favorite canadian actors and actresses

[mrtnmoon]

this thread may die a quick death, who knows? kind of a specific topic and it might not be one of much interest.... what gave me the idea was this post in montrealgirl's kelly the crackwhore thread:

I am starting to get the feeling that this movie might not have a Hollywood ending... it's going to be one of those quirky Canuck indie flicks, you know it by the cast of characters, and the fact that there is not a single famous actor in the troupe... Salaried on french bread and inexpensive wine, I bet...

however, I didn't want to hijack the thread with another discussion. hocus pocus and ipso facto, a new lit thread is born....

so here's the deal... do you have any favorite actors or actresses that you know are canadian? I guess their canuck-osity doesn't really have anything to do with the price of tea in china, I just wanted to be open to the fact that there are probably some movies/tv shows that are exclusive to the great white north, but that shouldn't stop you from sounding off about them. feel free to either just name names or to wax poetic about why you enjoy said actor/actress's work.

the two that came to mind right away were michael ironside and paul gross. I saw michael ironside in scanners and was just intrigued by his face. it seemed like he could be the embodiment of evil.... when I heard they were making a movie of stephen king's the stand lo those many years ago I hoped they'd cast michael ironside as randall flagg because that's the face I always saw when I read the book.

paul gross was in a tv show called due south as a mountie who came to chicago while searching for his father's killer. a very quirky character and show... it was on for a few seasons but never really caught on in america. I just really dug the character's sense of duty and uncanny tracking skills along with his "fish out of water" innocence/naivete, and paul gross did a great job of putting those qualities across. I also admired that he wrote and performed some of the music in the show.

I haven't seen everything by either actor, but I have searched out some of their other works. I dunno what paul gross is up to, but michael ironside just appeared in a couple of episodes of desperate housewives, which is actually part of the reason this thread came to be.

 

[montrealgirl]

Canadian actors...

Interesting question...I'm going to have to ponder this one a bit...

Off the top of my head, I'd say Don McKellar. He's appeared in a slew of films...but I first took notice of him after seeing Exotica, one of my favourite movies of all time. He also played Pokey in a great indie flick, Highway 61. He also co-wrote the Red Violin

I guess one should say William Shatner...did you know that our student union at McGill is named after him? Yup, it is.

 

[mrtnmoon]

I've seen don mckellar's name, but dunno if I'd recognize him. I must confess that I don't watch many movies that you actually have to think about. I mean, I watched exotica on fast forward, just looking for any nudity. I watch a lot of movies that way. what can I say? I'm a perv.

speaking of exotica, how can I not mention mia kershner as a fave canadian actress, just because she's so damn pretty. other than not another teen movie I haven't seen many of the movies she's made.... they look like "thinkers".

but, it's been nice to see her in one of my favorite tv shows, 24. I missed the first season so I had no idea that she'd played a part. when she popped up at the end of the 2nd season it was a really cool surprise, as well as when she returned for a few episodes last season. the bad news is if I remember correctly her character got killed, so I'm not looking for her to come back this year.

 

[XCal]

Interesting question...I'm going to have to ponder this one a bit...

Off the top of my head, I'd say Don McKellar. He's appeared in a slew of films...but I first took notice of him after seeing Exotica, one of my favourite movies of all time. He also played Pokey in a great indie flick, Highway 61. He also co-wrote the Red Violin

I guess one should say William Shatner...did you know that our student union at McGill is named after him? Yup, it is.

William Shatner! Yesssssssssss!

I'm a trekkie from way back but had no idea McGill would name anything after him. But it's cool.

How's it going, MG? Nice to see you again.

 

[iceracer]

Colin Mockry

 

[montrealgirl]

William Shatner! Yesssssssssss!

I'm a trekkie from way back but had no idea McGill would name anything after him. But it's cool.

How's it going, MG? Nice to see you again.

Hey XCal, nice to see you too...

