare, he went on a show called "Speakers Corner" and later went to audition for the role of Robin in Batman Forever (1995). When the part went to Chris O'Donnell, he managed to land an agent. Other movies he has done include Kitchen Party (1997) and Duets (2000) starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The show Felicity (1998) introduced Scott to the world and has formed quite a standing amongst fans. When the show ended in 2002, Scott's movie career took off with his breakthrough role in Underworld (2003) starring Kate Beckinsale and Bill Nighy.- Actor
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Devon started his career as a young actor in Vancouver, Canada. First in the theater, and then moving onto smaller roles on TV. His breakout role was the title character in the Universal motion picture, Casper. He went on to star in many more films during his teens such as Now and Then, Little Giants and Wild America. In his early twenties, Devon sought out edgier projects. Movies like Idle Hands, SLC Punk, Final Destination, Slackers and playing 'Stan' in the acclaimed video for Eminem's hit song of the same name, directed by Dr. Dre. After a small break out of the business, Devon returned and has completed multiple projects.- Actor
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Justin Chatwin is a Canadian actor and avid outdoors man, traveler, sailor, and spear fisherman. The British Columbia native currently resides in Southern California. Although mostly known for his work as an actor, his passion sits with conservation, international motorcycle travel and the outdoors.
Chatwin played the character of jimmy/Steve/jack on Showtime's Emmy nominated drama series "Shameless," which recently began filming its fifth season. The series, from John Wells and Paul Abbott, is based on the long-running hit UK series and also stars William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum.
Chatwin first garnered recognition for his starring role in the in the USA miniseries, "Traffic," directed by Stephen Hopkins. Based on his performance in the program, Newsweek magazine singled him out as an "Actor to Watch." Additional television credits includes a recurring role on showtime "Weeds", "Orphan black", "Dr. who" And Steven Spielberg's re-telling of the H.G. Wells classic, War of the Worlds, in which he starred opposite Tom Cruise.- Actor
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Roy Dupuis was born on April 21, 1963, in New Liskeard, Ontario. He spent a significant portion of his childhood (from early infancy until he was eleven years old) in Amos, which is in a region of Québec called Abitibi. For the next three years, he lived in Kapuskasing, Ontario, where he learned to speak English. His father (now deceased) was a traveling salesman for Canada Packers, a meat company (now part of Maple Leaf Foods). His mother is a piano teacher. He has a younger brother and an older sister. When he was fourteen, after his parents divorced, his mother moved the family to Sainte-Rose, Laval, Québec (in the greater Montréal area), where he finished high school. After high school, he studied acting in Montréal, at the National Theatre School of Canada (L'École nationale de théâtre du Canada), graduating in 1986.
Acting was not Roy Dupuis' first career choice. He was studying physics in high school, but seeing Ariane Mnouchkine's film Molière (1978) interested him in acting. His entry into drama school was accidental. A friend had been invited to audition for admission to the National Theatre School of Canada, but her counterpart, who had also been invited to audition, changed his mind and backed out. She asked Roy Dupuis to take his place, and he agreed to help out and went along, posing as the original candidate. Although he himself was not really the one invited to audition, he impressed the school's director so much that she invited him to apply formally for admission to the school, and he was accepted. After his graduation in 1986, and a few years of successful experience acting in the theater, in 1988, he began to be offered substantial roles in films and TV.
The relative anonymity that he enjoyed during those early years ended when 80% of the population of Québec watched the enormously-popular classic period serial drama Les filles de Caleb (1990) (Emilie), turning him into a celebrity overnight and gaining him several awards for his performance as Emilie's husband, Ovila Pronovost. His next major role was as a journalist in the Canadian TV series Scoop (1992), which ran for four seasons (1991 until 1995). In 1991 Dupuis also starred in his first major film role, as the gay hustler, Yves, in Jean Beaudin's internationally acclaimed Being at Home with Claude (1992), which was Canada's official selection at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. Other leading roles in French followed, and increasingly English language roles too, including Becker in Screamers (1995), his entry into mainstream US cinema.
For the next five years, from 1996 to 2000, he spent most of his time in Toronto, making the TV series Nikita (1997-2001), which was shown in more than 50 countries around the world. When the final season finished production at the end of 2000, Roy returned to Montréal, for a few months' rest, before starting work again on French-Canadian projects made closer to home. The TV mini-series Le dernier chapitre (2002), about biker gang warfare, was filmed in French and English versions simultaneously. Then he teamed up again with "Chili's Blues" director Charles Binamé to star as in the romantic role of Alexis Labranche, the heroine's love interest, in a remake of another period Québec classic, Séraphin: Heart of Stone (2002), which became the province's highest-grossing film.
In 2003, he participated in multiple projects, combining leading roles with occasional supporting roles. In Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions (2003) (The Barbarian Invasions), which has enjoyed even greater international success than Jesus of Montreal (1989), Dupuis again played a minor part as a police drug-unit detective. Released in 2004 to 2005 were six more films in which he performed. His role as Alexandre in Mémoires affectives (2004) brought him his first major film-acting awards.
He recently reprised the part of French-Canadian hockey hero Maurice "Rocket" Richard (for the third time) in the film The Rocket (2005) directed by Charles Binamé to large acclaim. He has also completed an independent film, That Beautiful Somewhere (2006), which is based on the 1992 novel "Loon," by Bill Plumstead; screened in major film festivals beginning in August 2006, it was broadcast on Canadian pay television later in 2006 and opened in April 2006.
Beginning in June 2006, he began filming the film _Shake Hands with the Devil (2006)_ on location in Kigali, Rwanda, a film about the Rwandan Genocide, in which Dupuis portrays Roméo Dallaire, being based on Dallaire's autobiographical memoir, in close consultation with Dallaire. The main filming finished in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in August 2006. After being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2007, and the Atlantic Film Festival on September 13, it opens on September 28, 2007.
In October 2006, in Québec, he began filming Emotional Arithmetic (2007), starring alongside Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Plummer, Susan Sarandon, and Max von Sydow. The film is the closing feature for the Toronto International Film Festival on September 15, 2007.
Roy Dupuis lives in the countryside outside of Montréal. While, in the past, he enjoyed sky-diving and still enjoys golf, he has become more occupied with learning to sail and renovations on his home and sailboats.
For over a decade, until June 2006, he actively supported the Mira Foundation, which provides guide dogs for visually-impaired children and adults and service dogs for those with other disabilities. A few years ago, he co-founded the Rivers Foundation to protect the rivers of Canada from exploitation by hydro-electric developments, serves as its co-president, and concentrates considerable time on developing it when he is not working professionally.- Actor
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Michael J. Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox on June 9, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Phyllis Fox (née Piper), a payroll clerk, and William Fox. His parents moved their 10-year-old son, his three sisters, Kelli Fox, Karen, and Jacki, and his brother Steven, to Vancouver, British Columbia, after his father, a sergeant in the Canadian Army Signal Corps, retired. During these years Michael developed his desire to act. At 15 he successfully auditioned for the role of a 10-year-old in a series called Leo and Me (1978). Gaining attention as a bright new star in Canadian television and movies, Michael realized his love for acting when he appeared on stage in "The Shadow Box." At 18 he moved to Los Angeles and was offered a few television-series roles, but soon they stopped coming and he was surviving on boxes of macaroni and cheese. Then his agent called to tell him that he got the part of Alex P. Keaton on the situation comedy Family Ties (1982). He starred in the feature films Teen Wolf (1985), High School U.S.A. (1983), Poison Ivy (1985) and Back to the Future (1985).- Actor
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Stephen Amell is a Canadian actor, known for portraying Oliver Queen / Green Arrow in the Arrowverse television franchise (based on the comic character of the same name) and Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016).
Stephen Adam Amell was born on May 8, 1981 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Sandra (Bolté) and Thomas Amell. His cousin is actor Robbie Amell. He is of English, Scottish, German, and one sixteenth French-Canadian, descent. Stephen decided to pursue a career in acting when he was in his teens. He appeared in two episodes of the fourth season of Queer as Folk as the Liberty Ride spinning instructor in 2004. Amell played Adam in the first season of the television series Dante's Cove; he was replaced in the second season by Jon Fleming. In 2007, Amell won a Gemini Award for his guest-starring role on ReGenesis. The same year he was also nominated for a Gemini Award in the Best Ensemble Cast Category for Rent-a-Goalie. He had recurring roles in the TV series Da Kink in My Hair and Heartland. On December 3, 2010, Amell joined the cast of The Vampire Diaries as werewolf 'Brady' for season 2. Amell starred as Joran Van Der Sloot in the Lifetime film Justice for Natalee Holloway which originally aired in May 2011.
On October 2, 2011, season 3 of HBO's series Hung premiered with Amell starring as busboy-turned-prostitute Jason, a younger rival "ho" to Thomas Jane's Ray Drecker. He also appeared as Jim in the fourth season of 90210. Amell announced on October 28, 2011 that he had just finished filming the Christmas episode of New Girl with Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield. He touches on the experience of filming his first "network half hour comedy" in an interview with Daemon's TV. On November 9, 2011, Amell was announced for the recurring role of Scottie, a paramedic on ABC's Private Practice. He also plays the role of Travis in Blue Mountain State In January 2012, Amell was cast as the title character in The CW series Arrow, a re-imagining of the comic-book character Green Arrow. On March 31, 2015, Amell joined the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows as vigilante Casey Jones, which will be released on June 3, 2016. As an avid professional wrestling fan, Amell had long campaigned for a guest appearance on WWE's weekly Raw program, when in late May 2015 it was reported that he was tentatively set to wrestle Stardust at WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view on August 23, 2015. Amell made his first WWE appearance on the May 25 Raw, where he had a confrontation with Stardust. However, after the real-life death of Stardust's father Dusty Rhodes in June 2015, reports speculated that the match had been scrapped. Despite this, Amell stated at the 2015 Comic Con International in July 2015, "I'm probably gonna do some stuff with the WWE. I don't know if that means a wrestling match. We'll see."
