Eric Peterson - WikiHQ

Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian television series – Street Legal (1987–1994), Corner Gas (live-action 2004–2009 and film 2014, animated 2018–2021), and This is Wonderland (2004–2006).

Career

Stage

In 1971, Peterson began his acting career when he helped found the collective theatre company Tamahnous Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. There he received major roles in versions of The Bacchae and Nijinsky, both directed by John Gray.

In 1974, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, and joined Theatre Passe Muraille, a leading collective ensemble in Canada. He had main roles in productions of The Farm Show, The West Show, Them Donnelly’s, and 1837: The Farmers' Revolt. It was in this latter Rick Salutin production that he gained the greatest recognition, playing William Lyon Mackenzie and Lady Backwash. In the same year, he played Wiff Roach in Soulpepper's revival of David French's 1973 play Of the Fields, Lately.

In the early to mid 2010s he played the role of Percy Schmeiser in the docu-drama play Seeds.

Television

Until Corner Gas, his best known role on television was his award-winning turn as Leon Robinovitch, a left-wing lawyer, on Street Legal. He also appeared in the Goosebumps episode "Shocker on Shock Street" as Mr. Wright

Peterson's most famous television role was that of Oscar Leroy on the Canadian television program Corner Gas. Peterson played the father of Brent Leroy (played by Brent Butt), who inherited the gas station after his father decided to retire. Much to the dismay of his son and his wife Emma (played by Janet Wright), he uses his new-found free time to unwittingly annoy his family and the town at large. Following the end of that show's run, Peterson made a guest appearance on the show Dan for Mayor, a show starring his former Corner Gas co-star Fred Ewanuick. As of 2014 he appears in The Best Laid Plans as Jerry Stockton.

Since January 2007, he has been performing in Half Life, a play by John Mighton, at the Canadian Stage. Peterson and his wife live in Toronto, Ontario, with their two daughters, although he still frequents his home province of Saskatchewan, where he owns a cottage on Katepwa Lake in the Qu'Appelle Valley near his hometown.

Awards

Peterson has won numerous awards over his career. For his portrayal of Leon Robinovitch on Street Legal, he was nominated for the Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Continuing Dramatic Role six times: in 1987, 1989, and every year from 1992 through 1995. He tied for the win with Winston Rekert (for Adderly) the first year, and won the next two outright. He has also been nominated twice under Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series with Corner Gas at the Gemini Awards, and once for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series for Episode 4 of This is Wonderland for his portrayal of Judge Malone. His fourth Gemini Award came in 2001 for Best Performance in a Pre-School Program. In 2007, he was nominated for "Best Male Performance."

In 1996, Peterson received an honorary Doctor of Letters in drama from the University of Saskatchewan; the head of the drama department, Henry Woolf, For his lifelong contributions to the arts he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Regina (2019).

Filmography

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film

|- align="center"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

| 1974

| data-sort-value="Visitor, The" | The Visitor

| Michael Tyler

| 1983

| data-sort-value="Kid Who Couldn't Miss, The" | The Kid Who Couldn't Miss

| Billy Bishop / Walter Bourne

| Writer

| 1984

| data-sort-value="Painted Door, The" | The Painted Door

| Steven

| Short

| 1985

| data-sort-value="King of Friday Night, The" | The King of Friday Night

| 1986

| data-sort-value="Last Season, The" | The Last Season

| Father Schula

| 1987

| Docudrama: Fact and Fiction

| Billy Bishop / Walter Bourne

| Archive footage

| 1991

| Thick as Thieves

| Judge Head

| 1994

| Henry & Verlin

| Lovejoy

| 1995

| Bach's Fight for Freedom

| Duke Wilhelm Ernst

| 1996

| Spill

| Eric Black

| rowspan="3"| 1998

| data-sort-value="Sleep Room, The" | The Sleep Room

| Sal Rothenberg

| Earth

| Mr. Rogers

| Sleeping Dogs Lie

| Jack Doughty

| 2001

| Franklin's Magic Christmas

| Grandfather Turtle

| Voice Direct-to-video

| 2002

| Fairytales and Pornography

| Kyle

| rowspan=2|2013

| Cas & Dylan

| Jack

| Canadian Famous

| Himself

| Documentary short

| 2014

| Corner Gas: The Movie

| Oscar Leroy

| rowspan=2|2015

| Canadian Star

| Himself

| Documentary short

| Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven

| A.Y. Jackson

| Voice

| 2016

| Where the Universe Sings

| A.Y. Jackson

| Voice

| 2018

| His Master's Voice

| Hogarth

| rowspan=2| 2020

| You Will Still Be Here Tomorrow

| Frank

| Short film

| data-sort-value="Death of Father Christmas, The" | The Death of Father Christmas

