John Bourgeois | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 11, 1956 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director and teacher |
| Years active | 1987-present |
| Spouse | Maria Ricossa |
| Children | 3 |
John Bourgeois (born August 11, 1956) is a Canadian actor, director, and educator.
Early life and education edit
John Bourgeois was born in Ottawa, Ontario,[1] to a Québécoise father and New Brunswick mother.[2] He received his training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London and Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre in 1981.[2][3]
As a Concordia University journalism student, Bourgeois needed to take a class where he didn't need to write papers. He enrolled in an acting class during which he performed part of the play Death of a Salesman. In a 2013 interview with Richard Crouse, he called the experience "transformational" in inspiring him to pursue acting, and said "[he] was bitten".[1]
Career edit
Bourgeois served as a production assistant for the 1978 film Blood Relatives, during which he was star Donald Sutherland's driver. He said in the 2013 interview that Sutherland's performance "wasn't just showing off" and "changed [his] view of the craft".[1] His initial time acting professionally on stage was on October 13, 1979.[4]
Bourgeois joined the Stratford Shakespeare Company in 1985 and portrayed a knight during the troupe's Chicago performance of King Lear.[5] He departed from Stratford Festival in 1987 and started to focus on directing.[4] In his directorial debut,[4] Bourgeois directed the Harbourfront Centre Studio Theatre's production of the play Landscape of the Body in 1988, starring Linda Goranson and Gwynyth Walsh and with Conrad Coates in a supporting role.[6] Toronto Star theatre critic Henry Mietkiewicz praised Bourgeois for his "sprightly direction" that stayed true to playwright John Guare's "revel[ing] in the wild eccentricities of his characters".[6] Bourgeois directed the Theatre Plus production of the Arthur Miller play The Price at Jane Mallett Theatre in 1989.[7] Henry Mietkiewicz praised Bourgeois for "faithfully follow[ing] Miller's instructions by allowing us to see the nobility and self-delusion in both men".[7]
Bourgeois cofounded Ziggurat Theatre with actors Simon Bradbury and Caro Coltman.[4] Ziggurat's first production was in 1988: Steven Berkoff's play Decadence, a "frank and vicious indictment of Margaret Thatcher's Britain".[4] In 1989, he directed Hunger, a play he adapted from Knut Hamsun's novel Hunger.[4] Canadian Jewish News reviewer Ben Rose wrote. "Adapter/director Bourgeois doesn't do this as elegantly as Bernard Shaw but the play has the virtue of staying right on topic."[8]
In 1990, Bourgeois and his wife starred in the Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune play at the Citadel Rice Theatre. Edmonton Journal theatre critic Liz Nicholls found Bourgeois' performance as Johnny to be "wonderfully volatile, comic, buoyant and vulnerable as the self-styled 'knight of the grill'".[9] He played the role of Gallimard in the play M. Butterfly at the Theatre Aquarius in Ontario in 1992. The Hamilton Spectator said his performance was "consistent, solid" and "very credible, very human, and the cornerstone to keeping this production rooted in reality".[10] He in 1994 received a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for directing the play The Taming Of The Shrew.[11] In 1995, he played the Ku Klux Klan recruiter Morgan Kale in Raymond Storey's 1992 play The Glorious Twelfth at the National Arts Centre in a performance that Ottawa Citizen theatre critic Janice Kennedy described as "creat[ing] a nice blend of sleazy hucksterism with zealous bigotry".[12]
He wrote and directed the one-man show Tansey's Brag, which was shown at Toronto Fringe Festival, about Michael Tansey, a Jesuit priest.[13] Toronto Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian gave the play three stars. He had a mixed review of the play, writing that Bourgeois is "excellent as Tansey, with a self-lacerating wit that stings as often as it amuses" and "he is capable of real emotion, both as writer and actor". Ouzounian criticized the play's writing, finding that it "tries to telescope too much into one hour, and some of its structure is awkward, leaning on offstage voices and discovered letters".[13]
In 2013, Bourgeois starred in the play God of Carnage at Panasonic Theatre.[1] Toronto Star theater critic Robert Crew wrote that Bourgeois "is the wonderfully work-absorbed lawyer Alan, who is clearly there on sufferance".[14] Critic Christopher Holle of Stage Door criticized Bourgeois' portrayal of Alan, writing, that he "does not tinge his polite conversation with Michael and Veronica with enough sarcasm that would point to his real view of them that emerges later".[15] Bourgeois has also worked for three months on Off-Broadway.[2]
