Paul Gross
Paul Gross | |
---|---|
Born | Paul Michael Gross April 30, 1959 |
Occupation(s) | Actor Producer Screenwriter Composer Director |
Years active | 1985-present |
Spouse | Martha Burns (1988 - present) |
Paul Michael Gross, OC (born April 30, 1959)[1] is a Canadian actor, producer, director, singer and writer born in Calgary, Alberta. He is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the television series Due South as well as his 2008 war film Passchendaele, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in. During Due South's final season, Gross acted as executive producer in addition to starring, wrote the season three opener and finale, the two part series finale and wrote and sang songs for the show, some of which can be found on the two Due South soundtracks. He later found success with another Canadian TV series, Slings and Arrows. He also produced one film with Akshay Kumar called Speedy Singhs starring Camilla Belle and Vinay Virmani.[2]
Career
Gross studied acting at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, but he left during the third year of his study.[3] He went back later to complete the half-credit needed to receive his fine arts degree. He appeared in several stage productions, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.[4] Other productions in which he appeared include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme and As You Like It.[4]
After the play Successful Strangers, Gross starred in his first movie, Turning to Stone. From September 16, 2011, he appeared in a production of Noël Coward's Private Lives in Toronto co-starring Kim Cattrall (the production ended October 30, 2011);[5] the production moved to Broadway where it opened November 6, and closed on December 31, 2011.[6]
Most recently, Gross completed work on the contemporary war drama Hyena Road, released on October 9, 2015.[7][8]
Personal life
In September 1988, Gross married Canadian actress Martha Burns with whom he has two children, Hannah and Jack.
Due South
His role as upright Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Benton Fraser in the Due South television series brought him increased recognition. Like fellow actor David Marciano, he didn't want to do the show at first, and creator Paul Haggis didn't even know if he wanted Gross for the role, but following a meeting, Constable Benton Fraser was cast.[9]
When Due South was resurrected for the third season, Gross returned as Benton Fraser and assumed duties as executive producer and writer. He earned an estimated salary of $2–3 million per season, and at the time was the highest paid performer in Canadian television history.[10] He wrote several episodes of the last season of the series. His favourite episodes include "Gift of the Wheelman" and "All the Queen's Horses," and his episodes "Mountie on the Bounty" and "Call of the Wild" are of a similar style.[9]
Theatre
Year | Role | Title | Theatre |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Sylvius | As You Like It | Northern Light Theatre, Edmonton |
Lysander | A Midsummer Night's Dream | ||
1982–1983 | Mrs Warren's Profession | Theatre Calgary | |
Unseen Hand | |||
Farther West | |||
Clarence Underhill | Walsh | National Arts Centre, Ottawa | |
Motherwell | The Kite | Festival Lennoxville | |
Take Me Where the Water is Warm | |||
George Gaga | In the Jungle of Cities | ||
1984 | Dorante | Successful Strangers | Centaur Theatre, Montréal |
Romeo | Romeo and Juliet | Toronto Free Theatre, Toronto | |
1988 | Young Kenneth Pyper | Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme | Centrestage Co., Toronto |
1989 | Brick | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg |
2000 | Hamlet | Hamlet | Stratford Festival of Canada |
2011 | Elyot | Private Lives | Royal Alexandra Theatre, Music Box Theatre |
2012 | Edmund Gowery | Are You There, McPhee? | McCarter Theatre, New Jersey |
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Cold Comfort | Stephen Miller | |
Divided Loyalties | Walter Butler | ||
1991 | Married to It | Jeremy Brimfield | |
1992 | Buried on Sunday | Augustus Knickel | |
1993 | Aspen Extreme | T.J. Burke | |
1994 | Whale Music | Daniel Howl | |
Paint Cans | Morton Ridgewell | ||
2002 | Men with Brooms | Chris Cutter | Also writer and director |
2004 | Wilby Wonderful | Buddy French | |
2008 | Passchendaele | Michael Dunne | Also writer, producer and director |
2010 | Gunless | The Montana Kid | |
Barney's Version | Constable O'Malley of the North | ||
2011 | Speedy Singhs | Producer | |
2015 | Hyena Road | Pete | Also writer, producer and director |
Beeba Boys | Jamie |
Television series
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Turning to Stone | Billy | Debut; television film |
1986 | Airwaves | Writer | |
1988 | Chasing Rainbows | Jake Kincaid | 14 episodes |
1989 | Street Legal | Steven Hines | 2 episodes |
1990 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Skip | 1 episode |
Getting Married in Buffalo Jump | Alex Bresnyachuk | Television film | |
1993 | Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City | Brian Hawkins | 6 episodes |
1994 | XXX's & OOO's | Bucky Dean | Television film |
1994–1999 | Due South | Constable Benton Fraser | 67 episodes |
1996–1998 | The Red Green Show | Kevin Black | 5 episodes |
1997 | Noel's House Party | Himself | 1 episode [11] |
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Ned Land | Television film | |
1999 | Murder Most Likely | Patrick Kelly | Television film |
2003–2005 | The Eleventh Hour | Tony Joel | 2 episodes |
2003–2006 | Slings and Arrows | Geoffrey Tennant | 18 episodes |
2004 | Monday Report | Prime Minister Thomas David McLaughlin | 1 episode |
H2O: The Last Prime Minister | Thomas David McLaughlin | Also writer and executive producer | |
2005 | Burnt Toast | Scott | Television film |
2006 | Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story | John Diefenbaker | |
Hockey: A People's History | Narrator | 10 episodes | |
2007 | The Trojan Horse | Thomas David McLaughlin | Also writer and executive producer |
2009–2010 | Eastwick | Darryl Van Horne | Regular |
2010 | Men with Brooms | Chris Cutter | |
2011–2014 | Republic of Doyle | Kevin Crocker | 9 episodes |