Amell returned to Raw on August 10, continuing his story-line with Stardust when he stepped into the ring after being assaulted in the audience by Stardust, attacking the wrestler until being contained by security. Following a backstage segment with Triple H, it was announced that Neville would team with Amell to face Stardust and King Barrett at SummerSlam. At the event on August 23, Amell and Neville defeated Barrett and Stardust in a tag team match. Neville and Barrett started and after Neville used his speed to control the action, Barrett tagged in Stardust. Stardust insisted that Amell enter the ring, a challenge accepted in a way that both imitated and bettered Stardust's own athletic ring entrance. Stardust first pushed Amell to the canvas, Amell then responded with a kip-up and a stiff front thrust kick to Stardust's chest. For the next few minutes Amell was controlled by Stardust and Barrett, and absorbed punches, kicks, knees, slams, falls from ring to floor, and an attack on the floor by the non-legal man, Stardust. Upon returning to the ring, and hitting Stardust with an Enzuigiri, Amell made a hot tag to Neville, who dominated both opponents. The conclusion of the match came after Amell dove off the top corner ropes onto Stardust and Barrett who were standing on the floor below. The match ended after Neville hit his finisher, the Red Arrow, on Barrett and pinned him. Behind the scenes, wrestlers were said to have been impressed with Amell's performance. There were also talks of a potential singles match with Stardust. On December 21, Amell was awarded a Slammy for the "Celebrity Moment of the Year" for his dive onto Stardust.
Amell has hosted a number of successful fund-raising campaigns via the crowd funded merchandise platform Represent.com. In 2014, Amell partnered with the charity Fuck Cancer to raise almost a million dollars with the release of a T-shirt featuring his face on the front (with a Post-it note on his forehead, and featuring the organization's name). He ended up selling over 60,000 shirts from this campaign. In January 2015, Amell launched his second Represent.com campaign featuring a word he made up, Sinceriously, to benefit two mental health charities: Paws and Stripes, and Stand For The Silent. In August 2015, Amell used his guest appearance on WWE Raw with Stardust to raise funds via his third campaign for children's hospice Emily's House in Toronto. The campaign raised $300,000, and Amell and Stardust presented a check together at Emily's House.
Amell married actress and model 'Cassandra Jean' on December 25, 2012 in a private ceremony in the Caribbean, and for a second time in New Orleans on May 26, 2013. The couple have a daughter, Mavi, born in 2013. Growing up, Amell was a fan of various local sporting teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Blue Jays. Amell is still very involved with the sports; he often jokes with fans telling them to skip Maple Leafs games and watch Arrow when the team faces a tough opponent, and recently, Amell campaigned to have Jays' third baseman Josh Donaldson elected to the 2015 all-star game.- Actor
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Jay Baruchel was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the son of Robyne (Ropell), a freelance writer, and Serge Victor Baruchel, an antiques dealer. He has a younger sister who also acts. He started acting in 1995 when he made his first of three appearances on the hit show Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990). He was also in more localized shows such as My Hometown (1996) and Popular Mechanics for Kids (1997).
Baruchel had spent some downtime and finally got a chance to be in a classic film called Almost Famous (2000) in 2000. He played "Vic", a devout fan of Led Zeppelin. Judd Apatow soon had a show in the works and Baruchel played "Steven Karp" on Undeclared (2001). He also had the chance to star alongside actors such as Ian Somerhalder and James Van Der Beek as "Harry" in The Rules of Attraction (2002). Things began to slow down a bit after a couple more failed shows. He came back as the courageous "Danger Barch" in Million Dollar Baby (2004). He has also appeared in many independent films, such as Fetching Cody (2005), Just Buried (2007) and Real Time (2008).
He was also in many successful American comedy films. He was the lead in She's Out of My League (2010) and played one of Seth Rogen's best friends (which he really is) in the movie Knocked Up (2007). He also made his mark in family-friendly films such as How to Train Your Dragon (2010), playing the unlikely "Viking Hiccup" and also played the title role in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) alongside his newly-found kindred spirit, actor Nicolas Cage.
Baruchel lived his dream as he worked on the hockey comedy Goon (2011), and is working on many other films that are what he considers to be passion projects.- Actor
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Jason Priestley was born on 28 August 1969 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Call Me Fitz (2010) and Cas & Dylan (2013). He has been married to Naomi Lowde-Priestley since 14 May 2005. They have two children. He was previously married to Ashlee Petersen.- Producer
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An actor, comedian and writer, Seth Rogen has come a long way from doing stand-up comedy as a teen.
Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Sandy (Belogus), a social worker, and Mark Rogen, who worked for non-profits. His father is American-born and his mother is Canadian. He is of Russian Jewish descent. He attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and Point Grey Secondary School (although he dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles) and was known for the stand-up comedy he performed at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp. At sixteen, Rogen placed second in the 1998 Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest.
Soon after that he landed his first role in Judd Apatow's short-lived but well regarded TV series Freaks and Geeks (1999), taking on the role of Ken Miller. Though the show only lasted one season, it was the launching pad for many careers, including Rogen, Apatow, James Franco, and Jason Segel. This early work sharpened Rogen's keen improvisational skills, which he's used on many projects since.
Following Freaks and Geeks (1999), he participated in a few unsuccessful television projects, and then joined the American television version of Da Ali G Show (2000) as a writer during its second and last season, along with his childhood friend and writing partner Evan Goldberg. The writing team received an Emmy nomination. As a huge fan of the first season, Rogen was thrilled to get the chance to work with Sacha Baron Cohen.
Continuing his work with Apatow, he joined the cast of Apatow's debut film The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and is credited as co-producer. After that he took the lead in Knocked Up (2007), Apatow's second movie and a huge success. He's since been a frequent collaborator with Apatow, in projects such as Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008) and Funny People (2009). He co-wrote Superbad (2007), with Goldberg; the pair started the project when they were teens. They won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Writing in a Film in 2008. They later wrote Pineapple Express (2008) and The Green Hornet (2011), also starring Rogen.
A talented voice artist, Rogen is in the animated films Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), and has voiced characters for The Simpsons (1989) and American Dad! (2005).
Rogen was named the Canadian Comedy Person of the Year by the Canadian Comedy Awards in both 2008 and 2009.
Rogen lives in Los Angeles with Lauren Miller Rogen, whom he met in 2004. They became engaged in September 2010 and married in October 2011.- Actor
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Yannick Bisson was born on 16 May 1969 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Murdoch Mysteries (2008), Anything for Jackson (2020) and Year by the Sea (2016). He has been married to Chantal Craig since 26 May 1990. They have three children.- Actor
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Brendan Fehr was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He and his two sisters were raised by his mother, a case manager at the Stony Mountain Correctional Institute. In Vancouver for a wedding in 1997, he dropped by Look Talent Management to inquire about quick-cash modelling assignments. Manager Jim Sheasgreen suggested he try TV acting instead. But a week later, he was up for a nine-line guest role on the high-school-at-sea series Breaker High. Then only days away from starting the University of Manitoba and planning to be a teacher, he heeded his mother's counsel that if he wanted to try acting, he should give it the full effort.- Actor
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William Shatner has notched up an impressive 70-plus years in front of the camera, displaying heady comedic talent and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult television fans as the square-jawed Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.
Shatner was born in Côte Saint-Luc, Montréal, Québec, Canada, to Anne (Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer. His father was a Jewish emigrant from Bukovina in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while his maternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews. After graduating from university, he joined a local Summer theatre group as an assistant manager. He then performed with the National Repertory Theatre of Ottawa and at the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespeare Festival as an understudy working with such as Alec Guinness, James Mason, and Anthony Quayle. He came to the attention of New York critics and was soon playing important roles in major shows on live television.
Shatner spent many years honing his craft before debuting alongside Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov (1958). He was kept busy during the 1960s in films such as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and The Intruder (1962) and on television guest-starring in dozens of series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Defenders (1961), The Outer Limits (1963) and The Twilight Zone (1959). In 1966, Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of Star Trek (1966), co-starring alongside Leonard Nimoy, with the series eventually becoming a bona-fide cult classic with a worldwide legion of fans known variously as "Trekkies" or "Trekkers".
After "Star Trek" folded, Shatner spent the rest of the decade and the 1970s making the rounds, guest-starring on many prime-time television series, including Hawaii Five-O (1968), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) and Ironside (1967). He has also appeared in several feature films, but they were mainly B-grade (or lower) fare, such as the embarrassingly bad Euro western White Comanche (1968) and the campy Kingdom of the Spiders (1977). However, the 1980s saw a major resurgence in Shatner's career with the renewed interest in the original Star Trek (1966) series culminating in a series of big-budget "Star Trek" feature films, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). In addition, he starred in the lightweight police series T.J. Hooker (1982) from 1982 to 1986, alongside spunky Heather Locklear, and surprised many fans with his droll comedic talents in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) and Miss Congeniality (2000).
He has most recently been starring in the David E. Kelley television series The Practice (1997) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004).
Outside of work, he jogs and follows other athletic pursuits. His interest in health and nutrition led to him becoming spokesman for the American Health Institute's 'Know Your Body' program to promote nutritional and physical health.- Producer
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Tom Green was born on 30 July 1971 in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. He is a producer and actor, known for Freddy Got Fingered (2001), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Road Trip (2000). He was previously married to Drew Barrymore.- Actor
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Shawn Robert Ashmore was born one minute after his twin brother Aaron Ashmore in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, on October 7, 1979. He is the son of Linda, a homemaker, and Rick Ashmore, a manufacturing engineer. By the age of seven, when their mother became a part of the Multiple Births Association in Alberta, Canada, the Ashmore twins were already in front of cameras impressing their elders. But it was Shawn that at the age of 14, stole the hearts of many with his wonderful performance in Guitarman (1994) in which he played the main character and was nominated for a Gemini Award. Since then, his career has skyrocketed. He has done many made-for-television movies and series, and has guest starred on various television shows, but it was his brief appearance in X-Men (2000) that landed him a role in X2 (2003) and got him on the road to stardom. As an added bonus, he even got his own personal action figure modeled after him.
After only three months after X2 (2003) he easily earned the very minor role of his brother's double in My Brother's Keeper (2004) with a release date in spring of 2004. Apart from acting, Shawn enjoys spending time with his brother, listening to music, playing guitar and snowboarding. His special skill is that he's fluent in French. His mother Linda, who is a twin herself, is a homemaker, while his father Rick is a manufacturing manager. Shawn has one pet, Jessica, a golden retriever, that he got from his grandmother when he was nine.- Actor
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Aaron was born one minute before his twin, Shawn Ashmore, in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. He is the son of homemaker Linda and manufacturing engineer Rick. When they were 10, their mother was a part of a club called the "Multiple Births Association," or as Aaron likes to call it, "The Multiple Rugrats." The support group, located in Alberta, Canada was where the twins were discovered by a talent agent. It didn't take long for the problem of rejection to arise. The twins started out in commercials, sometimes by themselves and sometimes together. When they were 12, Aaron got an offer to be in a commercial, but he fell ill on that day, and Shawn went in his brother's place. Ever since then, Shawn's career has always been 1 step in front of his brother's. Since high school, when they were routinely mixed up with one another, their talents have become a lot less identical. They have been offered different roles to play, and they are looking a lot less identical, now that they are growing older. Aaron is now more sturdily built, with a broader face and broad shoulders. He stands 6'0", which is an inch taller than Shawn, who is 5'11". To that, Shawn says, "It's shoes and hair". Aaron lives in Toronto, where he shares an apartment with Shawn.- Actor
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Toronto native, Chris Potter, is a veteran of the film & television industry.