In addition to his work in theatre, Bourgeois has performed on-screen in countless film and television productions. He had significant roles in the feature films Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story and Ginger Snaps and in the made for television movies Ms. Scrooge, My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story, The Interrogation of Michael Crowe, Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, Love Thy Neighbor, Taking a Chance on Love, Unstable and When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story. Corpus Christi Caller-Times film critic Ricardo Baca praised Bourgeois' performance in the 2002 TV film Guilty Hearts starring Marcia Gay Harden, writing that he "plays deceit delightfully as the church's money hungry reverend".[16]
Bourgeois directed the short film Jimmy Pacheco, a "dark kidnap caper", in 1999, starring Henry Czerny, Jayne Eastwood, J. C. MacKenzie, Maria Vacratsis, and Bourgeois' wife, among others.[17] Jimmy Pacheco received nominations for Best Comedy at the Yorkton Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival.[18]
In 2018, he guest starred as Eric's estranged father Phillip Hingston in the "Legacy" episode of the TV series Ransom.[19] He plays Police Chief Angus Pershing on the TV series Carter, which premiered in 2018.[18]
He has been the program director of Acting for Film and Television at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, since 2005.[1][18]
Personal life edit
Bourgeois bilingual in English and French.[2] He met his future wife Maria Ricossa during the North American tour of the Stratford Festival of Canada production of the William Shakespeare play King Lear.[20] Ricossa played Regan and Bourgeois played King of France and knights.[21] Directed by John Hirsch, the play toured from November 1985 to February 1986.[21][22] Bourgeois and Ricossa married when they finished the tour around 1986 .[20][5] Eric McCormack, a company member, gifted them a wine goblet and promised to give them a second one after five years.[20]
The couple have three daughters.[2] The oldest, Olivia,[23] was born in 1987 and the two youngest were twins born in 1989 or 1990.[2][24] Since Ricossa was born in Michigan, their children have dual citizenship from Canada and the United States.[2] In January 2005, Bourgeois and his wife, Maria Ricossa, played husband and wife for the first time in David Gow's play Bea's Niece at Tarragon Theatre.[20]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Sea of Love | Young Cop | |
| 1990 | Divided Loyalties | Ebeneezer Cox | |
| 1993 | Searching for Bobby Fischer | Gym Parent | |
| 1995 | Never Talk to Strangers | Cop | |
| 1997 | Murder at 1600 | Captain Farr | |
| 1998 | Protector | Keenan | Video |
| Seeds of Doubt | Amos Caldwell | ||
| The Mighty | Mr. Sacker | ||
| Conquest | Morley | ||
| 1999 | Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story | Jack Griffin | |
| A Map of the World | Judge Patterson | ||
| 2000 | Ginger Snaps | Henry | |
| 2001 | Maximum Capacity | Glenn | |
| 2002 | Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road | Daniel Oliver | |
| 2003 | Jericho Mansions | Detective Carp | |
| Rescue Heroes: The Movie | Warren Waters | Voice | |
| Beyond Borders | Rolly | ||
| 2004 | Sisters in the Wilderness: The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill | Thomas Traill | |
| The Prince and Me | Ben Morgan | ||
| A Different Loyalty | Paul Tyler | ||
| 2007 | Split City | Male Cop | Short film |
| 2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse | Pentagon General Radford | |
| 2017 | Esmerelda's Castle | Mr. Evans | Short film |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Seeing Things | Episode: "A Vision in White" | |
| 1989 | Street Legal | Dolan | Episode: "A World-Class City" |
| Friday the 13th: The Series | Briggs | Episode: "Bad Penny" | |
| 1990 | Counterstrike | The Kidnapper | Episode: "The Dealbreaker" |
| 1990-1992 | E.N.G. | Tough Guy / Ken Jones | Episodes: "In Love and War" and "After the Fire" |
| 1991 | Top Cops | Andrew Demers | Episode: "Andrew Demers/Lynda Williams/Joseph Pollini/Rita Rowe" |
| Katts and Dog | Episode: "Blind Spot" | ||
| 1992 | Beyond Reality | Episode: "Justice" | |
| Deadly Matrimony | Eddie Segura | TV movie | |
| 1992-1993 | By Way of the Stars | Miniseries, 6 episodes | |
| 1993 | Matrix | Brent Metcalf | Episode: "Blindside" |
| JFK: Reckless Youth | Burnet | Two-part miniseries | |
| 1994 | RoboCop | Col. Albert Brox | Episode: "Ghosts of War" |
| 1994-1997 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Sergeant John Broderick | 24 episodes |
