Paul Gross

Last updated

Paul Gross
OC
PaulGross08TIFF.jpg
Born
Paul Michael Gross

(1959-04-30) April 30, 1959 (age 65)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater University of Alberta
Occupation(s)Actor, director, writer, producer
Years active1985–present
Spouse
(m. 1988)
Children2, including Hannah

Paul Michael Gross OC (born April 30, 1959) [1] [2] is a Canadian actor, film and television director, screenwriter, playwright, and producer. He rose to fame for his lead role as RCMP Constable Benton Fraser on the popular Canadian television series Due South (1994-1997). He won three Gemini Awards for his work on the series, two for acting and one for writing.

Contents

Gross subsequently had success with two other Canadian television series, Slings & Arrows and Republic of Doyle . He made his film directorial debut with the cult comedy Men with Brooms , which spawned a television series of the same name. He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the 2008 war film Passchendaele , which won the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture. [3]

At the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards in 2015, he received the Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement. [4] That same year, he was awarded the Order of Canada for “his contributions to Canadian film and television, as an actor, writer and director.” [5]

Early life

Gross was born in Calgary, Alberta, the son of Renie Gross (née Dunne), a writer and art historian of Irish descent, and Robert "Bob" Gross, a career soldier, colonel, and tank commander. [6] [7] His family moved to Arlington, Virginia in his adolescence, where Gross attended Yorktown High School. He credits drama teacher Timothy Jecko as his inspiration for becoming an actor: "I'm not sure where I would have ended up otherwise." [8]

Career

Gross studied acting at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, but he left during the third year of his study. [9] He went back later to complete the half-credit needed to receive his fine arts degree. [10] He appeared in several stage productions, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet . [11] Other productions in which he appeared include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme and As You Like It . [11] His student work The Deer and the Antelope Play was co-produced by the university's department of drama and Theatre Network, and won both the Clifford E. Lee National Playwriting Award and the Alberta Culture Playwriting Award. [10]

After the play Successful Strangers, Gross starred in his first movie, Turning to Stone. [12] [13]

He wrote and directed the curling movie Men with Brooms . [14] Gross starred in the television series Slings & Arrows from 2003 to 2006 alongside his wife Martha Burns, which The A.V. Club called "one of TV's greatest shows". [15]

In 2008, he attracted widespread attention in Canada when he wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in the Genie Award-winning film Passchendaele , inspired by stories he heard from his grandfather, a First World War soldier. [10] The film had its premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2008, when it also had the honour of opening the festival. [16] The film received a mixed reception upon release. [17] Despite this, it won several awards; namely five awards the 29th Genie Awards, including Best Picture, [18] and the Golden Reel Award for Canada's top-grossing film of 2008. [19] On March 2, 2009, Paul Gross was honoured for his film Passchendaele, winning that year's National Arts Centre Award for achievement over the past performance year. [20]

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); [21] the production moved to Broadway where it opened November 6, and closed on December 31, 2011. [22] That year, he also produced a feature film with Akshay Kumar called Breakaway starring Camilla Belle and Vinay Virmani. [23]

Between 2011 and 2014, he appeared in nine episodes as Kevin Crocker on Republic of Doyle . [24] [25]

More recently, Gross completed work on the contemporary war drama Hyena Road , released on October 9, 2015. [26] [10]

Gross starred in the title role of King Lear during the 2023 season of the Stratford Festival. [27]

Due South

His role as upright Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Benton Fraser in the Due South television series (1994–1999) brought him increased recognition. [28] 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, he was cast as Constable Benton Fraser. [29]

When Due South was revived for the third season, Gross returned in the role of Benton Fraser. He also took on 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. [30] 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. [29]

Personal life

In September 1988, Gross married Canadian actress Martha Burns. [31] [27] The couple have two children, Hannah Gross, who is also an actress, and Jack Gross. [32]

Theatre

YearRoleTitleTheatre
1981Sylvius As You Like It Northern Light Theatre, Edmonton
Lysander A Midsummer Night's Dream
1982–1983 Frank Gardner Mrs. Warren's profession Theatre Calgary
  Unseen Hand
 Farther West
Clarence Underhill Walsh National Arts Centre, Ottawa
MotherwellThe KiteFestival Lennoxville
 Take Me Where the Water Is Warm
George Gaga In the Jungle of Cities
1984DoranteSuccessful StrangersCentaur Theatre, Montréal
Romeo Romeo and Juliet Toronto Free Theatre, Toronto
1988Young Kenneth Pyper Observe the sons of Ulster marching towards the Somme Centrestage Co., Toronto
1989Brick Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg
2000 Hamlet Hamlet Stratford Festival of Canada
2011Elyot Private Lives Royal Alexandra Theatre, Music Box Theatre
2012 Edmund Gowery Are you there, McPhee? McCarter Theatre, New Jersey [33]
2015Bill Pulver Domesticated Berkeley St. Theatre, co-production between The Company Theatre and Canadian Stage [34]
2020James WallackKeeneRed Bull Theatre N.Y. [35]
2023 Lear King Lear Stratford Festival
2024Lockhart The Seafarer Alberta Theatre Projects
2025George Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Bluma Appel Theatre

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989 Cold Comfort Stephen Miller
Divided LoyaltiesWalter 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 CutterAlso writer and director
2004 Wilby Wonderful Buddy French
2008 Passchendaele Michael DunneAlso 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 MitchellAlso writer, producer and director
Beeba Boys Jamie
2018 The Parting Glass Sean
2020 Falling Dr. Solvei
2021 The Middle Man The Sheriff