Yes, Shatner actually graduated in commerce from McGill and went to high school in Verdun. Check this link out for more!

Actually, the university hasn't officially changed the name of the SSMU, but it is most commonly known as "the Shatner building" by faculty and students...

 

[montrealgirl]

Colin Mockry

Yeah, now that guy is FUNNY!

Saw him and most of the cast from "Whose Line" here in Montreal a few years back during the Just for Laughs festival...I laughed so hard that night...

 

[montrealgirl]

Can I list the cast of Degrassi

I was/am such a fan of the whole series; Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, and yes, even Degrassi: The Next Generation.

My diary entries from when I was 12 years old include what happened on the show Monday nights - yeah, pretty pathetic, but I really identified with the characters and loved watching week to week.

C'mon, the Zit Remedy rules!!

 

[Willow123]

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[mrtnmoon]

But I have to say I also loved Callum Keith Rennie who played Stanley on the show.

hi willow.... always good to see another fan of due south. I must confess that I didn't like callum keith rennie as much as I did david marciano, but I still enjoyed the show. I was actually thinking about CKR when I read montrealgirl's post about don mckellar. CKR was in a movie called last night(I think) that was (I think, again) written and directed by don mckellar. I can't attest to the quality of the movie since I haven't seen it.

MG> I used to watch degrassi high all the time. I had a major case of the hots for stacie mistysin. I know I butchered that.... after I post I'm off to imdb to check the spelling. I can't remember her name on the show, but she dated the dark-haired dude. oh, wait.... it was caitlin, I think. I haven't checked out the new generation, but I caught part of one of the old school episodes a couple weeks ago. *sings* memmmm'ries... like the corners of my mind...

 

[mrtnmoon]

I had a major case of the hots for stacie mistysin. I know I butchered that....

stacie mistysyn. I just discovered that she's also in degrassi: the new generation, so I may have to check it out to see what she looks like now.

another actor I like: tom cavanagh. he was in a show on nbc called ed, about a lawyer that worked out of a bowling alley he owned in stuckeyville, ohio. ed the show was a little on the quirky side, which I usually consider a good thing for a tv show. ed the guy was a nice guy, in love with a woman he couldn't have. I seem to relate quite a bit to charcters like that, I guess because I'd like to think I'm a nice guy and I definitely know about wanting the unattainable.

tom cavanagh is a decent enough actor, but I think one of the reasons I like him is that he seems to be a genuinely nice guy, at least judging from his appearances on the late show w/david letterman. he was on friday night and told a couple of funny stories... one about his "christmas miracle" and a guy with a white beard, and the other about making a movie with another canadian actor named michael hogan.

he's got a new show coming up on cbs called love monkey. I'm really looking forward to it because from the previews it seems to share some of the qualities that ed had, and also because TC's character is in the music business.

 

[montrealgirl]

MG> I used to watch degrassi high all the time. I had a major case of the hots for stacie mistysin. I know I butchered that.... after I post I'm off to imdb to check the spelling. I can't remember her name on the show, but she dated the dark-haired dude. oh, wait.... it was caitlin, I think. I haven't checked out the new generation, but I caught part of one of the old school episodes a couple weeks ago. *sings* memmmm'ries... like the corners of my mind...

Glad to see you googled stacie/caitlin...yes, she dated joey jeremiah on and off in the original series (he was a member of the Zit Remedy with Snake and Wheels) The new show began as Spike's daugher (Emma) entered Junior High (I'm sure you remember Spike, she had a baby on the Junior High series with Shane). Anyway, that is why the Next Generation started to air, and from the original series, it still casts Spike, Snake, Joey & Caitlin...Mr. Raddich was on for awhile.

Anyway, um yeah. I'm a fan

I actually got the book Love Monkey for Christmas, on which this new series is based (I think)...haven't begun reading it, but now I'm most intrigued...and yeah, I saw parts of TC interview on Letterman last night...solid bloke....