This Is Me

Actor. In many ways I have defied categorization in a career unhindered by style or genre. I didn’t grow up wanting to be an actor. Mine was a journey of the obvious, the not so obvious, instinct, and just plain luck.

“As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. JUMP. It is not as wide as you think” (Joseph Campbell).

I grew up in Fredericton, spent family summers in St. Andrews by-the-Sea, and attended the University of New Brunswick (a five minute walk from home), receiving a Bachelor of Education Degree in Literature and Anthropology – straightforward.

That, however, led to an inspiring and enriching year teaching on a First Nations Mi’kmaq community in Cape Breton Island – not so straightforward.

Following a latent interest in music I enrolled in a new Jazz Studies program at St. Francis Xavier University. It was a huge leap of faith. In a word, I jumped.

For a time music was all encompassing until I tagged along with friends to an audition for the musical Godspell. I got the part, won a “best actor” award, and loved the whole experience. The following year I got the role of Iago in Othello. That is when I knew theatre was where I wanted to be. I packed my bags and headed to Newfoundland to join a rep theatre company. And so it began . . .

I spent the next part of my life performing in theatres across the country. Along the way I met an extraordinary woman, fell in love and we started a family. Soon after I was seen by a television producer in a George F. Walker play at The Factory Theatre and found myself playing a lead in CTV’s new series, The City. The jump to TV and film was sudden, but it seemed a natural progression.

The journey continues. Role by role, project by project, the notion of being fearlessly open to the present moment – the unknown- excites me. In the spirit of Jazz, Miles Davis said it best: “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.”