Having appeared in over 450 episodes of various programs (including the Lead of 8 television series), in 10 feature films, in excess of 20 TV movies, and having directed 15 television episodes, Chris is without a doubt one of the hardest working individuals in the business!
Chris stars in CBC's internationally airing hit show Heartland.
Chris starred in the made-for-television feature The Good Witch and its six sequels. The films' success led to Hallmark turning it into a television series.
Chris has amassed an impressive list of credits over the years and has garnered much recognition for his work. He won the award for Best Actor in a Featured Drama at the New York Independent Film & Video Festival for his work for the thriller Rocket's Red Glare, and he received a Gemini nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of "Tom Harsburgh" in the provocative television movie Sex Traffic.
Chris was a Series Regular on projects such as Zoe Busiek: Wild Card; Queer As Folk; Silk Stalkings; and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (with the late David Carradine).
Guest appearances include: Law & Order: SVU; One Tree Hill; Andromeda; The Outer Limits; Lonesome Dove, Counterstrike, Street Legal and Will & Grace.
On the big screen, Chris has appeared in the feature films Spymate and The Pacifier (an action thriller starring Vin Diesel). He was also directed by Richard Benjamin in The Shrink Is In, a romantic comedy with Courtney Cox and David Arquette.
When not busy at work (which is a rarity these days) Chris spends his time with his lovely wife and four children in Ontario.- Actor
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Adam Beach was born in Ashern, Manitoba, the son of Sally and Dennis Beach, and was raised on the Dog Creek First Nations Reserve, with his two brothers. A troubled childhood saw his mother killed by a drunk driver, and his alcoholic father drowned only weeks afterward. The three brothers went to live with their grandmother and then with their uncle and aunt in Winnipeg, where Adam joined drama classes and began acting in local theatre productions.
Since then he has appeared in over 60 films and television programs. His performance in the Academy Award-nominated Clint Eastwood-directed Flags of Our Fathers (2006) was phenomenal. He played Ira Hayes, a Pima Native American who was one of the six US Marines to raise the American flag on Iwo Jima and who found the resulting fame hard to handle, subsequently giving way to alcoholism. This alone would have been an emotional role for Adam to play; however, during filming, both his grandmother and best friend passed away. His role as Hayes is both realistic and heartbreaking, earning him two Best Supporting Actor Award Nominations. He stands out well above the rest of the cast.
Adam has been further nominated for three Awards for his role in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) including a Golden Globe. He has put in terrific performances in the comedy film Joe Dirt (2001) and the John Woo World War II war epic Windtalkers (2002) in which he co-starred with Nicolas Cage.
He headlined the cast in the Walt Disney production Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994), featured in John Singleton's Four Brothers (2005) and starred with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in the science fiction-western smash hit Cowboys & Aliens (2011). He had a starring recurring role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Big Love (2006).
In 2016, he played Christopher Weiss / Slipknot in the supervillain film Suicide Squad (2016).
Adam hopes to be appointed leader of his Lake Manitoba First Nation.- Actor
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Will Arnett is a Canadian-American actor, voice actor, and comedian. He is most famous for playing George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox series Arrested Development (2003). He also appeared in films such as The Lego Movie (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017). Arnett also voices the title character of Netflix's original animated series BoJack Horseman (2014). He has been the voice heard in the GMC commercials since 1998.- Music Department
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Alan Thicke was born on 1 March 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for Growing Pains (1985), Raising Helen (2004) and That's My Boy (2012). He was married to Tanya Callau, Gina Marie Tolleson and Gloria Loring. He died on 13 December 2016 in Burbank, California, USA.- He is most notably recognized today as "Cowboy" Cliff Harting in Hallmark Channel's original television series "Cedar Cove," based on the books by award-winning author Debbie Macomber (series began in 2013)
Not to be typecast, Sebastian has become one of the most sought-after actors in Vancouver, BC. While science fiction is a preferred genre, based on his impressive resume, it is clear to see that he can take any role he is given and give the same kind of impressive performances that has become a hallmark of his career. His versatility could be considered practically legendary. - Actor
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David James Elliott was born on 21 September 1960 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Trumbo (2015), JAG (1995) and Exploding Sun (2013). He has been married to Nanci Chambers since 8 October 1992. They have two children.- Owning a pair of the most incredibly soulful and searching eyes you'll ever find, Michael Sarrazin's poetic drifters crept into Hollywood unobtrusively on little cat's feet, but it didn't take long for him to make his mark. Quiet yet uninhibited, the lean, laconic, fleshy-lipped actor with the intriguingly faraway look and curiously sunken features enhanced a number of quality offbeat fare without ever creating too much of a fuss. While Hollywood couldn't quite pigeonhole him, they also weren't sure what to do with him. Out-and-out stardom would prove elusive.
He was born Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin on May 22, 1940 in Quebec, Canada, and drifted through eight different schools before eventually dropping out. He worked at a Toronto theatre, on TV, and for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during his teen years. He also studied acting at the Actors Studio in New York. While playing parts for the National Film Board of Canada in a handful of their historical documentary shorts, he was noticed by Universal and signed in 1965. Following insignificant roles in such series as The Virginian (1962) and in the mini-movie The Doomsday Flight (1966), the actor made his film debut in the post-Civil War drama Gunfight in Abilene (1967) starring an equally offbeat Bobby Darin. One scene had him being flogged shirtless. It was Sarrazin's second film, however, that created the initial stir playing grifter George C. Scott's young apprentice in The Flim-Flam Man (1967). Sarrazin's hesitant con artist more than held its own against the freewheeling Scott while also engaging in romantic clinches with Lolita (1962) sexpot Sue Lyon.
A number of other Sarrazin characters found their way as a result. He played a guileless tenderfoot again, this time taken under the wing of cowboy Anthony Franciosa, in A Man Called Gannon (1968) which takes an unexpected twist at the end; he shared the screen with fellow up-and-comers Harrison Ford and Jan-Michael Vincent as a green Confederate soldier in Journey to Shiloh (1968); earned a Golden Globe "best promising newcomer" nomination portraying an aimless surfer in The Sweet Ride (1968) opposite the spectacularly beautiful Jacqueline Bisset (they lived together for several years); and supposedly turned down the role of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy (1969) in order to appear in the kinky love triangle In Search of Gregory (1969) as, yet again, another be charming young stranger, but that film was not successful.
This all culminated in the portrayal of his career as a wanderlust Depression-era floater plucked from the beach shore to participate in a grueling dance marathon. As Robert, the unassuming partner to feisty, cynical Jane Fonda's Gloria, in the bleak, fascinatingly depressing They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Sarrazin was both soft and spellbinding. His pairing with Fonda is an eerie and ultimately doomed one resulting in a shattering climax. Remote and wordless, Sarrazin's strength lies in both his ease and passive defiance. His peaceful body language and the few calm utterances he allows himself seems to illicit a strange, neutralizing power. It's not the kind of movie persona, however, that wins awards - as it did for his more flamboyant co-stars Ms. Fonda, Susannah York and Gig Young.
Another glum, ostracized outsider role came in the showier form of Paul Newman's hippie half-brother in Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) and Sarrazin continued to show a flair for the unconventional with the non-mainstream Believe in Me (1971), as a medical student who shares a drug needle with (again) Ms. Bissett, and in The Pursuit of Happiness (1971) as a collegiate fighting the system. In Harry in Your Pocket (1973) Sarrazin again plays the naive square who falls in with a bad crowd (this time, pickpockets). He capped this radical run with a mesmerizing, intelligent and, of course, sympathetic portrayal of the monster in the mini-movie Frankenstein: The True Story (1973). As assurance of his offbeat popularity, he hosted Saturday Night Live (1975) twice.
A performance as the haunted title role in the psychological thriller The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) proved to be one of his last hurrahs, as the film was a critical and box office failure. At this juncture his films (or his film roles) became underwhelming. He starred alongside Ursula Andress in the Italian film The Loves and Times of Scaramouche (1976), but the film was very poorly received. Utterly wasted even though second billed as Barbra Streisand's hubby in her slapstick vehicle For Pete's Sake (1974), he also headed up a so-so car chase film in The Gumball Rally (1976). He co-starred in the big budget escapist adventure Caravans (1978), but the film was a financial disaster. The 1980s signaled a significant down turn and strange pall in his films.
It started with his third-wheel participations in the excruciating bad and violent Morgan Fairchild/Andrew Stevens stalking thriller The Seduction (1982) and in the hard-edged vigilante film Fighting Back (1982) behind Tom Skerritt/Patti LuPone. When he did have a lead, the films themselves were flawed as in Keeping Track (1986) and the excessively sleazy Mascara (1987). Sarrazin has continued to work steadily, however, but the one great film that could put him into the top character ranks had yet to arrive. With age, the always-lean Sarrazin turned pale and haggard which lent itself toward rather eccentric casting.
Throughout the course of his career, Michael remained true to his homeland, appearing in many Canadian-based productions such as The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Double Negative (1980), Joshua Then and Now (1985), Captive Hearts (1987), The Phone Call (1989), La Florida (1993) and Crackerjack 2 (1997).
Sarrazin moved to Montreal many years back in order to be near family. He died there following a brief bout with cancer at age 70 on April 17, 2011, and was survived by daughters Michelle and Catherine, as well as producer/brother Pierre Sarrazin. While the fascination and appeal of Michael Sarrazin certainly cannot be denied, one wonders why Hollywood was not able to serve his talent better in later years. - Actor
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Born in Ajax, Ontario, Corey's career in front of the camera began as a baby model at the tender age of six months. Modelling soon led to work in commercials. At seven years old, he landed his first acting job in the ABC mini-series "Family Pictures," alongside screen veterans Angelica Houston and Sam Neill. The experience convinced young Corey that he had found his passion.
