Paul Gross Biography

Paul Michael Gross was born on April 30, 1959, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  He is the elder of two sons.     His father, Bob, was a tank commander in the Canadian Army, from which he retired.  His mother, Renie, is an author whose books, "Dinosaur Country"  and "Groundwork," were published in 1983 and 1998, respectively. The company, Badlands Books, was established by Bob and Renie Gross in 1998. (See the Badlands Books web site.)  

Paul was an army brat and has lived in many places while growing up-- in Canada, England, Germany and the U.S.  The family settled back in Canada, in the 1970s.  Paul has lived in the province of New Brunswick and in Toronto, Ontario, as well as in Alberta. In his early teens, while he was living in Washington, D.C., his drama teacher provided him with the inspiration to start acting.  He began acting and performed in plays such as " Canterbury Tales" and "Faustus." At age 14, he was appearing in  TV commercials.  Paul states that he fell in with the 'wrong people' for a while. He did quite well at school, however.  Paul graduated from the Earl Haig Secondary School,  in Toronto.  He studied acting at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and graduated with a degree in Drama.

Paul Gross is married to actress Martha Burns  whom he met while they were both performing in "Walsh" at the The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, in 1983.  Burns played an Indian Princess and Gross was a Mountie.  They were married in September 1988 while Paul was finishing work on "Getting Married In Buffalo Jump."   Martha is an accomplished stage actress and has appeared in films and on television. She has also guest starred in the  Due South episodes, "Spy vs. Spy" and  "Call of the Wild." They have two children, Hannah, born in 1990, and Jack, born in 1994.  The family lives in Toronto, Canada.

See Acting and Writing sections below for information on his professional career.

Some of Paul Gross' Many Accomplishments

Paul Gross is an intelligent, literate, creative, multi-talented  man who has successfully employed his many talents in several aspects of the entertainment industry.  He is also very outspoken on the subject of Canadian  protection of its entertainment and cultural enterprises. I may not agree with many of his opinions but I love this man's work.  (His criticism of Americans and the American entertainment industry drove me to write a critical letter to him, although I  had never before written a letter to a celebrity.)  I have seen most of  the movies in which he has appeared  and a couple of the television series (due to the kindness of generous Canadians).  I am impressed with the depth and breadth of his acting ability.  The episodes that he has written for Due South were excellent and his songwriting is fabulous.  I attended his Question and Answer session at the RCW 1999 convention and I found him to be charming, gracious to the fans, playful, thoughtful and intellectual.  He is also even handsomer in person. His success is well-deserved and I hope he is able to do more work that we, here in the States, will be able to see and enjoy.

Paul Gross' Acting Credits

(In addition to Due South, of course.)

Filmography links and data courtesy of the Internet Movie Database.

1. Murder Most Likely (1999) (TV) .... Patrick Kelly
2. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1997/I) (mini) TV Series .... Ned Land
3. XXX's & OOO's (1994) (TV) .... Bucky Dean
4. Paint Cans (1994) .... Morton Ridgewell
5. Whale Music (1994) .... Daniel Howl
6. Married To It (1993) .... Jeremy Brimfield
7. "Tales of the City" (1993) (mini) TV Series .... Brian Hawkins
8. Aspen Extreme (1993) .... T.J. Burke
9. Buried on Sunday (1992) .... Augustus
   ... aka Northern Extremes (1992)
10. "Red Green Show, The" (1991) TV Series .... Kevin Black
    ... aka "New Red Green Show, The" (1991)
11. Getting Married in Buffalo Jump (1990) (TV) .... Alex Bresnyachuk
12. Cold Comfort (1989) .... Stephen Miller
13. "Chasing Rainbows" (1988) (mini) TV Series .... Jake Kincaid
14. Turning to Stone (1985)

• Paul Gross has also made several guest appearances on various television shows and has hosted the Canadian Country Awards, presented Gemini awards and hosted the Canadian visit of Nelson Mandella, among many other appearances. 
• Paul has appeared in various plays. He won a Dora Award for Best Performance in the title role of "Romeo and Juliet" (1985) and a Dora Award for Best Performance for his role in the 1988  "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme."
• Paul will star in Hamlet at the Stratford Festival in 2000.

Paul Gross' Writing Credits

• The Deer And The Antelope Play
  His first play. He won the Clifford E. Lee National Playwriting Award, in 1982, and the Alberta Cultural Playwriting Award, in 1981. 
• The Dead Of Winter
  A tale of family life in the Badlands of Alberta, it won a prize in the Alberta Cultural Competition and was performed at the Toronto Free Theatre in 1982.
• Paul Gross was Playwright-in-Residence at the Stratford Festival and Playwright-in-Residence at the Grand Theatre Company.
• Sprung Rhythm
  A 1984 play about a megalomaniacal heart surgeon, commissioned by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and performed at the Stratford Festival.
• Thunder, Perfect Mind
  The Toronto Free Theatre produced his sci-fi, multi-media rock extravaganza. It ran for a year at the McLaughlin Planetarium in Toronto.
• In This Corner
  An episode of CBS's For The Record series. It is about an Irish boxer mixed up in terrorism and deals with the effects of terrorism on innocent victims. It was nominated for Best TV Drama at the 1986 Gemini Awards.  
• Gross Misconduct 
  (1993) (TV series) Widely-acclaimed drama, the story was based on the book of the same name about the life and death of hockey player Brian "Spinner" Spencer-- produced by CBC and directed by Atom Egoyan.
• All The Queen's Horses, Due South episode  (1996)
  He co-wrote the story and wrote the teleplay.  He also co-wrote Ride Forever, with David Keeley. The song was featured in this episode. 
• Red, White or Blue, Due South episode (1996)
  He co-wrote the story and wrote the teleplay. 
• Burning Down The House, Due South episode (1997)
  He co-wrote the story and wrote the teleplay. 
• Mountie On The Bounty, Due South episode (1997)
  He co-wrote the teleplay. He won a Gemini for this episode for Best Writing in a Series, in October 1998. He also co-wrote  (with Jay Semko) and performed the song, the Robert Mackensie, which is featured in this episode.
• Call Of The Wild,  Due South episode (1998)
  He co-wrote the story and wrote the teleplay.  
• Paul Gross is currently writing screenplays dealing with the subjects of the sport of Curling and World War I.

Paul Gross' Singing Career

In the '80's and early '90's, Paul had his own band--the Bonemen, for which he wrote songs.

With David Keeley, a fellow actor and songwriter, as well as long-time friend, Paul released an album, in 1997, entitled Two Houses.  He and David Keeley wrote the songs on the album. Two of the songs, "The Robert Mackensie" and "Ride Forever",  have been featured in Due South episodes.  "Ride Forever" was sung by Paul Gross and a group of Mounties at the 1998 Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa. For more information, as well as video and audio clips from the album, visit the official Gross and Keeley web site. A single was released, in 1998, entitled "Santa Drives a Pickup."  This song was originally featured in the Due South episode, Good for the Soul, and was co-written by Dean McDermott. Another single "Papa's Front Porch," was released in 1999.  In August 1999, Lenz Entertainment released a music video containing several of the songs from the album and "Papa's Front Porch."  

WHERE TO WRITE To Paul Gross
Paul Gross
Whizbang Films Inc
940 Lansdowne Avenue
Building 15, 4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M6H 3Z4