Sean McCann(1935-2019)

Sean McCann appeared in more than 150 feature films, cable television movies, television series and miniseries. McCann always had a craving for diversity. He began his adult life with a singular devoutness uncommon to actors of his peer group, studying at St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario to prepare himself for the priesthood. A student of history, politics and poetry, he had a library of well over 800 volumes of literature and letters devoted to both the high arts and popular culture. McCann indulged his not-so-secret love of baseball as an Associate Scout for the Toronto Blue Jays, spoke often about baseball to professional organizations, and was named to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

McCann was seen with Sarah Polley and Diane Ladd (The Law of Enclosures (2000)), Nick Nolte (Affliction (1997)), and Chris Farley (Tommy Boy (1995)). He shared screen time with Miranda Richardson and Brenda Fricker (Swann (1996), for which McCann received Genie nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role), Nicolas Cage (Trapped in Paradise (1994)), Kevin Bacon (The Air Up There (1994)), and Peter Weller and Judy Davis (Naked Lunch (1991), which garnered the actor a National Film Critics Society Award). In 1999, he won a Gemini Award for Best Guest Actor in a Series for Power Play. In a testament to his chameleon acting talents, McCann was twice nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Pre-School Series, for his role as "Noah" in Noddy (1998).

McCann was singled out at the 1987 Gemini Awards with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his recurring role in Night Heat (1985). He starred in Robert Lepage's Genie Award-winning Possible Worlds (2000), and appeared in the Golden Globe-nominated Small Sacrifices (1989) (starring Farrah Fawcett). In 1988, he took on the role of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in The King Chronicle (1988); the miniseries was a 6-hour CBC and NFB co-production which aired to popular and critical acclaim. One year later, he won the Earl Grey Award for his performance.

McCann had a unique civic-mindedness as well. He ran against one of the most recognizable figures on the Canadian political landscape, Progressive Conservative Roy McMurtry, in Ontario's 1979 provincial election. His showing in that race, which he lost, confirmed that acting was his primary métier, but did nothing to dampen his conviction that politicians and political institutions are accountable to the masses.