Corey's breakout came when he landed the role of "Timmy" in the 90's version of the prolific series, "Lassie." The show ran internationally for four seasons and earned him a Gemini nomination. Corey was a fairly prolific actor during his childhood. His first starring role in a feature film came in Disney's "Summer of Monkeys." The heartwarming family drama premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won a coveted Crystal Heart Award.
Into his teens, Corey continued to work at a feverish pace, starring in four more consecutive series - the period drama "Little Men," where his work as streetwise "Dan" earned him back-to-back Los Angeles Youth Award nominations, the futuristic adventure series 2030 C.E., the WB's martial-art drama "Black Sash" and FOX's steamy Hawaii-set drama "North Shore." His work in feature films included the period thriller "Edge of Madness," the psychological drama "The Secret" and the campy sci-fi franchise "Decoys."
As an adult, Corey has appeared as a guest star in many well known series, including; Psych, CSI: Miami, Smallville, Motive, The Listener, Supernatural, Murdoch Mysteries, Wild Card and Twice in a Lifetime.
He has also amassed an impressive list of film credits including--Immortals, The Lost Future, Apartment 1303, Age of the Dragons, Code Breakers, The Jazzman, Conduct Unbecoming, Awaken, A Star for Christmas and 5th & Alameda.- Actor
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Tyler Sean Labine is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He is best known for starring in the television series Breaker High, Invasion, Reaper, Deadbeat and as Dr. Iggy Frome, head of psychiatry, in the NBC medical drama New Amsterdam, and the film Tucker & Dale vs Evil.- Actor
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Michael John Myers was born in 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario, to Alice E. (Hind), an officer supervisor, and Eric Myers, an insurance agent. His parents were both English, and had served in the Royal Air Force and British Army, respectively.
Myers' television career really started in 1988, when he joined Saturday Night Live (1975), where he spent six seasons. He brought to life many memorable characters, such as Dieter and Wayne Cambell. His major movies include Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), the Austin Powers movies and The Cat in the Hat (2003).- Actor
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A.J. Buckley was born on 9 February 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and producer, known for CSI: NY (2008).- Actor
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Daeg Faerch was born in San Diego, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Halloween (2007), Hancock (2008) and American Horror Story (2011).- Actor
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- Music Department
Victor Garber has been in some of the most memorable projects of the past four decades. Victor has recently appeared in The Slap (2015), The Flash (2014), Motive (2013) and Web Therapy (2011). He is currently staring in Greg Berlanti's new DC Comics Superhero series "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" for Warner Bros/CW. He has shared in two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast, the latest for Milk (2008), and previously as a member of the cast of Titanic (1997) as well as winning with the cast of Argo (2012). Garber received three Emmy® nods for his role on Alias (2001) and has also earned Emmy® nominations for Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001), and his guest roles on Frasier (1993) and Will & Grace (1998). He is also an accomplished stage actor, whose extensive credits encompass lead roles in both plays and musicals, and has earned four Tony Award® nominations, for his work in Damn Yankees (1994-1995), Lend Me a Tenor (1989-1990), Little Me (1982) and Deathtrap (1978-1982. Victor also starred in the 1998 Tony Award winning Best Play, Art.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Rick began his career as a radio DJ while he was still at high school which led to him writing, producing and being on air in his own show. He joined the Canadian TV series, SCTV (1976), winning an Emmy for writing and portraying the character, Bob McKenzie, which became the basis for the film, Strange Brew (1983), which he co-wrote, co-directed and made his film acting debut. The character he played in Ghostbusters (1984) was based on a similar character he played on SCTV (1976).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Zack Ward was born in 1970. He wanted to act, but his mom, an actress herself, wanted her son to be normal, and would not let him. Finally, his brother intervened, allowing Zack the chance to act. After a year of the small stuff, he got his first big audition for the '80s classic A Christmas Story (1983). About 300 kids showed up for the part (originally he was the sidekick, Grover), and he kept getting called back until it was him and one other redhead. He won the role. On the first set, in Cleveland, the director told him that he was to play the part of Scut Farcus instead of Grover. This was his breakthrough.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Leslie William Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and raised in Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Northwest Territories. His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (Davies), was Welsh. His father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was a Danish-born Mountie and a strict disciplinarian. Leslie studied at the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before moving on to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. His acting career started at a much earlier age when he was forced to lie to his father in order to avoid severe punishment. Leslie starred in over fifty films and many more television films. One of his two brothers became the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. On October 10, 2002, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) in recognition of his contributions to the film and television industries. On November 28, 2010, Leslie Nielsen died at age 84 of pneumonia and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.- Actor
- Producer
Elias Koteas was born on March 11, 1961, in Montreal, Canada. Both his parents are of Greek descent. Elias attended Vanier College in Montreal before leaving to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1981, of which he is a graduate. He also attended the Actors Studio in New York City, where he studied acting under Ellen Burstyn and Peter Masterson. His film debut was in One Magic Christmas (1985). He has also appeared on stage in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Death of a Salesman," "Bent" and "The Cherry Orchard." In 1989 he was nominated for a Genie (Canada's Academy Award) for best actor in Malarek (1988), a true story in which he plays a troubled street-kid-turned reporter for a Canadian newspaper. A somewhat of a breakthrough role for Elias happened in 1990, when he got the role of vigilante Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequels. He is one of Canada's most popular actors and frequently appears in films by Canadian directors Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg. It was Cronenberg's controversial movie Crash (1996) that had Cannes all abuzz in 1996. Elias played Vaughan, a self-appointed "mad scientist" with an unusual fetish--sexual delight in car crashes! The past two years have been busy ones for Koteas, adding six more roles to his resume. As Capt. James Staros, the commanding officer of Charlie Company in The Thin Red Line (1998), he brought sensitivity and compassion to his portrayal of a man who cared about the safety of his men--even at the risk of his own career. In 2000 he appeared in Lost Souls (2000), a thriller starring Winona Ryder, and starred on Broadway with Josh Brolin in the Sam Shepard play "True West."- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jason Gray-Stanford was born on 19 May 1970 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor, known for Monk (2002), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). He was previously married to Jes Macallan.- Michael Ontkean, best known for playing the minor league hockey player Ned Braden in the cult classic Slap Shot (1977), was born on January 24, 1946 in Vancouver, British Columbia. His parents, Leonard and Muriel (née Cooper) Ontkean, were actors. Michael was raised Catholic and attended Catholic elementary and high schools. Like many young Canadian men, he grew up playing hockey. He was good enough to earn a hockey scholarship to the University of New Hampshire, a Division I program. He was a standout player at UNH in his three seasons as a varsity player from 1966-69. (Division I hockey teams did not allow freshmen to play on the varsity team in those days.) After graduating from UNH in 1969, he did not pursue a professional hockey career but appeared on the Canadian series Hudson's Bay (1959), which ran for one season in 1959-60, but did not appear again professionally as an actor until an episode of Ironside (1967) was broadcast in 1970. He moved to Los Angeles to become an actor.
After taking roles on episodic TV shows and appearing in TV movies from 1970-72, he had his breakthrough with a lead in the TV series The Rookies (1972), which debuted in September 1972. He played policeman Willie Gillis on the series, but left after the 1973-74 season and was replaced by Chris Owens (Bruce Fairbairn). His co-star, Kate Jackson, would later appear as his wife in the then-controversial 1982 film Making Love (1982), in which Ontkean played a married man who leaves his wife after coming out after an affair with his gay lover.
Earlier, Ontkean's skill as a hockey player enabled him to beat out Peter Straus and other actors for the role as the disaffected Ned Braden in Slap Shot (1977). In the film, he performed all of his on-ice shots himself. Subsequently, he had a major role in Paul Mazursky's Willie & Phil (1980), but neither that movie or "Making Love" was a hit. (Peter Strauss -- who lost the role in "Slap Shot" to Ontkean but became a bigger star after the success of Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) -- turned down the role of the closeted gay husband played by Ontkean in "Making Love".)
Ontkean's most memorable role since the early 1980s was Sheriff Harry S. Truman) in David Lynch's cult classic TV series Twin Peaks (1990). He lives in Hawaii with his wife, Jamie Smith Jackson. - Actor
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Ian Tracey was born on 26 June 1964 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and director, known for Continuum (2012), Open Range (2003) and Timecop (1994).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Paulo Costanzo was born on September 21, 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, of Italian (father) and Jewish (mother) descent. He attended Mayfield Secondary School for the Arts, then attended one year at Ryerson University for theater, but dropped out when he started to land Toronto based television and film roles.
In his first major television role he starred opposite 'Linda Hamilton, Scott Speedman and Alfred Molina in the Barbra Streisand produced Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples (1998), in which he played a Jewish teen in hiding from the Nazis in 1939 Belgium. Shortly thereafter, he landed the role of quirky alien Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil on Nickelodeon's Animorphs (1998), which ran for two seasons. When he was 21, he attended an international cattle call audition for an unnamed Dreamworks film. A week later he received a call from his agent: after seeing his tape, Todd Phillips wanted Paulo to fly to New York to screen test for Road Trip (2000). After testing for Phillips and Ivan Reitman, he was offered the role of Rubin Carver. This marked the beginning of his professional career in the United States.
He played major supporting roles in several films including Josie and the Pussycats (2001) and 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002), and starred opposite Woody Harrelson and Alicia Silverstone in Scorched (2003). From 2005-2006, he played kid genius Michael Tribbiani opposite Matt LeBlanc on the Friends (1994) spin off, Joey (2004), during which time he also headlined Douglas Coupland's Everything's Gone Green (2006), a festival darling which won numerous awards. He starred in the cult horror hit, Splinter (2008), which won Six Scream Awards including best picture, and he starred opposite J.K. Simmons, Scott Caan, and Harvey Keitel in A Beginner's Guide to Endings (2010).
From 2009-2015 he starred as Evan R. Lawson on the USA tent pole, Royal Pains (2009) for its eight seasons, directing three episodes. In 2015, he recurred as Shed Garvey on Syfy's The Expanse (2015), and played the critical role of Ray Halle in four episodes of HBO's Emmy-winning drama The Night Of (2016). In 2017 he starred opposite Marisa Tomei and Minnie Driver in the high concept short film Laboratory Conditions and can be seen as Lyor Boone, chief political advisor to the President, opposite Kiefer Sutherland on ABC's hit show Designated Survivor (2016).- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
The award-winning Canadian-American character actor Maury Chaykin was born on July 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Professor Irving J. Chaykin and his wife Clarice. Irving Chaykin, an American citizen, taught accountancy at the City College of New York. The former Clarice Bloomfield, his mother, was born in Winnipeg, raised in Montreal, and educated at the Beth Israel Hospital nursing school in Newark, New Jersey. Because of his parents, Maury held dual Canadian and American citizenship.
