Gordon Pinsent, the adored Canadian actor whose career hit its peak well into his 70s with an award-winning performance as the heartbroken husband in B次元官网网址淎way From Her,B次元官网网址� has died.
Pinset died on Saturday evening at age 92, his friend actor Mark Critch confirmed.
The Newfoundland native, a household name in Canada for decades after his many appearances on stage and screen, became known internationally after his Genie Award-winning turn as Grant in Sarah PolleyB次元官网网址檚 acclaimed directorial debut.
His dignified portrayal so impressed Daniel Day-Lewis, who went on to win the best actor Oscar in 2008 for B次元官网网址淭here Will Be Blood,B次元官网网址� that he sent an email to Polley praising PinsentB次元官网网址檚 performance as one of the most B次元官网网址渁stonishingB次元官网网址� heB次元官网网址檇 ever seen.
Those types of kudos tickled the modest Pinsent. Well into the final years of his life, the actor remained mischievous, giggly and often as giddy as a schoolboy whenever any praise was sent his way.
B次元官网网址淣ow you see, I donB次元官网网址檛 talk that way about myself, so I was pleased B次元官网网址� it was just terrific,B次元官网网址� Pinsent said with a laugh in an interview with The Canadian Press of Day-LewisB次元官网网址檚 email and the continuing raves he was getting for B次元官网网址淎way From Her,B次元官网网址� especially since he didnB次元官网网址檛 garner the kind of international awards recognition some critics said he deserved for the role.
Pinsent was B次元官网网址渟uave, classy, elegant, well-spoken,B次元官网网址� said Critch, a fellow Newfoundlander and family friend who says he became close with Pinsent after working they worked together on a YouTube project.
Actors in Canada are following B次元官网网址渙n a path that (Pinsent) cut through a forest,B次元官网网址� said Critch in a phone interview.
B次元官网网址淗e never forgot anything. Like he would call you on Christmas, heB次元官网网址檇 call you on your birthday, heB次元官网网址檇 call you on FatherB次元官网网址檚 Day, and weB次元官网网址檇 have a Facetime or a call,B次元官网网址� said Critch.
B次元官网网址淚 will miss my great mentor and this hero, this giant colossus of Canadian entertainment, but IB次元官网网址檒l miss my friend Gordon Pinsent from Newfoundland because he was an even better friend than he was an actor,B次元官网网址� said Critch.
Born in Grand Falls, N.L., in 1930, Pinsent was the youngest of six children born to Stephen Pinsent, a papermill worker and cobbler, and his wife, Flossie.
The actor described himself as an awkward child who once suffered from rickets. His schoolmates called him B次元官网网址淧orky.B次元官网网址�
But by the age of 17, the previously shy Pinsent had discovered acting, and was soon performing in stage productions in Newfoundland and then further afield, in Winnipeg. Possessing a deep baritone, Pinsent also took on roles in radio drama on the CBC, and before long moved on to film and television too.
In the early 1950s, Pinsent took a break from acting and joined the Canadian Army, serving for about four years.
But acting remained his true love, and he became a stalwart on some childrenB次元官网网址檚 shows in the early 1960s, including CBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Forest Rangers.B次元官网网址� He went on to appear in dozens of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 best-known television shows, including B次元官网网址淭he Red Green Show,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淒ue South,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淲ind at My BackB次元官网网址� and Paul GrossB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淗20: The Last Prime Minister.B次元官网网址�
PinsentB次元官网网址檚 film resume was equally impressive. He wrote and starred in B次元官网网址淭he Rowdyman,B次元官网网址� a Canadian classic about a troubled Newfoundlander whose best intentions go unnoticed by those closest to him.
Pinsent also had memorable roles in B次元官网网址淲ho Has Seen The WindB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Shipping B次元官网网址,B次元官网网址� a major Hollywood production starring Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett. Pinsent played newspaperman Billy Pretty in the 2001 film, and also cheerfully provided lessons in perfecting the Newfoundland accent to the rest of the cast.
In 2013 he starred in Don McKellarB次元官网网址檚 acclaimed Newfoundland-set comedy B次元官网网址淭he Grand Seduction,B次元官网网址� which earned him a Canadian Screen Award for best supporting actor.
But it was B次元官网网址淎way From Her,B次元官网网址� a role that came to him when he was 76, that truly sealed his reputation as a B次元官网网址渘ational institution,B次元官网网址� as Polley once described him.
The actress and director said from the moment she finished reading the Alice Munro short story, B次元官网网址淭he Bear Came Over The Mountain,B次元官网网址� she envisioned a film starring Pinsent as Grant, the bewildered husband who loses his wife of 45 years not just to AlzheimerB次元官网网址檚, but to another man. Pinsent was happy to oblige.
