Graham Abbey
Born	March 24, 1971 (1971-03-24) (age 38)
Spouse(s)	Michelle

Graham Abbey was born on March 24, 1971. He considers Stratford, Ontario his hometown, although he didn’t move there until grade school.

Contents 1 History 2 Current projects 3 Credits 3.1 Film and television credits 3.2 Stratford Festival credits 3.3 Other theatre credits 4 In the news 5 External links 6 References

[edit] History

At the then Stratford Festival of Canada (now Stratford Shakespeare Festival), an eleven year-old Graham Abbey took up small parts in A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the following season, he returned with roles in As You Like It and Macbeth.^[1]

At age 13 Abbey collected teddy bears, though he denied being "the kind of kid who would really play with them."^[2]

Despite the thrilling start as a forest gnome – not a fairy – at the Festival Theatre, where “there was a room full of doughnuts and I got to get out of school”,^[3][4] the young Abbey stopped acting. He left Stratford Central Secondary School, moved to Kingston, Ontario, and graduated from Queen's University with a degree in political science.

That was in 1997, when he rejoined the Stratford Festival with a leading role (Happy Loman in Death of a Salesman), a supporting role (Paris in Romeo and Juliet), and an ensemble role (the Chorus in Oedipus Rex).

Ten years later, Abbey still has the acting bug. He left the Stratford Festival in 2006, after performing in Coriolanus in his eighth consecutive season, and has since been focusing on film and television and a writing project of his own.^[5]

In August 2008, he married former Stratford colleague Michelle Giroux.^[6]

[edit] Current projects

Abbey's current projects include:

• Starring as Detective Sergeant Gray Jackson in the CBC drama The Border. Season two continues Mondays at 9 ET;
• Developing a script for a series tentatively titled Brunswick Avenue.

[edit] Credits

[edit] Film and television credits

• Othello: The Tragedy of the Moor (2008) -- Michael Cassio
• The Border (2008) -- Gray Jackson
• Heartland (2007) -- Steve Redding in episode “Coming Home”
• Billable Hours (2007) -- Scott in episode “Monopoly Man, the Second”
• The Jane Show (2007) -- Richard in episode “Who's Got Spirit?”
• 'Til Death Do Us Part (2007) -- Slade in episode “Funeral Parlour Murder”
• The Madness of King Richard (2003), interviews with members of the theatre community, regarding the Stratford Festival of Canada under Artistic Director Richard Monette -- Himself
• Offstage, Onstage: Inside the Stratford Festival (2002), the National Film Board behind-the-scenes at the Stratford Festival of Canada's 49th season—Himself
• John Woo's Once a Thief (1998) -- Special Agent Elk Diller in episode “The Director Files”
• As You Like It (1984), based on the 1983 production at the Stratford Festival of Canada—Page

[edit] Stratford Festival credits

• Coriolanus (2006) -- Tullus Aufidius
• The Lark (2005) -- Warwick, Earl of Beauchamp
• As You Like It (2005) -- Jacques
• King Henry VIII (All is True) (2004) -- King Henry VIII
• Macbeth (2004) -- Macbeth
• Love's Labour's Lost (2003) -- Berowne
• The Taming of the Shrew (2003) -- Petruchio
• Richard III, Reign of Terror (2002) -- King Henry VII, Earl of Richmond
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (2002) -- Lambert
• Romeo and Juliet (2002) -- Romeo
• Henry V (2001) -- King Henry V
• Henry IV, Part 2 (2001) -- Henry, Prince of Wales
• Henry IV, Part 1 (2001) -- Henry, Prince of Wales
• The Three Musketeers (2000) -- D'Artagnan
• The Importance of Being Earnest (2000) -- Algernon Montford
• Hamlet (2000) -- Laertes
• The School for Scandal (1999) -- Sir Toby Bumper
• The Tempest (1999) -- Ferdinand
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) -- Lysander
• Two Gentlemen of Verona (1998) -- Valentine
• The Winter's Tale (1998) -- Florizel
• A Man For All Seasons (1998) -- William Roper
• Oedipus Rex (1997) -- Chorus
• Death of a Salesman (1997) -- Happy Loman
• Romeo and Juliet (1997) -- Paris
• As You Like It (1983) -- Page
• Macbeth (1983) -- Young Macduff (understudy)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982) -- Appears in
• The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982) -- Forest Gnome

[edit] Other theatre credits

• The Pessimist, Tarragon Theatre, Toronto (2007) -- Philip
• Long Day's Journey Into Night, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg (2005) -- Jamie
• Death of a Salesman, Theatre Aquarius (2004) -- Biff Loman
• The Molière Comedies, Shubert Theatre, Chicago (2003) -- Valère
• Robin Hood: The Merry Family Musical, Elgin Theatre, Toronto (2002) -- Robin Hood
• Snow White and the Magnificent Seven, Elgin Theatre, Toronto (2001) -- Prince Don “Squeeze the” Charming
• Proposals, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg/Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto (1998) -- Ray Dolenz
• Hello, Dolly!, York Minstrels, Toronto (1995) -- Cornelius Hackl
• The School for Scandal, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre -- Charles Surface
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, Festival of Classics, Toronto—Demetrius
• The Baker's Wife, Equity Showcase, Toronto—Antoine
• A Streetcar Named Desire, Firehall Theatre, Gananoque, Ontario—Stanley Kowalski
• Guys and Dolls, Grand Theatre, Kingston, Ontario—Nicely-Nicely
• Fiddler on the Roof, Grand Theatre, Kingston, Ontario—Motel the Tailor

[edit] In the news

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (January 2008)

• "Border star steady with sword as well as gun", The Toronto Star, September 27, 2008
• "Graham Abbey makes a run for The Border", The Kingston Whig-Standard, January 26, 2008
• "Crossing those acting borders", The Windsor Star, January 7, 2008
• "Investigating The Border", Metro Canada, January 7, 2008
• "From the Bard to Border guard", The Globe and Mail, January 5, 2008
• "The Border's Niagara connection", St. Catharines Standard, December 13, 2007
• "Abbey not pessimistic as he leaves Stratford", The Toronto Star, April 22, 2007

[edit] External links

• Graham Abbey at the Internet Movie Database
• Abbey speaking on "CBC Radio: Q The Podcast" episode for Monday, January 7, 2008

[edit] References

1. ^ "Border star steady with sword as well as gun"
2. ^ "Going Great," CBCtv, 1984
3. ^ "From the Bard to Border Guard"
4. ^ "As You Like It, Stratford 1983
5. ^ "Abbey not pessimistic as he leaves Stratford"
6. ^ OUZOUNIAN, Richard (2008-09-27). "Border star steady with sword as well as gun". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/506247. Retrieved 2009-03-27.