He was raised in New York City but moved to Toronto after graduating from the State University of New York, Buffalo, where he studied drama. His uncle, George Bloomfield, made his name in Canada as a movie and television writer, director and producer. Maury would later star in two theatrical movies, one TV movie and 14 TV episodes directed by his uncle.
Maury made his debut in the 1975 Canadian film Me (1975). In his 35-year-long career, he appeared in over 150 parts in films and TV series shot in Canada and the U.S. He was best known for his eccentric role as Kevin Costner's commanding officer in the Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves (1990), three films of Atom Egoyan, including The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and his role as Nero Wolfe on cable TV. (His uncle George Bloomfield directed some of the Nero Wolfe episodes.)
He won a Genie Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Oscar, as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a has-been rock star in Whale Music (1994) and two Gemini Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy. Recently, he had a semi-recurring role as a movie producer based on Harvey Weinstein in the cable-TV series Entourage (2004) and a regular role on the Canadian TV series Less Than Kind (2008).
Chaykin was suffering from kidney disease in the last years of his life. He died on his 61st birthday, July 27, 2010, at Toronto General Hospital, surrounded by members of his family. He was married to the Canadian actress Susannah Hoffmann, by whom he had a daughter, Rose.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Lochlyn Munro started his acting career after a serious sports injury ended his dream of playing professional hockey. A talented musician, Lochlyn turned his attention to the performing arts. While playing music in various clubs around Vancouver, British Columbia, Lochlyn studied drama and improvisational comedy with many of the industry's top professionals, including the late Susan Strasberg. Having done a lot of stage work, Lochlyn then jumped into the television and film world with instant success. Lochlyn landed roles on various American projects such as, 21 Jump Street (1987), Wiseguy (1987), and others.
After numerous guest roles and leads on TV shows and Films, Lochlyn landed a role in Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992). He has gone on to show tremendous range throughout his acting career by creating memorable characters in such films as Dead Man on Campus (1998), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), and Scary Movie (2000). Lochlyn will always remain one to watch in Hollywood as his career continues to follow a bright path.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Chris Makepeace was born on 22 April 1964 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He is an actor and assistant director, known for Meatballs (1979), My Bodyguard (1980) and Vamp (1986).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Tommy Chong was born on 24 May 1938 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is an actor and writer, known for Up in Smoke (1978), Zootopia (2016) and Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980). He has been married to Shelby Chong since 1975. They have four children. He was previously married to Maxine Sneed.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Macdonald was born Norman Gene Macdonald in Quebec City, Quebec. He began his career in stand-up comedy. Macdonald's first job was writing for The Dennis Miller Show (1992) and then Roseanne (1988). While writing for Roseanne (1988), he was noticed by Lorne Michaels, who liked Norm's stand up, and gave him his job on Saturday Night Live (1975).
Macdonald became widely popular when he became the Weekend Update anchor with his trademark line, "And now the fake news". He lasted from September 24, 1994 until December 13, 1997, when he was fired by Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC on the west coast. His last weekend update was December 13, 1997 and he officially left the show in March 1998. His movie, Dirty Work (1998), which he began working on in the summer of 1997, came out 2 months later. In March 1999, his show, called Norm (1999), came out on ABC and had a 3-season run. During that time, he also starred in the movie Screwed (2000), opposite Dave Chappelle.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
The story goes that huggable, highly affable stand-up comedian Howie Mandel began his show biz career by chance while catching amateur night at the Comedy Store on the L.A. Sunset Strip during a vacation. Goaded on by friends to try out, a producer spotted him, hired him for an appearance on a comedy game show and the rest is history. Talk about luck! Howie would move from this to TV celebrity, screenwriter, actor, producer, director, entrepreneur, and popular game show panelist/host.
Curly-haired Jewish-Canadian Howard Michael Mandel II was born in Toronto, Ontario on November 29 1955, and raised there. Of Romanian and Polish descent, and a distant cousin of Israeli violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, he proved to be a highly controversial class clown in high school and was expelled for some costly antics. He soon found work as a carpet salesman while hitting the stage at night as a cut-up at Toronto's Yuk Yuk's comedy club. His routine, which included extremely bizarre sight gags, which were favorably received. And then in 1978, he traveled to the States, visited the L.A. Comedy Store, and stayed.
While a regular performer at the popular Sunset Strip club, a producer for the syndicated comedy game show Make Me Laugh (1979) caught his act and booked Howie for a series of appearances during its short-lived 1979-1980 series. This led to a big step as an opening act for David Letterman, a CBS comedy special in 1980, several late-night appearances on "The Alan Thicke Show," and a lead role in the wacky but poorly-received Canadian film comedy Gas (1981) also starring Susan Anspach. He also showed up as one of the original "VeeJays" on Nickelodeon's music video series.
A pleasing, agreeable comedian who quickly graduated to TV talk shows and Vegas gigs, Howie earned household attention when cast in the critically-acclaimed medical TV drama St. Elsewhere (1982). Providing comic relief as bushy-headed Dr. Wayne Fiscus, he continuing to work as a comedian and take a shot at 80's comedy film stardom. He played a young comic in the film The Funny Farm (1983); provided the voice of Gizmo in the box-office hit Gremlins (1984) and its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990); co-starred with Ted Danson in Blake Edwards' comedy caper A Fine Mess (1986); co-starred with Christopher Lloyd as a wolf boy returning to civilization in Walk Like a Man (1987); and co-starred with young Fred Savage as a blue humanoid who introduces him to the world of weird creatures in Little Monsters (1989). These co-starring vehicles, however, failed to generate major box-office or stardom.
On TV, Howie provided the voice of Skeeter in the animated cartoon series Muppet Babies (1984). Having a strong affinity for children, he ventured into his own kid series with the Emmy-nominated Bobby's World (1990) serving as creator, executive producer and title star vocals as Bobby Generic. In the 1990's, Howie starred in a short-lived "dark comedy" series Good Grief (1990) in which he fell into the funeral business. This was followed by his own failed talk show The Howie Mandel Show (1998) during the 1998-1999 season. Throughout the decade, which included guest appearances on "Lois & Clark," "Carol & Company," "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Bless This House," "The Nanny," "The Outer Limits" and "Sunset Beach," managed a near-full time schedule of concerts, tours, cartoon voiceovers and TV comedy specials, the last-mentioned keeping him current with viewers The First Howie Mandel Special (1983) and Howie Mandel: Live from Carnegie Mall (1985).
In 2006, Howie his pay dirt as the (now) bald-domed host of the game show Deal or No Deal (2005). The show ran for four seasons, but returned for a season a decade later. Over time Howie appeared in scores of TV commercials for Boston Pizza as their hired spokesperson. In April 2004, he was selected as #82 on Comedy Central's list of the "100 Greatest Stand Up Comedians of All Time." On September 4, 2008, Mandel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Comedy Central listed him as #82 on their list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. That same year he revealed that he has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was involved in raising adult ADHD awareness.
In 2009, Howie served as star and executive producer of his own "Candid Camera"-like practical joke reality show Howie Do It (2008). It lasted one season. Two years later, he premiered a flash-mob reality show called Mobbed (2011), which did even less well. For the past decade, he has enjoyed stability as a judge on the reality show America's Got Talent (2006).
Married to Terry (Soil) Mandel since 1980 with three children, Howie received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2009. Mandel has written and published an in-depth OCD, ADHD-themed autobiography Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me.- Dov Tiefenbach was born on 8 December 1981 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, known for Jason X (2001), Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) and Tommy Boy (1995).
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Ironside has made a strong and indelible impression with his often incredibly intense and explosive portrayals of fearsome villains throughout the years. He was born as Frederick Reginald Ironside on February 12, 1950 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ironside was a successful arm wrestler in his teenage years. His initial ambition was to be a writer. At age fifteen, Michael wrote a play called "The Shelter" that won first prize in a Canada-wide university contest; He used the prize money to mount a production of this play. Ironside attended the Ontario College of Art, took acting lessons from Janine Manatis, and studied for three years at the Canadian National Film Board. Ironside worked in construction as a roofer prior to embarking on an acting career.
Ironside first began acting in movies in the late 1970s. He received plenty of recognition with his frightening turn as deadly and powerful psychic Darryl Revok in David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981). He was likewise very chilling as vicious misogynistic psychopath Colt Hawker in the underrated Visiting Hours (1982). Other memorable film roles include weary Detective Roersch in the sadly forgotten thriller Cross Country (1983), the crazed Overdog in the immensely enjoyable Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), the hard-nosed Jester in the blockbuster smash Top Gun (1986), ramrod Major Paul Hackett in Extreme Prejudice (1987), loner Vietnam veteran "Ben" in Nowhere to Hide (1987), the ferocious Lem Johnson in Watchers (1988), and lethal immortal General Katana in Highlander II: The Quickening (1991).
Moreover, Ironside has appeared in two highly entertaining science fiction features for Paul Verhoeven: At his savage best as the evil Richter in Total Recall (1990) and typically excellent as the rugged Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997). Ironside showed a more tender and thoughtful side with his lovely and touching performance as a hardened convict who befriends a disabled man in the poignant indie drama gem Chaindance (1991); he also co-wrote the script and served as an executive producer for this beautiful sleeper. Michael was terrific as tough mercenary Ham Tyler on the epic miniseries V (1984), its follow up V: The Final Battle (1984), and subsequent short-lived spin-off series.
Ironside also had a recurring role on the television series SeaQuest 2032 (1993). Among the television series he has done guest spots on are The A-Team (1983), Hill Street Blues (1981), The New Mike Hammer (1984), The Hitchhiker (1983), Tales from the Crypt (1989), Superman: The Animated Series (1996), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), The Outer Limits (1995), ER (1994), Smallville (2001), ER (1994), Desperate Housewives (2004), Justice League (2001) and Masters of Horror (2005). More recently, Ironside garnered a slew of plaudits and a Gemini Award nomination for his outstanding portrayal of shrewd biker gang leader Bob Durelle in the acclaimed Canadian miniseries The Last Chapter II: The War Continues (2003).
