Richard Charles Roberts (born November 13, 1965) 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 ...

. He is known for his work in various films and television.

Early life

Roberts was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

. He grew up in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. He studied acting at the

National Theatre School The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...

of Canada in Montreal, graduating in 1991.

Career

He played Donald D'Arby in the series '' Traders'', for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award. He moved briefly to Los Angeles in 1998 appearing in the CBS series ''

L.A. Doctors ''L.A. Doctors'' is an American medical drama television series set in a Los Angeles primary care practice. It ran on CBS from September 21, 1998 to May 10, 1999. It replaced ''Brooklyn South'' after its cancellation in May 1998. Premise Four L ...

'' alongside Ken Olin and Sheryl Lee. He returned to Canada to star in ''

An American in Canada ''An American in Canada'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004. The show starred Rick Roberts as Jake Crewe, an American television news host who was forced, after beating up his station manager, to acce ...

'', which ran for two seasons. Most recently, Roberts was featured in Michael McGowan's series '' Between'', guest starred opposite

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Awa ...

in '' Sensitive Skin'' (TMN/Movie Central), appeared in ''Zoom'' (Pedro Morelli), ''God and Country'' (Ken Finkleman) and the miniseries '' The Book of Negroes'' (CBC). Other work includes guest starring roles on ''

Saving Hope ''Saving Hope'' is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in Toronto in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Bre ...

'' (CTV/NBC), ''

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

'' (BBC America), ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

'' (CBC), ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'' (CBC), '' Murdoch Mysteries'' (CBC), '' Cra$h & Burn'' (Showcase), '' Haven'' (SyFy), '' ZOS'' (Whizbang Films), and was featured regularly in the hit CBC series, '' This is Wonderland''. He played Dennis MacDonald on Family's ''

Life with Derek ''Life with Derek'' is a Canadian television teen situation comedy that aired on Family Channel (Canadian TV network), Family Channel (English) and VRAK.TV (French) in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Fam ...

'', and the role of explorer John Rae in the 2008 docudrama ''

Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

''. He also played the role of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

in '' Jonestown: Paradise Lost'' which aired on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

and the Discovery Channel. He also played the evil Brooks in '' Eloise at Christmastime''. In 2012 he was tapped to play

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

in the CBC biopic ''

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

'', alongside

Sook-Yin Lee Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, and actress. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie '' Shortbus''. Early and p ...

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (; born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian retired politician who was a federal New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) representing Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014. Chow ran in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, placin ...

. ''

'' garnered him a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...

and an ACTRA Award for Best Actor. He played Matthew in the CBC series ''

This Life This may refer to: * ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun Places * This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt * This, Ardennes, a commune in France People with the surname * Hervé This, French culinary chemist Arts, e ...

''.

Theatre

A popular fixture on Canadian stages, Roberts recently headlined the

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

hit, ''Enemy of the People'' as well as ''The Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' for

Soulpepper Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...

Theatre Company. Additional theatre credits include the

Belfry Theatre The Belfry Theatre is a theatre and associated theatre company in the Fernwood neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces contemporary theatre, with a focus on Canadian work. The theatre building is a converted ...

's production of ''Proud'', ''

Tuesdays with Morrie ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' is a memoir by American author Mitch Albom about a series of visits Albom made to his former sociology professor Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz gradually dies of ALS. The book topped the ''New York Times'' Non-Fiction B ...

'', and he made his Stratford Festival debut in the title role of ''

Zastrozzi ''Zastrozzi: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley first published in 1810 in London by George Wilkie and John Robinson anonymously, with only the initials of the author's name, as "by P.B.S.". The first of Shelley's two early Go ...

''.

Writing

As a writer, Roberts' work ''Mimi'' (which he co-wrote with Allan Cole and Melody Johnson) premiered at The

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

and was nominated for a

Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

. His play ''Kite'' premiered to critical acclaim earning numerous Dora Award nominations for writing and production. Other writing credits include ''Nod'' (Theatre Gargantua) and ''Fish/Wife'' (Tarragon Theatre)

Personal life

Roberts is married to Marjorie Campbell, they have two sons.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Rick 1965 births Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian Screen Award winners Male actors from Edmonton Male actors from Hamilton, Ontario 21st-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male actors