Editor’s note: This is the latest installment in a recurring series where a Pucks and Rec writer will select the top contemporary actor from each city in a hockey league. This week, we focus on the current markets in the QMJHL Telus Maritimes division. All filmography and award information was found on the Internet Movie Database.
Acadie-Bathurst: Robert Maillet
Back in the ’90s, Kent County’s top representative in showbiz worked with Bret Hart on the pro wrestling circuit. At the turn of the century, he made a slight career change, but has still made use of his previous persona. Case in point: Uber Immortal (Giant) in the 2006 epic 300.
Maillet has mostly landed other, shall we say, little-big roles since then. He has been billed as various giants, behemoths, monsters (including Frankenstein), behemoths, minotaurs and yetis. From there, he has found a niche in the sci-fi and horror realms.
Two notable projects that have enlisted his services within the last five years: Pacific Rim and The Strain. He put in 13 appearances as the Master on the FX horror series’ 46-episode run.
Cape Breton: Rick Ravenallo
Below the 49th parallel, Ravenallo logged seven appearances on General Hospital last year. Beyond the continent, he joined his castmates from the short film Caged in two nominations and one victory for ensemble acting at various international festivals.
Neither achievement can be described as fluky. Ravenallo has been tapped for guest spots on such other programs as Lethal Weapon, Criminal Minds, NCIS and Scorpion.
Charlottetown: Jackie Torrens and Jonathan Torrens
The half-siblings once worked together on the acclaimed Trailer Park Boys — Jackie as a writer and Jonathan as an actor. They have both long since flaunted their talents before the camera on separate projects. And both have spent the middle portion of this decade verifying their independence from hardware-worthy collectives.
While writing for TPB, Jackie was on a two-time Gemini-winning ensemble of Made In Canada. After that team’s second victory in 2004, it took her 11 years to appear on any other ballots. But she has since chalked up ACTRA Maritimes nominations for Heartbeat, Sex & Violence and Across the Line. She won the supporting-acting prize for the latter project in 2016.
Meanwhile, in his off-and-on role as J-Roc, Jonathan once joined the rest of the TPB cast in three straight Gemini nominations. After the ensemble won in 2005, his golden touch likewise went dark for a decade.
But as Robert Cheeley on Mr. D, he rekindled and upgraded that caliber, winning individual ACTRA Maritimes and Canadian Screen Awards in 2015. He has since been nominated by each guild once more for the same series.
Halifax: Ellen Page
The title performer from Juno has yet to renew her presence on the Oscars or Golden Globes ballot. That hardly means Page is a peaked-too-soon one-hit wonder. A decade later, she continues to radiate and draw attention to causes with her celebrity status.
Of late, the main reason for her comparative fade from fiction-based programming has been her co-hosting role on Viceland’s Gaycation. The incisive, globe-trotting series has earned an Emmy nod in each of the last two cycles.
Barely in her 30s, Page continues to find seasoned company when cast in a scripted project. Next year already promises to yield the animated Naya Legend of the Golden Dolphin. Besides Page, that voice cast will include Gerard Butler, Whoopi Goldberg, Darryl Hannah, Cheech Marin, Owen Wilson and Kate Winslet.
Moncton: Rob Wells
As a mainstay throughout the Trailer Park Boys 18-year run, Wells has taken his act to American mainstream television. In 2016, he was part of the cast’s guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last year, the man in character as Ricky and his fellow Boys toured through six U.S. cities. The year prior, they had gone through seven European locations.
Individually, Wells was nominated for a 2015 ACTRA Maritimes Award, opposite two castmates in other categories.
Saint John: Donald Sutherland
Going on 83 this summer, Sutherland has performed in at least two films yet to come. Measure of a Man is due later this year, while Ad Astra is slated for a 2019 release.
That will give him at least one new TV or movie credit in 37 consecutive calendar years. And even before a 1982 hiatus, Sutherland had already been in the business for two decades.
As early as the end of that first decade, he was getting consideration for hardware, mostly for starring in MASH. As recently as one decade ago, he was up for his eighth Golden Globe.
Since then, casting directors have come calling from the likes of the Hunger Games series and the still-filming Trust miniseries. Regardless of how his portrayal of J. Paul Getty is received, Sutherland is assured at least one highlight in 2018. He will collect a hard-earned honorary Oscar.
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