In addition to his substantial film and television work, Ironside has also lent his distinctive deep voice to TV commercials and video games.- Scott Bairstow was born on 23 April 1970 in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. He is an actor, known for The Postman (1997), Tuck Everlasting (2002) and Wild America (1997). He was previously married to Marty Rich.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Tyler Mane is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor from Saskatoon. He is known for playing Sabretooth in X-Men and a 2006 video game, Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's Halloween film duology and Ajax from Troy. He also acted in Joe Dirt, The Scorpion King, Playing with Fire, Doom Patrol and The Devil's Rejects. He is married to Renae Geerlings.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Gil Bellows was born on 28 June 1967 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Patriot (2015), The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Love and a .45 (1994). He has been married to Rya Kihlstedt since 3 October 1994. They have two children.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Rob was born in Canada in 1961 and when he was still a child he loved to play hockey and dreamed of becoming a professional player. However at the age of 17 he became badly injured while playing hockey and he lost a kidney. He had to give up his dream of becoming a professional hockey player and so he in fact fell into the entertainment business by accident. The injury forced him to turn down a number of athletic scholarships he had been offered. So, to put himself through the University of Waterloo, where he majored in Latin and English he took up his guitar, set some poems to music and sang in local restaurants. In the summers, he did stunts and acrobatics at Canada's Wonderland Amusement Park. Soon afterwards he found out his love for writing and while aspiring to be a writer, Rob held a variety of jobs, from bar tending to cowboy to maintenance man. He soon formed a writing partnership with his cousin and began his film career by writing, directing and starring in three television dramas: Come Spy With Me, Where There's A Will and Mark Of The Beast. Rob subsequently guested on various television series like for instance: Mount Royal and Hot Shots. He was the lead in the television pilot: Soulsearching Mystery Face. Internationally he became known for his part of Nick Slaughter in the series Tropical Heat a.k.a. Sweating Bullets. Rob wrote several episodes of the series ofwhich some together with James Gordon and he also directed a number of episodes. 'I took the biggest gamble of my life when I turned down the offer to play the lead role in the TV sitcom Scoop before my part in Tropical Heat was confirmed. It was the best decision I have ever made!' Rob summarized. 'The part of Nick was tailor-made for me', smiles Rob. Since Tropical Heat came to an end Rob has honed his skills with a number of independent films, TV guest appearances, more writing and directing!! He married a girl he'd met during the shooting of Tropical Heat and in 1996 he became father of a son. He and his family now live in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Jesse Moss was born on 4 May 1983 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010), The Uninvited (2009) and Final Destination 3 (2006).- Actor
- Production Designer
- Art Director
Chad Krowchuk is known for Man of Steel (2013), RV (2006) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Canadian American actor Brandon Jay McLaren is well known for his extensive work portraying a diverse range of characters on both the big and small screen. Notable television credits include fan favorite 'Xavier Watkins' on the comedy/action series Turner & Hooch, Disney+'s reboot of the classic 1989 buddy-cop film, the ABC action series The Rookie, alongside Nathan Fillion, and as 'Buckley' on season five of the acclaimed FX series Snowfall, created by Dave Andron, Eric Amadio and John Singleton.
In 2021, McLaren starred on the hit Netflix drama series Firefly Lane, alongside Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke. Previously, he portrayed psychological profiler 'Oliver Yates' for three seasons on the popular CBS action/drama series Ransom and starred as 'Dr. Simon' on the third season of the Emmy-nominated Lifetime series UnReal, opposite Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer, for which he was nominated for a UBCP/ACTRA Award.
From 2013 through 2015, McLaren starred as undercover agent 'Dale Jakes' on the USA drama series Graceland, for which he won a Best Actor Golden Maple Award in 2015. Other television credits include recurring roles on Chicago Fire (NBC), Slasher (Chiller Network), Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (Bravo), Falling Skies (TNT), Harper's Island (CBS) and The Killing (AMC), for which he was nominated for a 2012 Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series.
McLaren's work in film includes the independent feature Plush, directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Emily Browning, and the cult horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, which became a Sundance Film Festival favorite and won the 2012 SXSW Audience Award. Other film credits include the comedies She's The Man and Dead Before Dawn 3D. In 2015, McLaren executive produced and starred in the independent film Almost Anything, which premiered at Cinequest.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Brandon is of Trinidadian and Grenadian descent. He attended high school at Johnston Heights Secondary, where he took theater courses and his love for acting began. A star soccer player in his youth, he received a full athletic scholarship to attend the State University of New York at Albany. After graduating with a degree in Human Biology, McLaren returned to Vancouver to pursue acting full time. He now resides in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Instagram at @brandonjaymclaren and on Twitter at @brandojay.- Actor
- Producer
Luke Farrell Kirby is a Canadian actor. In 2019, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest role as Lenny Bruce on the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Kirby was born in Hamilton, Ontario, to American parents. His mother is from Brooklyn, New York, and his father grew up "along the eastern seaboard." His parents moved from New York City, New York, to Canada in 1974. Kirby studied drama at the National Theatre School of Canada, a theatre conservatory which focuses on classical works, and graduated in 2000.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Enrico Colantoni was born on 14 February 1963 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Galaxy Quest (1999), Veronica Mars (2004) and Contagion (2011). He has been married to Rosanna Francioni since 11 November 2011. They have four children. He was previously married to Nancy Snyder.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Douglas Alexander Smith is a Canadian actor known for his work on the HBO series Big Love as Ben Henrickson. His other work includes Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Terminator Genisys, Vinyl, Miss Sloane, When We Rise, The Alienist and the second season of HBO's Big Little Lies.- Born in Vancouver and raised in Squamish, British Columbia, Daniel grew up in an athletic household. The middle of three boys, Daniel excelled at a number of different sports including ski racing, snowboarding, football and rugby. However, in addition to his vast interest in athletics, Daniel always had a passion for the arts. He took drama classes and performed in school and local theatre productions while his athleticism earned him a Football Scholarship to Gannon University. Unfortunately, his sports career was cut short due to a devastating injury while on the field. It was at this crucial crossroad that Daniel decided to move back to Vancouver and focus his attention on his other passion, acting. Daniel's breakout role came shortly after he made the transition from college star to actor, when Bryan Singer cast him alongside Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Sir Ian McKellen, and Halle Berry in the superhero film X2 (2003), as Colossus, the strongest member of the X-Men team. Daniel's character was brought back in the film's sequel X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). He has since showcased his extraordinary talents on numerous television shows including Stargate SG-1 (1997), Supernatural (2005), and Psych (2006). However, it is Daniel's role as Felix in the popular Summit Entertainment film franchise The Twilight Saga that has given this actor international recognition. Off screen, Daniel has the same strength and physicality as his well-known characters. A glorified outdoorsman, this 6'6'' actor spends a great deal of time enjoying recreational activities including skiing, snowboarding, riding motor bikes and motor cycles, mountain biking and is a huge supporter of the Canadian National Rugby team, where his brother Jaime plays as a forward.
Daniel has appeared in blockbuster films from hit series: The Twilight Saga and X-Men. Next up, see him reprise his role as Felix, the all-powerful Volturi guard in The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), as he is once again bringing the larger than life character to the big screen in the last two installments of the Saga, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012). Additionally, Daniel has a leading role in the independent thriller Rites of Passage (2012). He shares the screen with seasoned actors Christian Slater, Stephen Dorff and Wes Bentley in the film about a young anthropology student seeking a traditional ceremony to mark his entry into manhood. He also has a role in the highly anticipated drama The Baytown Outlaws (2012) alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Wesley and Eva Longoria. The movie, which was on the 2009 "Black List" of Hollywood's best unproduced movie projects, is about a federal agent who comes into a small Southern town to investigate the Oodies - three redneck brothers who get more than they bargained for after agreeing to help a woman get her son back from his seemingly abusive father. - Scott Vickaryous was born on September 13, 1975 in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Later his family moved to Alberta. Growing up in Sherwood Park, Scott played hockey, football and practiced wrestling. After high school, Scott moved to Vancouver BC to pursue acting and even some modeling in Toronto. Eventually he moved to LA. He is an actor, known for Breaker High (1997), Get Real (1999), Whatever It Takes (2000), The Division (2001), Boston Public (2000) and Continuum (2012).
- Actor
- Producer
Born in England to a Dutch mother and British father, Cubitt was six months old when his family moved to Vancouver. While attending university, he worked on a cable music video show called Night Vision, performing in comedic sketch segments. Cubitt describes this experience as "the beginning of his love affair with acting." David studied acting full time until he was kicked out of theatre school having been told he "couldn't act and would never work." Soon afterward, Cubitt landed a leading role in the feature Alive directed by Frank Marshall, starring Ethan Hawke. Pa
Alive helped spark Cubitt's career and it wasn't long before he landed a series lead role on the hit Canadian show E.N.G. Following, David starred with Eric McCormack on Lonesome Dove for one season before he was offered the hit TV series Traders, during which time he won numerous Gemini Awards and Nominations for best actor.
After landing a development deal with CBS, Cubitt moved to Los Angeles where he booked the leading role of David Caruso's brother in the series Michael Hayes. Since then David has had an extensive career in television most notably as a series regular on CBS' Medium, opposite Patricia Arquette, for 7 seasons. Other television credits include roles on A&E's Bates Motel, Showtime's Ray Donovan, CTV's The Detail, Netflix's Travelers and most recently Netflix's Virgin River.
Feature film credits include, Black Chicks a short written and directed by Neil Labute, for which David won a 2017 Leo Award for Best Actor. Stonewall, directed by Roland Emmerich, Shut In, opposite Naomi Watts, The Seventh Son alongside Jeff Bridges & Julianne Moore. David can next be seen in Semi Chellas' feature American Woman, which will had its world premier at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.- Actor
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Eugene Levy is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer. He has appeared in more than 60 motion pictures to date, eight of which having topped the $100M mark. The box office success of films such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005) , and Father of the Bride Part II (1995) have established him as one of Hollywood's most popular comedic actors. But it was the role of Noah Levenstein in the American Pie franchise that cemented his reputation as America's favorite Dad. Levy's most recent big-screen role was that of Dory's Dad in the Disney/Pixar smash Finding Dory, in which he stars alongside Ellen DeGeneres and Diane Keaton. The film has surpassed the $1B mark worldwide, and is on track to become one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.
