Member Since: 2015
What has been your favorite role?
This is such a great question – although a somewhat vexing one as (like so many actors), I have always felt beyond blessed to have the opportunity to portray any character within the context of the story and world as envisioned by the writers and director. To that end, whether the role and character has two lines or 102, I’ve invariably discovered character traits, attributes, wants and needs that resonate with me. While this feels ‘creatively’ rewarding in its own right, it does make the challenge of choosing a favourite role somewhat akin to picking a favourite child. If pressed, however (or threatened with having to watch ‘Ishtar’ repeatedly), I can say that the role of Dr. Meyer in ‘Come True’ – Writer / Director Anthony Scott Burns’ dark and daring ‘dreamscape’ thriller – is definitely among my very favourite roles. Truly a Kafkaesque journey and experience in so many ways. And a genuine gift to be able work so closely with such visionary and extraordinarily talented creators and performers.
What do you do when you are not performing?
Like many actors, my ‘dream job’ and my day job have not yet fused into one entity. And, since I wasn’t smart enough (or prescient enough) to bet heavily on Apple stock back in 1987 when it was listed at $0.29 a share, I continue to ply my lifelong trade as a woefully-underemployed ‘gun-for-hire’ copywriter. Which is a polite way of saying I will create, co-create. compose and collaborate with pretty much anyone who needs wordsmithing on pretty much anything – be it a website, web-series, promotional video, brand campaign, screenplay, stage-play or sushi menu.
What organization / activity are you involved with or passionate about that people would find interesting?
The University of Calgary’s Cummings School of Medicine operates one of Canada’s most advanced Standardized Patients Programs. Actors are specifically hired to fulfill the role of patients in scripted encounters with physicians in training. The goal is to portray and simulate as realistically as possible the kinds of encounters, conversations and patient circumstances physicians-in-training are very likely to encounter in practice. In many of the scenarios, actors are required (and expected) to think – and act – in the moment which demands not only good scripted material recall, but also dexterity, flexibility and a willingness to improvise on the fly. I can highly recommend it to any actor of any age.
What Director would you like to work with?
Gone now but never to be forgotten, Stanley Kubrick seared the majesty and magic of film making into my sugar-addled adolescent brain (a very VERY long time ago) and I fanatically followed everything he ever did – though the jury is still out on whether Eyes Wide Shut was a sly wink and parting shot to his fans or just ponderously self-indulgent. Among the living (legendary and otherwise), are Paul Haggis and Paul Thomas Anderson – both for their ability to create complex and compelling interweaving narratives and their unblinking willingness to cast light into the more shadowy regions of our own complicated and often conflicted psyches. And in a nod to our homegrown auteurs, Atom Egoyan, Denis Villenueve, Sarah Polley and David Cronenberg are all solidly on my personal ‘dream Director’ list.
What is your favorite movie and/or TV show?
Oooh, another prickly question. There are so many it is genuinely challenging to name just one. During COVID I discovered the treasure trove that comprises British and European produced serial dramas and many of them are just so superlatively written and exceptionally well produced. Broadchurch, Peaky Blinders, Fleabag and Luther all make the list and I would be very hard pressed to choose just one from among them. Picking just one favourite movie is even more daunting. If I could name two, a classic from the archives would be ‘Sunset Boulevard’. Still brilliant, 75 years after its release. On the contemporary side, Oppenheimer exceeded my expectations in every way and may well have just nudged ‘The Big Lebowski’ off ‘My Number One Favourite Movie” podium.
As a Performer, what is one thing you wish you would have known sooner?
Oh, there’s nothing like twenty-twenty hindsight is there? The number of things I wish I had known sooner are legion, but if earlier in life I had found one touchstone or grain of wisdom that has since become my North Star, it is that while text is one thing, subtext is everything. Every line that every screenwriter or playwright has committed to the page is there for a very good reason – and is always in service of the story. As actors, our singular responsibility and raison d’etre is to do the same.