Marc Messier,

M.S.C. The Marianites of Holy Cross (MSC) is a Catholic Church, Catholic Religious congregation, congregation of nuns, founded in Le Mans, France, in 1841, by Fr Basil Moreau. It was founded as a third distinct society within the Congregation of Holy Cros ...

(born August 16, 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Background

Born in

Granby, Quebec Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 69,025. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie after ...

, Messier's 45-year acting career included the participation in several well-known films and television series. After finishing his studies and developed his acting skills in

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, he played in various

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

shows across the province of Quebec plays including "Broue". It was in 1972, that he debuted his acting career in ''La Vie Rêvée'' and would make his first appearance in a television series in 1974 in ''Avec le temps''. Messier's most extensive role was in the two-decade old television series ''

Lance et Compte ''He Shoots, He Scores'' (french: Lance et compte) is a Canadian ''téléroman'', or television drama series, revolving around a fictional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The series aired from 1986 to 1989 on the Radio-Canada network, and re ...

'' in which he played the role of Marc Gagnon, an all-star hockey player for the fictional

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team of the Quebec National, a copycat version of the defunct Quebec Nordiques (now

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

). After his retirement, Gagnon went on to coach the team during two separate; the first starting during the second season and again during the fourth season of the called : Lance et Compte : Nouvelle generation. Messier played the role of Gagnon for the series six seasons from 1986 to the latest one in 2015 called Lance et Compte : La finale. Messier also played the role of Bob in all four chapters of the popular Quebec film ''

Les Boys ''Les Boys'' is a 1997 Quebec-made comedy film directed by Louis Saia. It has spawned three sequels and by any measure ( profit, box office or attendance) is the most successful Quebec made film series of all time, and one of the most successfu ...

'', the story of a hockey team from a senior's league. He also played roles in other important films such as ''

Jesus of Montreal ''Jesus of Montreal'' (french: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 French Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand, and starring Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening and Johanne-Marie Tremblay. The film tells the story of a grou ...

'' and ''Le Sphinx'' and television series such as ''Les Voisins'', ''

La Petite Vie ''La petite vie'' was first a stage sketch of the comedy duo Ding et Dong, formed by Claude Meunier and Serge Thériault, and later a hit Quebec television sitcom aired by Radio-Canada from 1993 to 1999. In total, 59 episodes were created plus 3 ...

'', ''Omertà'' and ''Urgence''. In addition to playing a role in the film ''

Le Sphinx Le Sphinx was a ''maison close'' ( brothel) in Paris in the 1930s and 1940s. Along with the "Le Chabanais" and "One-Two-Two" it was considered one of the most luxurious and famous Parisian brothels. It was the first luxury brothel and opened on t ...

'' which played in 1995, he also co-produced it with ''Les Boys'' producer Louis Saia. Messier played in several other movies that was produced by Saia during his lengthy career.

Selected filmography

Cinema

TV

Awards

Messier's most productive year was in 1988 in which he won two

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

awards for best lead male role and best male supporting role for his participation in Lance et Compte and Les Voisins. His role in Les Boys also gave nominations for best male actor in the Jutras awards in 1999 and 2002. Messier was awarded with the

Meritorious Service Cross The Meritorious Service Cross (french: Croix du service méritoire) is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, his or her Governor-in-Council. Cr ...

with the

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

honours list of 2017. The citation reads "Having earned a Guinness World Record in 2006 for the longest-running theatrical play with the same cast, Michel Côté, Marcel Gauthier and Marc Messier are undisputed ambassadors of Quebec theatre. With over 3 300 performances of Broue, a one-of-a-kind play reflecting Quebec popular culture, they have made us laugh and have introduced an entire generation to the wonderful world of theatre."

References

External links

Biography of Marc Messier
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messier, Marc 1947 births Living people Male actors from Quebec Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors French Quebecers People from Granby, Quebec