Partnering with Christopher Guest, Levy earned critical acclaim for co-writing and co-starring in Best In Show, Waiting For Guffman, For Your Consideration, and A Mighty Wind. Levy has been nominated for and won countless awards for his films including a New York Film Critics Circle Award and a Grammy Award® for A Mighty Wind and a Golden Globe® nomination for Best In Show. Other films include Splash, Armed and Dangerous, Multiplicity, Club Paradise, and Serendipity.
In 2013, Levy formed Not A Real Company Productions (with his son Daniel Levy and principals Andrew Barnsley and Fred Levy) to produce Schitt's Creek, a television series for CBC/ITV he co-created, co-executive produces, and co-stars in with Daniel Levy. The single-cam, character-driven comedy also stars Catherine O'Hara, Annie Murphy, and Chris Elliott.
In 2016, Levy won Lead Actor in a Comedy at the Canadian Screen Awards and, as Executive Producer, the CSA for Best Comedy, an award he shared with Daniel Levy, among others. Schitt's Creek swept the Canadian Screen Awards, winning nine of a possible 10 categories. Levy also received the prestigious Legacy Award (along with co-star and long-time collaborator, Catherine O'Hara) from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Levy won two Emmys® for his writing on SCTV in addition to many other awards and nominations for his television work.
Levy is a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of The Governor General's Performing Arts Award - the foremost honor presented for excellence in the performing arts.- Actor
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Nicholas Campbell was born on 24 March 1952 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and director, known for Da Vinci's Inquest (1998), Cinderella Man (2005) and The Dead Zone (1983).- Actor
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Brendan Fletcher was born on 15 December 1981 in Comox Valley, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Violent Night (2022), The Revenant (2015) and Night Hunter (2018).- Actor
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Comedian and actor Harland Williams is known the world over for his hilarious movie roles and outlandish stand-up and sketch comedy routines.
Williams was born in to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Mary (O'Donnell), a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, a lawyer who served in the Ontario legislature. Williams has starred in numerous unforgettable roles such as the pee-drinking cop in "Dumb and Dumber", the loveable horse-killing stoner, Kenny in "Half Baked", the hitchhiking serial killer in "There's Something About Mary", the silent motorcycle stud Slater, in "Superstar", the goof-ball astronaut Fred Z. Randall in "Rocketman," the whale-calling Sonar in "Down Periscope", and Robert/Roberta in the world of "Sorority Boys."
Williams is also seen regularly on "Late Night with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and "Late Night with Conan O'Brian." He has done solo stand-up comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central, CTV, and CBC. In addition to his on-screen roles, Williams has provided voices for several animated productions including "Robots" and is also an accomplished author and illustrator of his own series of children's books involving a little brontosaurus named Lickety Split.- Actor
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Dave Foley dropped out of an alternative high school to do stand-up comedy. He met Kevin McDonald at an improv class and, while employed as movie ushers, they began working as a comedy team. In 1984 they merged with another team to form "The Kids in the Hall". Foley made his film debut at 22 as the lead in the Canadian film High Stakes (1986).- Actor
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Scott Thompson was raised in Brampton, Ontario. He is the second oldest of four boys (the others are Craig, Derek and Dean). At 19, Scott got involved in an educational program called "Canada World Youth", and spent some time in the Phillipines. After CWY, Scott enrolled in York University but, in his third year, he was asked to leave for being "disruptive". Scott joined a Toronto improv troupe called "The Love Cats" and, while performing with them, he met Mark McKinney, who introduced him to the rest of The Kids in the Hall (1988). He was a guest performer with "The Kids" in 1984, and soon after became a member.- Actor
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Born in Montreal Canada. Drama major at Humber College, but kicked out for only being good at comedy. Enrolled in an improv class and met David Foley. They began working as a comedy team while employed as movie ushers. In 1984 they merged with another comedy team and formed The Kids in the Hall.- Actor
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Mark was born to Canadian diplomat Russell and architectural writer Chloe McKinney. Mark and his siblings spent much time traveling with their diplomat dad, and Mark attended schools in many cities around the world, including Trinidad, Paris, and Washington, D.C. His younger brother Nick is also a comedian; he appeared on the short-lived Comedy Central sketch-comedy show The Vacant Lot. Mark met Bruce McCulloch at the Loose Moose Theater Company, and the two joined two other comedians to form the comedy troupe 'The Audience,' which performed at Theatresports. Later, Mark and Bruce moved to Toronto and met David Foley and Kevin McDonald. They combined to form The Kids in the Hall. Later he starred in the TV cut sensation The Kids in the Hall (1988); after it was canceled in 1994, Mark joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) from 1995 to 1997. He had roles in various movies including A Night at the Roxbury (1998), The Out-of-Towners (1999), The Ladies Man (2000), and Dog Park (1998), and Superstar (1999) which were both directed by Kids In The Hall co-star and friend Bruce McCulloch.- Actor
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Bruce McCulloch was born on 12 May 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is an actor and writer, known for The Kids in the Hall (1988), Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996) and Dog Park (1998). He has been married to Tracy Ryan since 2003. They have two children.- Actor
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Gerry Mendicino attributes his career success to his versatility of characters in a variety of venues in the entertainment industry. Gerry was born in North Bay Ontario Canada, graduated from Windsor University's Drama School and began his career on King of Kensington (1975) and host of Polka Dot Door (1971). His long list of accomplishments include the roles of Sam Ramone in the award-winning television series Ready or Not (1993) and Uncle Taki in the feature My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).- Actor
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Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
From actor to writer to Dj to filmmaker, Gordon first stepped in front of the camera at age 12 in a movie with James Woods and Allan Arkin (Joshua Then and Now). Ever since he has lived and breathed film.
He trained at Theatre Aquarius and then began a long career of film and television through the 80's and 90's.
In the 2000's He is known mostly from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda on which he played a starship's irrascible engineer (2000-2005); the same period when he won a Gemini as "Canada's Hottest Star" (2002, 17th Annual). Figuring that was the pinnacle, Gordon moved behind the camera. On that show he began writing for prime time television and turned out 3 episodes of Andromeda. He moved into directing and has since produced/written and directed a number of works. His short Parkman, earned special selection at the BNFF (Buffalo Niagara Film Festival).
Gordon can still be found in front of the camera, most recently on episodes of izombie, but has a number of projects in the works and is focusing on directing. A feature documentary for 2017/2018 is in post production.
He is represented by LLA and KC Talent out of B.C. Canada.- Actor
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Nicholas Lea was born on 22 June 1962 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Vertical Limit (2000), The X-Files (1993) and Chaos (2005).- Actor
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Steven was born in London, Ontario Canada to a Polish German mother and Canadian father whose family lineage descends from the Weskarini Algonquin First Nation people of La Petite Nation (Little Nation) from Western Quebec, Canada.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Steven was nominated for a Hollywood Discovery Award at the Hollywood Film Awards for his short film, Vodka, Winter and The Cry of Violin, for which he starred, wrote, directed and produced. The film, based on a true story about a Polish couple's perilous twilight plight to save their only son from a Nazi German labor camp during the last winter of WWII, was awarded 'Best International Short' at the New York Film Festival.
Steven made his comedy debut in the summer blockbuster White Chicks becoming a fan favorite as Party Boy alongside the Wayans Brothers. That same year, Steven would receive critical acclaim as Young Eddie in Mitch Albom's, The Five People You Meet In Heaven, for which he starred opposite Academy Award Winner Jon Voight, Academy Award Nominee's Jeff Daniels, Ellen Burstyn and Emmy Winner Michael Imperioli, based on the New Times Best Selling novel.
Steven has performed on stage including multiple stints in the title role of Hamlet and made his foray into the Los Angeles theater scene starring opposite Academy Winner's Al Pacino and Dianne Wiest and Academy Award Nominee, Jessica Chastain in August Strindberg's classic, The Father.
Having taken a much needed hiatus to complete work on his feature film script Sheepdog that focuses on the plight of combat veterans assimilating back into civilian life, Steven recently returned to the small screen as Liam Cullen as a season two series lead on Netflix's Between co-starring Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy. The following year, Steven joined the cast of Robert Zemeckis' big budget documentary-drama, Medal of Honor..
Steven returned behind the camera in early 2020, to direct himself in the feature film The Secret of Sinchanee for which he also wrote and produced. The film is executive produced by Joe Newcomb (Dallas Buyers Club), and co-stars former NFL'er and Green Beret Nate Boyer and actresses Tamara Austin (Walking Dead) and Laila Lockhart Kraner (Gabby's Dollhouse, Black-ish). The film made its UK premiere at the 2021 Raindance Film Festival in London and was an official selection at 12 International Film Festivals, garnering 3 Wins and 8 Nominations. In October 2021, on a micro-production budget, the film was released worldwide via Vertical Entertainment. The New York Times claimed, "Grayhm's feature debut is a slow-burn thriller that deftly weaves issues of mental illness and family traumas into a cautionary tale set on sacred land. Logan Fulton...makes rural Massachusetts look simultaneously like a winter wonderland and a hellscape."
In 2020, Steven founded Team House Studios. A Film and TV Production company committed to empowering military veterans in front and behind the camera through real hands on training, aimed to create an equal opportunity environment for all genders and backgrounds. The Secret of Sinchanee is the first film released under the new banner that employed 11 US military veterans and one Gold Star Sister.
Steven is currently in pre-production on his feature film Sheepdog that focuses on the plight of US veterans returning home from combat.- Ken Kirzinger was born on 4 November 1959 in Saskatchewan, Canada. He is an actor, known for Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Watchmen (2009) and Paycheck (2003).
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Kris Lemche was raised in Brampton, Ontario as the oldest of three children, which includes aspiring actor Matthew (Matt) Lemche. He is the son of a school teacher mother and a father who runs a heating business. Originally Kris wanted to become a doctor and study biochemistry in hopes of doing cancer research. Kris chose to attend Mayfield School of the Arts, merely because his friends were going there and not because he wanted to attended it. While he was saving money to become a doctor he stumbled upon an advertisement in the newspaper of an agency that was looking for actors. He responded and kept getting call backs which led him to play Zed Goldhawk on Flash forward. A series that was created by Disney. He discovered a passion for acting and is now putting his career of being a doctor on hold and is doing what he believes he loves to do best. Kris and his friends used to produce their own short movies. To this day Kris enjoys making, acting and just being a part of movies. He enjoys movies with DeNiro.- Actor
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When Jack Carson arrived in Hollywood in 1937, he found work at RKO as an extra. His first major acting role came alongside Humphrey Bogart in the romantic comedy Stand-In (1937). After a few years, he developed into a popular character actor who would be seen in a large number of comedies, musicals and a few westerns. Not happy with the direction his career was heading, he went to Warner Brothers in 1941, where the quality of his supporting roles improved. It also did not hurt to be in films that starred James Cagney, such as The Strawberry Blonde (1941) and The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941).