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986 Turning to Stone BillyDebut; television film
Airwaves Writer
1988 Chasing Rainbows Jake Kincaid14 episodes
1989 Street Legal Steven Hines2 episodes
1990 The Ray Bradbury Theater Skip1 episode
Getting Married in Buffalo Jump Alex BresnyachukTelevision film
1993 Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer Writer
Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City Brian Hawkins6 episodes
1994XXX's & OOO'sBucky DeanTelevision film
1994–1999 Due South Constable Benton Fraser 67 episodes
1996–1998 The Red Green Show Kevin Black5 episodes
1997 Noel's House Party Himself1 episode [36]
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ned LandTelevision film
1999Murder Most Likely Patrick Kelly
2003–2005 The Eleventh Hour Tony Joel2 episodes
2003–2006 Slings & Arrows Geoffrey Tennant18 episodes
2004 H2O: The Last Prime Minister Thomas David McLaughlinAlso writer and executive producer
Monday Report Episode #2.3
2005Burnt ToastScottTelevision film
2006 Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story John Diefenbaker 2 episodes
Hockey: A People's History Narrator10 episodes
2008 The Trojan Horse Thomas David McLaughlinAlso writer and executive producer
2009–2010 Eastwick Darryl Van HorneRegular; 12 episodes
2010 Men with Brooms Chris Cutter12 episodes
2011–2014 Republic of Doyle Kevin Crocker9 episodes
2017 Alias Grace Thomas Kinnear4 episodes
2018 Caught Roy PattersonMiniseries; 5 episodes
2019 Tales of the City Brian HawkinsMain cast; 9 episodes
2021 Y: The Last Man President Ted Campbell2 episodes

Honours

CAN Order of Canada Officer ribbon.svg QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png

RibbonDescriptionNotes
CAN Order of Canada Officer ribbon.svg Officer of the Order of Canada (O.C.)
  • Awarded on May 2, 2013;
  • Invested on February 13, 2015 [37]
QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Canada

Awards

YearAwardCategoryFilm/PlayResult
1981Alberta Culture competitionNew PlayThe Deer and the Antelope PlayWon
1982Clifford E. Lee FoundationNational Award for PlaywrightsThe Deer and the Antelope PlayWon
Alberta Culture competitionNew PlayThe Dead of WinterWon
1985 Dora Award Best PerformanceRomeo and JulietNominated
1986 Gemini Award Best Writing in a TV DramaIn This CornerNominated
1988 Dora Award Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Featured RoleObserve the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the SommeWon
1994 Gemini Award Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-SeriesGross MisconductNominated
1995 Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleDue SouthWon
1996 Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleDue SouthWon
1997 Gemini Award Best Writing in a Dramatic SeriesDue SouthNominated
(with Paul Quarrington, John Krizanc)
1998 Gemini Award Best Writing in a Dramatic SeriesDue SouthWon
(with John Krizanc, R.B. Carney – Mountie on the Bounty, part 2)
Best Dramatic SeriesDue SouthNominated
(with Frank Siracusa, Peter Bray, R.B. Carney, George Bloomfield)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleDue SouthNominated
Best Writing in a Dramatic SeriesDue SouthNominated
(with R.B. Carney, John Krizanc – Mountie on the Bounty, part 1)
Best Writing in a Dramatic SeriesDue SouthNominated
(Burning Down the House)
1999 Gemini Award Canada's Choice AwardDue SouthWon
(with Frank Siracusa, David Cole, R.B. Carney)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleDue SouthNominated
2000 Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-SeriesMurder Most LikelyNominated
Best TV Movie or Dramatic Mini-SeriesMurder Most LikelyNominated
(with R.B. Carney, Frank Siracusa, Robert Forsyth, Anne Marie La Traverse)
2003 Canadian Comedy Award Pretty Funny DirectionMen With BroomsWon
Pretty Funny Male PerformanceMen With BroomsNominated
Pretty Funny WritingMen With BroomsNominated
(with John Krizanc)
Genie Award Best Original ScreenplayMen With BroomsNominated
(with John Krizanc)
2004 Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleSlings & ArrowsWon
2005 ACTRA TorontoAward Of Excellence Won
Writers Guild of Canada Movie of the Week and/or Mini-SeriesH2OWon
(with John Krizanc)
Directors Guild of Canada Outstanding Team Achievement in a Television Movie or Mini-SeriesH2OWon
Gemini Award Best Dramatic Mini-SeriesH2ONominated
(with Frank Siracusa)
Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-SeriesH2ONominated
(with John Krizanc)
Monte Carlo Television Festival Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-SeriesH2OWon
2007 Gemini Award Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleSlings & ArrowsWon
2008 Gemini Award Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series The Trojan Horse Nominated
(with John Krizanc)
2009 Genie Award Best Motion PicturePasschendaeleWon
(with Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger and Frank Siracusa)
Golden Reel AwardPasschendaeleWon
(with Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger and Frank Siracusa)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading RolePasschendaeleNominated
NBC Universal CanadaAward 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 FilmPasschendaeleWon
National History Society Pierre Berton AwardPasschendaeleWon
(Sources: Paul Gross website)

Discography

Albums

YearAlbum
1997Two Houses(with David Keeley)
2001Love and Carnage(with David Keeley)

(first released asGive the Dog a Bone) [39]

Singles

YearSingleCAN CountryAlbum
1997"Voodoo"Two Houses
(with David Keeley)
1998"32 Down on the Robert MacKenzie"
1999"Papa's Front Porch"61
2000"Ride Forever"

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References

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  32. "Martha Burns returns to her roots" by Richard Ouzounian at thestar.com
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  37. "Recipients". June 11, 2018.
  38. "Recipients". June 11, 2018.
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