B次元官网网址淪he didnB次元官网网址檛 have much convincing to do,B次元官网网址� Pinsent said in an interview in February 2007. B次元官网网址淵ou know, you can be a working actor in this country all your life, and itB次元官网网址檚 just terrific, but you donB次元官网网址檛 always get the stuff thatB次元官网网址檚 a bit more challenging.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎way From HerB次元官网网址� was particularly poignant for him - his own wife of 45 years, actress Charmion King, died just a couple of months before the filmB次元官网网址檚 mainstream release, forcing Pinsent to re-examine the many themes of quiet despair explored in B次元官网网址淎way From Her.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t was something I wasnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily drawing on except in the general sense of how anyone must feel at a certain time of life after spending so many years with a partner,B次元官网网址� an emotional Pinsent said during the interview, conducted just a few weeks after KingB次元官网网址檚 death from emphysema.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 almost impossible to grasp B次元官网网址� how do you prepare? Where does love go? Where do you go, the leftover?B次元官网网址�
King and Pinsent had one child together, actress Leah Pinsent. Pinsent also had two children from an earlier marriage, Barry and Beverly.
Leah Pinsent was extremely close to her father, accompanying him to many events in the aftermath of her motherB次元官网网址檚 death and honouring him in June 2007 when he was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame. She described her father as her B次元官网网址渢ruest inspiration and one of my best friendsB次元官网网址� at the event.
Pinsent, for his part, brought the house down with his joke about fellow inductees Nickelback, the Alberta rock band.
B次元官网网址淣ickelback! What can you say? IB次元官网网址檝e got all their LPs and 45s!B次元官网网址� he said as the crowd roared.
PinsentB次元官网网址檚 sense of humour, in fact, was one of his most endearing qualities, and was in full force during the making of B次元官网网址淎way From Her.B次元官网网址�
At a pre-Genie brunch honouring the film in March 2008, Pinsent told of hijinks involving his co-star, Julie Christie, an animal rights activist and environmentalist.
He came to the set one day and told Christie that heB次元官网网址檇 bought a Prius, the environmentally friendly electric automobile favoured by celebrities.
B次元官网网址淪he said: B次元官网网址楪ood for you, Gordon.B次元官网网址� And I told her how quiet the car was, and how lovely that was, and she agreed. And then I said: B次元官网网址楢ll the better for sneaking up on the baby seals!B次元官网网址� And she wasnB次元官网网址檛 too happy about that.B次元官网网址�
But for all the outpouring of praise and admiration for Pinsent in the wake of B次元官网网址淎way From Her,B次元官网网址� movie offers didnB次元官网网址檛 come pouring in after its release. He got passed up for a role in a Tom Cruise film, and turned down a part in a Luke Wilson movie.
B次元官网网址淚 suppose if I was out there pounding the pavement and working rooms, there might be more coming my way, but thatB次元官网网址檚 just not me,B次元官网网址� Pinsent said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 work rooms anymore. I tried that as a younger man and didnB次元官网网址檛 like it very much.B次元官网网址�
After his role in the 1968 Steve McQueen movie, B次元官网网址淭he Thomas Crown Affair,B次元官网网址� and playing the U.S. president in the Milos Forman film, B次元官网网址淐olossus: The Forbin Project,B次元官网网址� Pinsent and King lived in L.A. for six years in an attempt to launch his Hollywood career.
B次元官网网址淚 did a lot of stuff, a few movies, four pilots that didnB次元官网网址檛 go anywhere, but I was brought down to play the president in B次元官网网址楥olossus,B次元官网网址� the Forman project that became kind of a cult thing with university students. So I decided to hang out down there for awhile, but it was because I started to write that I came back,B次元官网网址� he recalled.
B次元官网网址淚 wanted to work where I wanted to live. You could spend three or four lifetimes down there, just standing around waiting for something, waiting for good material to happen.B次元官网网址�
Pinsent, in fact, wrote his novel B次元官网网址淭he RowdymanB次元官网网址� while he was in Los Angeles, but wanted to film it in his beloved Newfoundland. The Pinsents returned to Canada and stayed put.
B次元官网网址淚 had a chance to sell it down there but didnB次元官网网址檛. I wanted to do it on my own home turf, and it cost very little B次元官网网址� it was coffee money for most movies, and it was great to be home.B次元官网网址�
Throughout his life, in fact, the actor remained devoted to his native province, returning two or three times a year to visit his brothers.
B次元官网网址淚 kind of need to go there a lot,B次元官网网址� Pinsent said. B次元官网网址淚 began to write from that place, from that perspective. But the family used to be much larger; itB次元官网网址檚 dwindled now, even though my nephews and nieces make up half the island.B次元官网网址�
PinsentB次元官网网址檚 lifelong passion for creating never faded B次元官网网址� in 2018 he released a short film he wrote and self-funded called B次元官网网址淢artinB次元官网网址檚 Hagge,B次元官网网址� about a middle-aged writer burdened by a personified version of anxiety and depression.
B次元官网网址淚 really love writing B次元官网网址� writing is good, itB次元官网网址檚 even better than good when you hit those peaks, and itB次元官网网址檚 the same feeling oddly enough in acting. ItB次元官网网址檚 that lovely thing where you get that zone, that peak of joy, and it reminds you of why you started it all.B次元官网网址�
-With files from Jessica Smith in Toronto
Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press
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