| 1995 | Forever Knight | Jake | Episode: "The First Inside" |
| TekWar | Ermano Lobo | Episode: "Forget Me Not" | |
| Fight for Justice: The Nancy Conn Story | Shifflett | TV movie | |
| 1996 | Double Jeopardy | Detective Chase | TV movie |
| Due South | Colonel Shank | Episode: "Starman" | |
| Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance | Myers | TV movie | |
| Traders | Miro Surogin | Episode: "Dancing with Mr. D" | |
| 1997 | Dead Silence | Major Daniel Tremaine | TV movie |
| When Secrets Kill | Chief Matthews | TV movie | |
| When Innocence is Lost | Lyle Dunham | TV movie | |
| Once a Thief | Mac's Father | Episode: "Mac Daddy" | |
| Bad to the Bone | James Bacarelli | TV movie | |
| Wind at My Back | Skip Roper | Episode: "Moving Mountains" and "Radio Waves" | |
| Ms. Scrooge | Cratchit | TV movie | |
| Promise the Moon | Mr. Waverly | TV movie | |
| 1998 | PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal | Lang | Episode: "Kiss of the Tiger" |
| The Disappearing Act | Detective Maas | TV movie | |
| Highlander: The Raven | Harmon Frost | Episode: "Birthright" | |
| My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story | Dr. Robert Sheppard | TV movie | |
| Ice | Dr. Golding | TV movie | |
| 1998-1999 | Little Men | Captain Hoffman | 3 episodes |
| 1999 | La Femme Nikita | Mischa | Episodes: "Someone Else's Shadow" and "Opening Night Jitters" |
| First Comes Love | Cowboy Bob | TV movie | |
| Rescue Heroes | Warren Watters | Unknown episodes | |
| Black and Blue | Commissioner | TV movie | |
| A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story | Barry Huffman | TV movie | |
| Earth: Final Conflict | Colonel Bramson | Episode: "In Memory" | |
| 1999-2000 | The City | Payne | 9 episodes |
| 2000 | Deliberate Intent | Detective Gallon | TV movie |
| Thin Air | TV movie | ||
| 2001 | A Glimpse of Hell | Adm. Johnson | TV movie |
| Chasing Cain | Woody | TV movie | |
| And Never Let Her Go | David Stanton | TV movie | |
| Queer as Folk | Dr. Perkins | Episode: "Solution (How TLFKAM Got Her Name Back)" | |
| Largo Winch | John William Valance | Episode: "Legacy" | |
| The Pretender: Island of the Haunted | Brother Menenicus | TV movie | |
| 2002 | Guilty Hearts | Reverend Joseph Masters | TV movie |
| The Associates | Mr. Shoucaire | Episode: "Freedomia" | |
| Scared Silent | Owen Bradley | TV movie | |
| Monk | Commissioner Harry Ashcombe | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Psychic" | |
| Witchblade | Brogan | Episode: "Veritas" | |
| Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story | Agent | TV movie | |
| The Interrogation of Michael Crowe | Detective Claytor | TV movie | |
| Chasing Cain: Face | TV movie | ||
| 2003 | Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story | Peter Powers | TV movie |
| Playmakers | Stan Olczyk | Episodes: "Gameday" and "Choice: Part 2" | |
| Missing | Joe Mastriani | 4 episodes | |
| The Reagans | John Tower | TV movie | |
| Veritas: The Quest | Glen Fallon | Episode: "Avalon" | |
| 2004-2006 | Puppets Who Kill | Cop / Officer Hogsworth | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | The Man Who Lost Himself | J.J. Albrecht | TV movie |
| Code Breakers | Major General Frederick A. Irving | TV movie | |
| 2006 | Time Warp Trio | King Sitaram & Ashok | Voice, episode: "Dude, Where's My Karma?" |
| Love Thy Neighbor | Detective Zeller | TV movie | |
| The Shakespeare Comedy Show | Episode: #1.3 (segment "Interview with a Bear") | ||
| Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy | Dr. Frank | TV movie | |
| Wedding Wars | Senator Brighton | TV movie | |
| 2007 | The Dark Room | William Russell | TV movie |
| 2008 | Burn Up | Robert Cooper | Miniseries, episode: #1.2 |
| XIII: The Conspiracy | President Galbrain | Two-part TV movie | |
| 2009 | Taking a Chance on Love | Older Ben Morrick | TV movie |
| Unstable | Dan Walker | TV movie | |
| 2010 | The Wild Girl | Tolbert Phillips | TV movie |
| When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story | Dr. Frank | TV movie | |
| The 19th Wife | Brigham Young | TV movie | |
| Haven | Max Hansen | Episode: "Spiral" | |
| 2011 | Breakout Kings | Director Knox | Pilot episode |
| The Kennedys | Dr. Max Jacobson | Miniseries, 3 episodes | |
| Befriend and Betray | Gavin Meadwell | TV movie | |
| Covert Affairs | Chet Laguardi | Episodes: "Begin the Begin" and "Around the Sun" | |
| Flashpoint | Sgt. Blount | Episode: "Good Cop" | |
| 2012 | Secrets of Eden | Jim Halm | TV movie |
| The Firm | Allan Hoyt | 3 episodes | |
| 2013 | Murdoch Mysteries | Warden Browning | Episode: "Victoria Cross" |
| Copper | Major John Augustus Boiles | Episode: "To One Shortly To Die" | |
| 2014 | A Day Late and a Dollar Short | Dr. Cielto | TV movie |
| The Listener | Mark Benson | Episode: "The Fugitive" | |