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Film/Play | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Alberta Culture competition | New Play | The Deer and the Antelope Play | Won |
1982 | Clifford E. Lee Foundation | National Award for Playwrights | The Deer and the Antelope Play | Won |
Alberta Culture competition | New Play | The Dead of Winter | Won | |
1985 | Dora Award | Best Performance | Romeo and Juliet | Nominated |
1986 | Gemini Award | Best Writing in a TV Drama | In This Corner | Nominated |
1988 | Dora Award | Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Featured Role | Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme | Won |
1994 | Gemini Award | Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Gross Misconduct | Nominated |
1995 | Gemini Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Due South | Won |
1996 | Gemini Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Due South | Won |
1997 | Gemini Award | Best Writing in a Dramatic Series | Due South | Nominated (with Paul Quarrington, John Krizanc) |
1998 | Gemini Award | Best Writing in a Dramatic Series | Due South | Won (with John Krizanc, R.B. Carney - Mountie on the Bounty, part 2) |
Best Dramatic Series | Due South | Nominated (with Frank Siracusa, Peter Bray, R.B. Carney, George Bloomfield) | ||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Due South | Nominated | ||
Best Writing in a Dramatic Series | Due South | Nominated (with R.B. Carney, John Krizanc - Mountie on the Bounty, part 1) | ||
Best Writing in a Dramatic Series | Due South | Nominated (Burning Down the House) | ||
1999 | Gemini Award | Canada's Choice Award | Due South | Won (with Frank Siracusa, David Cole, R.B. Carney) |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Due South | Nominated | ||
2000 | Gemini Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Murder Most Likely | Nominated |
Best TV Movie or Dramatic Mini-Series | Murder Most Likely | Nominated (with R.B. Carney, Frank Siracusa, Robert Forsyth, Anne Marie La Traverse) | ||
2003 | Canadian Comedy Award | Pretty Funny Direction | Men With Brooms | Won |
Pretty Funny Male Performance | Men With Brooms | Nominated | ||
Pretty Funny Writing | Men With Brooms | Nominated (with John Krizanc) | ||
Genie Award | Best Original Screenplay | Men With Brooms | Nominated (with John Krizanc) | |
2004 | Gemini Award | Best Performance By An Actor In A Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Slings & Arrows | Won |
2005 | ACTRA Toronto | Award Of Excellence | Won | |
Writers Guild of Canada | Movie of the Week and/or Mini-Series | H2O | Won (with John Krizanc) | |
Directors Guild of Canada | Outstanding Team Achievement in a Television Movie or Mini-Series | H2O | Won | |
Gemini Award | Best Dramatic Mini-Series | H2O | Nominated (with Frank Siracusa) | |
Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | H2O | Nominated (with John Krizanc) | ||
Monte Carlo Television Festival | Best Performance By An Actor In A Mini-Series | H2O | Won | |
2007 | Gemini Award | Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Slings & Arrows | Won |
2008 | Gemini Award | Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | The Trojan Horse | Nominated (with John Krizanc) |
2009 | Genie Award | Best Motion Picture | Passchendaele | Won (with Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger and Frank Siracusa) |
Golden Reel Award | Passchendaele | Won (with Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger and Frank Siracusa) | ||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | Passchendaele | Nominated | ||
NBC Universal Canada | Award of Distinction | Won | ||
The Governor General's performing arts awards | National Arts Centre Award: Exceptional Achievement over the Past Performance Year | Won | ||
Directors Guild of Canada | Team Feature Film | Passchendaele | Won | |
National History Society | Pierre Berton Award | Passchendaele | Won | |
(Sources: IMDb.com, Paul Gross website) |
Discography
Albums
Year | Album |
---|---|
1997 | Two Houses (with David Keeley) |
2001 | Love and Carnage (with David Keeley)
(first released as Give the Dog a Bone)[12] |
Singles
Year | Single | CAN Country | Album |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | "Voodoo" | Two Houses (with David Keeley) | |
1998 | "32 Down on the Robert MacKenzie" | ||
1999 | "Papa's Front Porch" | 61 | |
2000 | "Ride Forever" |
References
- ^ "filmreference.com". Paul Gross. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Speedy Singhs as producer". bollywoodhungama.com.
- ^ "TV.com". Paul Gross Biography. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ a b "Paul's stage roles". Paul Gross website. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Private Lives". Mirvish Productions. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ "About". Private Lives. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ ""Hyena Road" at the Internet Movie Database". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ Daniel Chai. "Movie Review: Hyena Road takes you into the heart of Canada's Afghanistan war". Vancity Buzz.
- ^ a b Due South. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Paul Gross (Profile)". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ “”. "Paul Gross on Crinkley Bottom". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Give a Dog a Bone (review)". Paul Gross. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
External links
- Paul Gross at The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Paul Gross at IMDb
- Paul Gross at AllMovie
- Watch Remembrance, a vignette on Paul Gross for his Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
- Paul Gross at Tv.com
- PaulGross.org
- Paul Gross at Northern Stars
- 1959 births
- Living people
- Canadian male television actors
- Canadian television writers
- Canadian television producers
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian film producers
- Canadian film directors
- Canadian screenwriters
- Canadian male stage actors
- Dora Mavor Moore Award winners
- Gemini Award winners
- Military brats
- University of Alberta alumni
- Male actors from Calgary
- Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners
- 20th-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century Canadian male actors