A stalwart leading man best known in the USA and internationally as Benton Fraser, the Canadian Mountie who moves to Chicago to solve crimes in the CBS series "Due South", Paul Gross was also a successful TV writer in his native Canada. "Due South" first aired as a TV-movie in April 1994, with Gross' character heading to Chicago and teaming with a detective there (David Marciano) in order to catch a thug. CBS put the show on its fall 1994 schedule, where it attracted a following. Gross had previously appeared on American TV in PBS' "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," in which he was Brian Hawkins, the "straight" suitor of Laura Linney, and in an episode of "The Ray Bradbury Theatre". On Canadian TV, he had extensive acting and writing credits. Gross was one of the writers on "For the Record", a successful series there. He began acting in feature films in Canada as well. Gross appeared in "Cold Comfort" and was the ranch hand in "Getting Married in Buffalo Jump" (both 1989). He was the lead in "Buried on Sunday" (1992), and played a ski instructor in "Aspen Extreme" (1993), among other credits. Stage roles, all in Canada, include Brick in a production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
- Also Credited As:
Paul Michael Gross
- Born:
April 30, 1959 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
-
Job Titles:
Actor, Screenwriter, Playwright, Producer, Singer, Songwriter, Box office gofer, Director, Waiter
Family
-
Brother: Anthony Gross. younger
-
Daughter: Hannah Gross. born in 1990
-
Father: Robert Gross. served as a Tank Commander in the Canadian army; operated Badland Books (www.badlandsbooks.ab.ca)
-
Mother: Renie Gross.
-
Son: Jack Gross. born in 1994
Education
-
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, drama
-
Earl Haig Secondary School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Milestones
-
1980 Professional stage debut as Lysander in A Midsummer Night s Dream at Edmonton s Northern Light Theatre
-
1982 Debut as a playwright with The Deer and the Antelope Play at Edmonton s Theatre Network; later that year second play The Dead of Winter was also produced
-
1984 Played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet
-
1985 Penned the teleplay for In This Corner , directed by Atom Egoyan
-
1985 Wrote book and lyrics and co-composed score for the stage musical Thunder, Perfect Mind ; also acted alongside future wife Martha Burns
-
1986 Play Buchanan , about a surgeon, opened at the Toronto Free Theatre
-
1989 Made film debut, Cold Comfort
-
1989 Starred as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Manitoba Theatre Center
-
1992 Had lead in Buried on Sunday
-
1993 Wrote the teleplay, Gross Misconduct about hockey player Brian Spencer; directed by Atom Egoyan
-
1994 Starred in Due South TV-movie and subsequent CBS series
-
1994 Co-starred in Armistead Maupin s Tales of the City
-
1997 Acted in the CBS adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
-
1997 Reprised role in syndicated series version of Due South ; also wrote episodes
-
1999 Played title role in Hamlet at Stratford, Ontario; singing partner David Keeley was cast as Horatio
-
2000 Exeuctive produced and starred as a corrupt Royal Canadian Mountie in the TNT movie Murder Most Likely
-
2000 Produced and starred in the Canadian TV series Steelstring , playing a former rock singer turned private investigator
-
2002 Feature directorial debut, Men With Brooms , a comedy about a curling team; also co-wrote, produced and starred
-
At age 16, spent summer working in the box office of the Statford Festival
-
Because of father s army career, childhood was spent in various places, including Germany, England and Washington, DC
-
Began performing career at age 14, appearing in commercials
-
Performed with a band called The Bonemen in the 1980s to the early 1990s
-
Wrote for Canadian TV series, For the Record