| Heartland | Walter | Episode: "Walk a Mile" | |
| 2015 | Lead with Your Heart | Gary Walker | TV movie |
| 2016 | Schitt's Creek | Don Taylor | Episode: "Happy Anniversary" |
| Shoot the Messenger | Chief Ken Thomson | 3 episodes | |
| Designated Survivor | Senator Hazelton | Episode: "The Blueprint" | |
| 2017 | Taken | Cy Backer | Episodes: "Off Side" and "Hail Mary" |
| Killjoys | Kalla Seyon Trus | Episode: "Necropolis Now" | |
| Save Me | Bizzemingway | Episodes: "Possible Anaphylaxis" and "Code 5" | |
| 2018 | Ransom | Phillip Hingston | Episode: "Legacy" |
| Carter | Chief Angus Pershing | Recurring role | |
| Condor | Nathan's Father | Episodes: "A Good Patriot" and "A Question of Compromise" |
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Crouse, Richard (2013-11-21). "He Chose the Road Not Taken and It's Made All the Difference". CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g Donnelly, Pat (1992-03-07). "Rough Crossing a change of pace for director: Former Montrealer back after 11 years to mount a Stoppard production". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "John Bourgeois: Program Director, Acting for Film & Television". Humber College. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b c d e f Wagner, Vit (1989-10-13). "Ziggurat group wants your love . . . or hate". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b Syse, Glenna (1986-01-09). "Now Paul Sills is New York-bound". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b Mietkiewicz, Henry (1998-01-18). "Flair for the surreal subs for lack of sense". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b Mietkiewicz, Henry (1989-05-28). "Miller's Price isn't right". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ Rose, Ben (1989-11-02). "Bradbury keeps audience's attention through entire Hunger performance". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2018-10-15 – via Simon Fraser University.
- ^ Nicholls, Liz (1990-01-18). "Frankie makes for an easy evening". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "M. Butterfly takes wing Aquarius production is solid effort". The Hamilton Spectator. 1992-11-02. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ "Dora nominations list". Toronto Star. 1994-05-18. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ Kennedy, Janice (1995-11-19). "Play with frequent beauty and power fails to make a strong dramatic statement". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Ouzounian, Richard (2000-07-07). "Review Dawe a true original at Fringe festival". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ Crew, Robert (2013-11-28). "God of Carnage works if you enjoy blood sport: review". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ Hoile, Christopher (2013-11-28). "Review - God of Carnage - Studio 180, Toronto - Christopher Hoile". Stage Door. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ Baca, Ricardo (2002-02-10). "Unhappy wife, churchgoer indulge in secret affair - 'Guilty Hearts' features betrayal, infidelity, and finally murder". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ "Jimmy Pacheco by a hair". Toronto Star. 1999-05-12. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b c Stapiński, Grzegorz (2018-03-21). ""Carter", nowy serial w AXN (wideo)" (in Polish). SATinfo24. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ "TV best bets for 5-12-18". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-05-11. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b c d Ouzounian, Richard (2014-12-30). "Marriage of love and stage - Maria Ricossa and John Bourgeois act as spouses Open in Tarragon Theatre's Bea's Niece next week". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b Somerset, Alan (2018-08-19). "Shakespeare in Performance: Stage Production. King Lear (1985, Stratford Festival of Canada)". Internet Shakespeare Editions. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ Sullivan, Dan. (1985-11-12). "Stage Review : Stratford 'Lear' Has A Hurricane-force Lear" (pages 1 and 2). Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original (pages 1 and 2) on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ Wagner, Vit (1989-01-20). "Maria gets her wish to hunt cockroaches". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ Adilman, Sid (1987-10-09). "CTV gives Terrilyn Joe Calgary Olympics plum". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
External links edit
Category:1956 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century Canadian male actors
Category:21st-century Canadian male actors
Category:Canadian male film actors
Category:Canadian male television actors
Category:Canadian male stage actors
Category:Canadian male voice actors
Category:Male actors from Ottawa