Peter Blais

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Peter Blais (born 1949) is a Canadian actor, best known for his frequent roles in the plays of George F. Walker. [1]

Contents

Background

A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Blais is the grandson of John Peter Macmillan, a naturalist who played a key role in establishing Cape Breton Highlands National Park. [2] He attended Carleton University and joined the campus drama society, where he met Dan Aykroyd. They performed together in several amateur productions during the 1960s. [3]

Through the early 1970s he continued to have stage acting roles, [4] while also working as a textile artist and theatrical costume and set designer, most notably on a 1977 production of King Lear for Halifax's Neptune Theatre. [5]

It was as a designer that he first began to collaborate with Walker, although he soon began to appear in acting roles in Walker's plays as well as designing them. [6]

He was additionally the designer of the original Arthur Ellis Award statuette for the Crime Writers of Canada. [7]

Acting career

His performances in Walker's plays included Beyond Mozambique (1978), [6] Rumours of Our Death (1980), [8] Theatre of the Film Noir (1981), [9] Criminals in Love (1984), [10] Better Living (1987), [11] Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline , [12] Beautiful City (1987), [13] Nothing Sacred (1988), [14] and Love and Anger (1989). [15] By the time of Love and Anger, Blais had a reputation as "the quintessential Walker actor", to the point that Walker wrote Love and Anger specifically for Blais to play the lead. [6]

He did not appear in the original cast of Escape from Happiness , although he designed the sets, [16] and subsequently stepped into the role of Rolly Moore after Eric Peterson departed the cast. [17]

His other stage roles included productions of The Lark (1980), [18] Glengarry Glen Ross (1986) [19] and The Nerd (1988). [20]

He has also had supporting and guest roles in film and television, most prominently recurring roles as Lennox Cooper in PSI Factor and Geoff/Parson Hubbard in Made in Canada .

In the late 1990s he retired from the theatre and moved to Nova Scotia, where he became a partner with artist Tom Alway in the Maritime Painted Saltbox Gallery in Petite Riviere, although he continued to appear in occasional film and television roles thereafter. [21]

Awards

He has been a two-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee, receiving nods for Best Leading Actor, General Theatre at the 1985 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Criminals in Love, [22] and Best Supporting Actor, General Theatre at the 1988 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Nothing Sacred. [23]

He won a Golden Sheaf Award for Best Performance - Male at the 1999 Yorkton Film Festival for The Wager .

He received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series at the 14th Gemini Awards in 1999, for his work in PSI Factor. [24]

Partial filmography

Films

Made-for-television films

Television

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References

  1. ↑ "Blais returning to Love and Anger". Toronto Star , April 29, 1990.
  2. ↑ Janice Middleton, "The fabric of in Nova Scotia". Halifax Chronicle-Herald , May 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ Dave Brown, "Orpheus is 100, still having fun". Ottawa Citizen , April 9, 2007, Page 2.
  4. ↑ Herbert Whittaker, "A splendid Scandal reaches Sussex". The Globe and Mail , February 6, 1975.
  5. ↑ Herbert Whittaker, "Neptune's Lear defies traditional approach, remains compelling". The Globe and Mail , January 13, 1977.
  6. 1 2 3 Vit Wagner, "Walker's friend Blais at centre of his stage". Toronto Star , October 6, 1989.
  7. ↑ "Crime Writers of Canada honors Murdoch, Wright". The Globe and Mail , May 25, 1984.
  8. ↑ Ray Conlogue, "Actors the best feature of Rumors of Our Death". The Globe and Mail , January 21, 1980.
  9. ↑ Carole Corbeil, "Walker's Film Noir is a-buzz with fun". The Globe and Mail , May 16, 1981.
  10. ↑ Stephen Godfrey, "Criminals in Love hilarious despite flaws in second act". The Globe and Mail , November 8, 1984.
  11. ↑ Ray Conlogue, "Better Living less than sum of parts". The Globe and Mail , May 27, 1986.
  12. ↑ Robert Crew, "Zastrozzi returns in splendid form". Toronto Star , May 14, 1987.
  13. ↑ Robert Crew, "Play's real anger diluted". Toronto Star , October 1, 1987.
  14. ↑ Ray Conlogue, "Nothing Sacred best play the city has seen in years". The Globe and Mail , January 15, 1988.
  15. ↑ Robert Crew, "Love And Anger simply stunning". Toronto Star , October 12, 1989.
  16. ↑ Liam Lacey, "Theatre Review: Escape from Happiness". The Globe and Mail , February 24, 1992.
  17. ↑ "Walker play to get new cast for extended run". The Globe and Mail , March 25, 1992.
  18. ↑ Norma Harris, "Lark doesn't really soar". The Globe and Mail , May 31, 1980.
  19. ↑ Robert Crew, "Glengarry Glen Ross beautifully cast". Toronto Star , November 7, 1986.
  20. ↑ Henry Mietkiewicz, "Burghoff's gamble pays off". Toronto Star , November 2, 1988.
  21. ↑ Anne Calder, "A feast of colour and joy". Saltscapes, March 2022.
  22. ↑ Henry Mietkiewicz, "Cats leads pack of Dora nominees". Toronto Star , September 5, 1985.
  23. ↑ Robert Crew, "CentreStage play tops Dora Award nominees". Toronto Star , May 11, 1988.
  24. ↑ "Major Gemini Awards nominations". Toronto Star , September 22, 1999.
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