Sugith Varughese

Last updated

Sugith Varughese
Born (1957-04-25) 25 April 1957 (age 65)
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Writer, director, actor

Sugith Varughese (born 25 April 1957) is an Indian-born Canadian writer, director and actor.

Contents

Background

Born in Cochin, Kerala, India into a Syriac Saint Thomas Christian family ("Varughese," also sometimes spelled "Varghese" and "Verghese" and variously pronounced, is Syriac-Malayalam for "George"), [1] he immigrated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan as a child when his neurosurgeon father obtained a professional appointment there. [2] His family's native language is Malayalam; having grown up in anglophone western Canada he naturally speaks English with a Canadian accent but from time to time affects an assortment of South Asian accents when playing dramatic roles that call for them.

Sugith Varughese was raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, began university studies at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon with a double major in pre-medicine and drama, [3] and continued on to an undergraduate degree in drama at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and a Master of Fine Arts at York University in Toronto. [4] He went on to write, act in and direct film and television productions in Canada and the USA. He was the first visible minority accepted to attend the Canadian Film Centre as a writer-director. As a director, he has been nominated for and won several Canadian film and television and international film festival awards. [5] He also holds a black belt in karate. [6]

Credits

His credits include the following.

Acting

As a film and television actor:

Other credits include Veritas: The Quest ; F/X: The Series ; Kung Fu: The Legend Continues ; Overdrawn at the Memory Bank ; The Expanse . [5] and played the role of the informant on season 1 of 72 Hours (Ep.1 Burning Obsession).

As a stage actor:

Writing

Stage

  • as playwright "The Postman" (co-writer, Panamania) and "Entitlement" (Summerworks)

Film and Television

  • As scriptwriter: Animated shorts, "Talespinners Collection 1", Talespinners Collection 2" (NFB); Short film, "Tongue Tied"; TV series "The Blobheads" (YTV, 1 episode); IMAX documentary "Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance"; TV series "Blue Murder" (Global TV, 2 episodes); TV series "Groundling Marsh" (YTV, 1 episode); TV series "On My Mind" (TVOntario, 1 episode); Short film "Mela's Lunch" (NFB); Short film "Kumar and Mr. Jones" (Canadian Film Centre); TV series "Mount Royal" (CTV, 1 episode); TV movie "Best of Both Worlds" (CBC); TV series "Fraggle Rock" (Jim Henson Company) (10 episodes); [5] TV series "The Phoenix Team" (CBC, 1 episode); radio drama "In the Mountains" (CBC Radio) based on Rohinton Mistry's novel "A Fine Balance"; radio drama "Entry Denied" (CBC Radio) which was Canada's entry in the Worldplay Festival and broadcast worldwide. [8]

Awards

  • Vaurghese has been nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada award five times and won a Writers Guild of Canada award for "Talespinners Collection 2" (NFB). He received a Gemini Award nomination for writing "The Secret Life of Goldfish". He was a finalist for an ACTRA Award for writing "Best of Both Worlds". He won the first York Trillium Award – Most Promising Writer, Television from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Directing

Related Research Articles

William Frederick (Bill) Whitehead was a Canadian writer, actor and filmmaker. Whitehead is best known as a writer of radio and television documentaries and as the former partner of the late Canadian writer Timothy Findley.

Eric Neal Peterson is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – Street Legal (1987–1994), Corner Gas (2004–2009), and This is Wonderland (2004–2006), as well as Corner Gas Animated (2018–2021).

An American in Canada is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004.

The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team.

Robin Spry was a Canadian film director, producer and writer. He was perhaps best known for his documentary films Action: The October Crisis of 1970 and Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis about Quebec's October Crisis. His 1970 film Prologue won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maury Chaykin</span> Canadian actor

Maury Alan Chaykin was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Writers Guild of Canada</span>

The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of the Week, documentaries, animation, comedy and variety series, children's and educational programming, radio drama, as well as corporate videos and digital media productions. The organization administers the annual WGC Screenwriting Awards.

Jane Mallett was a Canadian actress. She was born as Jean Dawson Keenleyside in London, Ontario, Canada.

Peter James Edward Oldring is a Canadian actor and comedian.

Richard Charles Roberts is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work in various films and television.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 11th Gemini Awards was held on June 6, 1997, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Albert Schultz, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.

Perry Rosemond, CM is a Canadian television writer, producer and director.

Kensington Communications is a Toronto-based production company that specializes in documentary films and documentary/factual television series. Founded in 1980 by president Robert Lang, Kensington Communications Inc. has produced over 250 productions from documentary series and films to performing arts and children's specials. Since 1998, Kensington has also been involved in multi-platform interactive projects for the web and mobile devices.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 12th Gemini Awards were held on March 1, 1998, to honour achievements in Canadian television. There were two awards ceremonies in 1998; the 13th was held on October 4, 1998. The 12th awards ceremony was hosted by Cathy Jones and Steve Smith. It took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Hawco</span> Newfoundland writer, actor and producer (born 1977)

Allan Hawco is a Canadian writer, actor, and producer from Bell Island, Newfoundland. He is best known for his roles in the series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Republic of Doyle, and The Book of Negroes, and the television limited series Caught.

The Gemini Awards for Best Children's or Youth Program or Series was presented by the Gemini Awards to honour English children's television programming produced in Canada.

<i>Kims Convenience</i> Canadian tv sitcom (2016–2021)

Kim's Convenience is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park neighbourhood of Toronto: parents "Appa" and "Umma" – Korean for dad and mom, respectively – along with their daughter Janet and estranged son Jung. Other characters include Jung's friend and coworker Kimchee, his manager Shannon and Janet's friend Gerald Tremblay. The series is based on Ins Choi's 2011 play of the same name.

Susan Wright was an award-winning Canadian actress. Most prominently associated with stage roles, she also had a number of supporting roles in film and television.

War Brides is a Canadian television film, directed by Martin Lavut and broadcast by CBC Television in 1980. The film centres on four women, three from the United Kingdom and one from Germany, who come to Canada as war brides of Canadian soldiers after the end of World War II.

Catsplay is a Canadian drama television film, which was broadcast by CBC Television in 1978. An adaptation of the novel Catsplay (Macskajáték) by István Örkény, the film was directed by Stephen Katz and written by Timothy Findley.

References

  1. Neither the famous Dr Abraham Verghese nor the American stand-up comedian Paul Varghese, both also of Malayali Syrian Christian backgrounds, is necessarily any relation of Sugith Varughese: Malayali Syrian-Orthodox Christians do not have public family names (they have "house" names) and their putative surnames are simply their fathers' Christian names.
  2. Aseem Chhabra, "I Didn't Want To Be Invisible." Rediff.com, 18 May 2001. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  3. Paul Lima, “The Writer As Warrior: Sugith Varughese,” Writers Guild of Canada: The W Files. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  4. Chhabra.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Internet Movie Database: Sugith Varughese. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  6. Lima.
  7. Writing at the Intersection: The Diaspora Crosswalk. Diaspora Dialogues Archived 18 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  8. Best Prices.com. "Where Is Here? : A CBC Radio Drama Anthology". Retrieved 29 September 2007.