After three years, he starred with Jane Wyman in Make Your Own Bed (1944) and, again, in The Doughgirls (1944). Carson would play the nice guy with the heart of gold who was still a nice guy even when he was angry. He would take the double take and the quizzical look to a higher level, but he could also act in dramas. He provided a good portrayal of "Albert" in The Hard Way (1943) and was acclaimed for his performance in Mildred Pierce (1945). However, it was comedies that provided most of his work. He teamed up with his old friend, Dennis Morgan, for several films in the tradition of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. It was in the 1940s that Carson would become popular as a wisecracking comedian on radio. This would lead him to television work in the 1950s, where he was one of 4 rotating hosts on All Star Revue (1950), until 1951, when he had left the show and the title was changed to "All Star Revue".
He hosted and performed on The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) from 1952-55. He would also help host The U.S. Royal Showcase (1952). He would appear on a number of shows during the 1950s, one of his most remembered being an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959), where he played a somewhat shady used-car salesman who came into possession of an old Model-A Ford that was "haunted" in that whoever owned it had to tell the truth, whether he wanted to or not. Although his movie career slowed in the 1950s, he still appeared in a number of prestige pictures, such as A Star Is Born (1954) with Judy Garland, The Tarnished Angels (1957) with Rock Hudson and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Paul Newman.
Collapsed in August 1962 while in rehearsal for the play "Critic's Choice." An early diagnosis deemed it a stomach "disorder," but two months later, cancer was discovered while he was undergoing an unrelated operation.- Actor
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Legendary actor Christopher Plummer, perhaps Canada's greatest thespian, delivered outstanding performances as Sherlock Holmes in Murder by Decree (1979), the chilling villain in The Silent Partner (1978), the iconoclastic Mike Wallace in The Insider (1999), the empathetic psychiatrist in A Beautiful Mind (2001), the kindly and clever mystery writer in Knives Out (2019), and as Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station (2009). It was this last role that finally brought him recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, when he was nominated as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, one of three Academy Award nominations he received in the 2010s, along with All the Money in the World (2017) (as J. Paul Getty) and Beginners (2010); he won for the latter role. He will also likely always be remembered as Captain Von Trapp in the atomic bomb-strength blockbuster The Sound of Music (1965), a film he publicly despised until softening his stance in his autobiography "In Spite of Me" (2008).
Christopher Plummer was born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer on December 13, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario. He was the only child of Isabella Mary (Abbott), a secretary to the Dean of Sciences at McGill University, and John Orme Plummer, who sold securities and stocks. Christopher was a great-grandson of John Abbott, who was Canada's third Prime Minister (from 1891 to 1892), and a great-great-great-grandson of Presbyterian clergyman John Bethune. He had Scottish, English, Anglo-Irish, and Cornish ancestry. Plummer was raised in Senneville, Quebec, near Montreal, at his maternal grandparents' home.
Aside from the youngest member of the Barrymore siblings (which counted Oscar-winners Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore in their number), Plummer was the premier Shakespearean actor to come out of North America in the 20th century. He was particularly memorable as Hamlet, Iago and Lear, though his Macbeth opposite Glenda Jackson was -- and this was no surprise to him due to the famous curse attached to the "Scottish Play" -- a failure.
Like another great stage actor, Richard Burton, early in his career Plummer failed to connect with the screen in a way that would make him a star. Dynamic on stage, he didn't succeed as a younger leading man in films. Perhaps if he had been born earlier, and acted in the studio system of Hollywood's golden age, he could have been carefully groomed for stardom. As it was, he shared the English stage actors' disdain -- and he was equally at home in London as he was on the boards of Broadway or on-stage in his native Canada -- for the movies, which did not help him in that medium, as he has confessed. As he aged, Plummer excelled at character roles. He was always a good villain, this man who garnered kudos playing Lucifer on Broadway in Archibald Macleish's Pulitzer Prize-winning "J.B.".
Plummer won two Emmy Awards out of seven nominations stretching 46 years from 1959 and 2011, and one Genie Award in six nominations from 1980 to 2009. For his stage work, Plummer has racked up two Tony Awards on six nominations, the first in 1974 as Best Actor (Musical) for the title role in "Cyrano" and the second in 1997, as Best Actor (Play), in "Barrymore". Surprisingly, he did not win (though he was nominated) for his masterful 2004 performance of "King Lear", which he originated at the Stratford Festival in Ontario and brought down to Broadway for a sold-out run. His other Tony nominations show the wide range of his talent, from a 1959 nod for the Elia Kazan-directed production of Macleish's "J.B." to recognition in 1994 for Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land", with a 1982 Best Actor (Play) nomination for his "Iago" in William Shakespeare's "Othello".
Until the 2009 Academy Awards were announced, it could be said about Plummer that he was the finest actor of the post-World War II period to fail to get an Academy Award. In that, he was following in the footsteps of the late great John Barrymore, whom Plummer so memorably portrayed on Broadway in a one-man show that brought him his second Tony Award. In 2010, Plummer finally got an Oscar nod for his portrayal of another legend, Lev Tolstoy in The Last Station (2009). Two years later, the first paragraph of his obituary was written when the 82-year-old Plummer became the oldest person in Academy history to win an Oscar. He won for playing a senior citizen who comes out as gay after the death of his wife in the movie Beginners (2010). As he clutched his statuette, the debonaire thespian addressed it thus: "You're only two years older than me darling, where have you been all of my life?"
Plummer then told the audience that at birth, "I was already rehearsing my Academy acceptance speech, but it was so long ago mercifully for you I've forgotten it." The Academy Award was a long time in coming and richly deserved.
Plummer gave many other fine portrayals on film, particularly as he grew older and settled down into a comfortable marriage with his third wife Elaine. He continued to be an in-demand character actor in prestigious motion pictures. If he were English rather than Canadian, he would have been knighted. (In 1968, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honor and one which required the approval of the sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II.) If he lived in the company town of Los Angeles rather than in Connecticut, he likely would have several more Oscar nominations before winning his first for "The Last Station".
As it is, as attested to in his witty and well-written autobiography, Plummer was amply rewarded in life. In 1970, Plummer - then a self-confessed 43-year-old "bottle baby" - married his third wife Elaine Taylor, a dancer, who helped wean him off his dependency on alcohol. They lived happily with their dogs on a 30-acre estate in Weston, Connecticut. He thanked her from the stage during the 2012 Oscar telecast, quipping that she "deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for coming to my rescue every day of my life." Although he spent the majority of his time in the United States, he remained a Canadian citizen. He died in his Weston, Connecticut home on February 5, 2021 at age 91.
His daughter, with actress Tammy Grimes, is actress Amanda Plummer.- Actor
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Born in Halifax to a Royal Canadian Navy father, Art's mother soon had him back in their home town of Toronto, Ontario. He grew up in the "Beaches" of Toronto a big fan of Elvis Presley and rock n' roll. Although shy as a child, he grew to be a rebellious and independent teenager. This lead him to much traveling, mostly by hitch-hiking, picking up odd jobs, meeting all sorts of people from red-necks to freedom marchers to surfers and everyone in between. By the time he was 21, he was a father, a stockbroker and an amateur photographer. A much admired uncle of Art's was Michael Kane, a talented and successful actor. This had piqued Art's interest in acting during his teens. Although fairly successful himself, as a broker, he basically felt unfulfilled and eventually, after being inspired and touched by a Toronto Workshop Productions play, he made the commitment to leave the stock market for theatre. Although he worked, basically, as an unglorified gofer for a few months with TWP, eventually he got an acting agent, mostly with a false resume, and started auditioning mostly for commercials. It was at this time that Art credits a discovery that changed his future. Someone, he can't remember who, directed him to the Eli Rill Workshop. Eli had moved to Toronto from New York, where he taught at the Actor's Studio. Kind, gentle and articulate, Eli lucidly communicated techniques and explorations of the Method. Art thrived in this environment and soon started applying his knowledge to getting acting jobs. His first big role was in a biker movie, The Proud Rider (1971), spawned by the popularity of Easy Rider (1969). Art actually worked with a real motorcycle gang, the Satan's Choice. It was during the making of this rather bad movie that Art almost changed his professional name to Jeremy Kane. The producers thought that Art should have a more "show biz" name and took his photo to a girls school and asked the students to suggest first names and last names. They then took these names to Art and asked him to pick one of each. He liked the name Jeremy and chose Kane in honor of his uncle. The first person he called was his uncle Michael. Michael told him in no uncertain terms to stick to his own name. Art did so, but the other name is still connected to the film. The other anecdote was when the producers asked Art if he could ride a "bike," he took them "literally" and said he could, but that when it came to motorcycles his brother Lang Hindle was much better, being a champion road racer. Cast for the part late on a Thursday, Art had to learn to ride a motorcycle by Monday morning. The next big step was being cast as Billy Duke, the best hockey player in the world, drafted by the Maple Leafs to lead them back to the playoffs in the film Winter Comes Early (1971), Canada's first million-dollar movie. This film led to offers from Hollywood, which he resisted until work dried up and Art, who had 4 children by this time, finally moved to Los Angeles.
Art credits much of his success in California to luck. He felt he was lucky having Patricia McQueeney as his manager and a dynamic pair of agents in Arnold Rifkin and Nichole David. Over the years Art has come to be known as a "working actor" involved as a leading actor in some "classic" films and numerous pilots and series. His work in ENG, one Canada's most successful series, won him a Acting Gemini and his Pete Braga in Paradise Falls (2001) has been described as a "classic performance" although Art credits brilliant writing for all the plaudits. Also, in the early 1990s, Art added the credit Director to his impressive resume. He and his beautiful wife, Brooke now split time between California, Florida and Canada spending time with their much beloved children, all 8 of them, and their 6 grandchildren. Lucky? Indeed!- August Schellenberg was born on 25 July 1936 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor, known for Black Robe (1991), The New World (2005) and DreamKeeper (2003). He was married to Joan Karasevich. He died on 15 August 2013 in Dallas, Texas, USA.