| Father Riley

| rowspan=2|2021

| Defining Moments

| Edward

| Sprite Fright

| Elder Sprite

| Voice Short film

| 2022

| Junior's Giant

| Junior

| Short film

| 2023

| Jerry Rigged

| Gerald Slate

| Short film

| Cut the Painter

| Pre-production

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television

|- align="center"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

| 1982

| Billy Bishop Goes to War

| Billy Bishop / Various

| TV film

| rowspan=4|1985

| Tramp at the Door

| Lemieux

| TV film

| data-sort-value="Park is Mine, The" | The Park is Mine

| Mike

| TV film

| Ewoks

| Teebo

| Voice 5 episodes

| Star Wars: Droids

| Voice 6 episodes

| rowspan=2|1986

| Mr. Belvedere

| Season 2, episode 18: "Valentines Day"

| data-sort-value="Care Bears Family, The" | The Care Bears Family

| Noble Heart Horse

| Voice 13 episodes

| 1987–1994

| Street Legal

| Leon Robinovitch

| 126 episodes

| rowspan=2|1988

| Night Heat

| Matt Semple

| Season 4, episode 3: "Ain't No Cure for Love"

| Alfred Hitchcock Presents

| Hank Stweart

| Season 3, episode 7: "Hippocritic Oath"

| 1994–1995

| data-sort-value="Adventures of Dudley the Dragon, The" | The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon

| The Leprechaun

| Season 2, episode 6: "Dudley and the Leprachaun" Season 3 episode 3: "The Tree House"

| 1994

| Scales of Justice

| Judge

| Episode "L'Affaire Belshaw"

| 1995

| Deadly Love

| Elliott

| TV film

| rowspan=3|1996

| Captive Heart: The James Mink Story

| Reverend Eli Brennemen

| TV film

| Kung Fu: The Legend Continues

| Season 4, episode 12: "Escape"

| Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story

| Dr. Spring

| TV film

| rowspan=5|1997

| PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal

| O.S.I.R. Psychologist Owen Wiliston

| Season 1, episode 18: "The Fog/House on Garden Street"

| Goosebumps

| Mr. Wright

| Season 3, episode 1: "A Shocker on Shock Street"

| La Femme Nikita

| Zoran Bruner

| Season 1, episode 21: "Verdict"

| I'll Be Home for Christmas

| Dave

| TV movie

| Traders

| Joe Fitzpatrick

| 3 episodes

| rowspan=2|1998

| Lost Universe

| Jess

| Voice English version

| Nothing Sacred

| TV film

| rowspan=2|1999

| Big Wolf on Campus

| Mr. Tock

| Season 1, episode 16: "Time and Again"

| Win, Again!

| Cliff

| 2000

| data-sort-value="Moving of Sophia Myles, The" | The Moving of Sophia Myles

| Lester

| TV film

| rowspan=3|2001

| data-sort-value="Colder Kind of Death, A" | A Colder Kind of Death

| Howard Downey

| TV film

| Canada: A People's History

| William Lyon MacKenzie King

| 3 episodes

| data-sort-value="Wind at My Back Christmas, A" | A Wind at My Back Christmas

| Professor Coburn

| TV film

| rowspan=5|2002

| data-sort-value="Many Trials of One Jane Doe, The" | The Many Trials of One Jane Doe

| Dr. Daniels

| TV film

| data-sort-value="Stork Derby, The" | The Stork Derby

| Max MacLeod

| TV film

| Trudeau

| Tommy Douglas

| TV film

| Street Time

| Monty

| Season 1, episode 12: "Betrayal"

| Puppets Who Kill

| Mr. Quigley

| Season 1, episode 12: "Mr. Quigley, the Asshole Next Door"

| rowspan=5|2003

| Sounder

| Vet

| TV film

| Do or Die

| Henry Chesser

| TV film

| Jasper, Texas

| Old Mr. King

| TV film

| Tom Stone

| Professor Vernon Day

| Season 1, episode 12: "Now You See Him"

| Doc

| Kyle's Dad

| Season 4, episode 8: "Swing Shift"

| 2004

| Blue Murder

| Phillip Carlyle

| Season 4, episode 8: "Upstairs Downstairs"

| 2004–2006

| This Is Wonderland

| Judge Malone

| 39 episodes

| 2004–2009

| Corner Gas

| Oscar Leroy

| Main role; 107 episodes

| rowspan=4|2005

| Untold Stories of the ER

| Reenactment

| Season 1, episode 8: "I Need Some Help Here"

| Slings & Arrows

| Gavin Gilchrist

| 6 episodes

| Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making

| Tommy Douglas

| TV film

| Microkillers

| Captain Wilcox

| Episode: "Ebola"

| 2009–2014

| data-sort-value="Ron James Show, The" | The Ron James Show

| 'Black' Amos / Sir John A. MacDonald

| 4 episodes

| 2009

| It's Been a Gas

| Himself / Oscar Leroy

| rowspan=4|2010

| Republic of Doyle

| Eli Kent

| Season 1, episode 7: "The Woman Who Knew Too Little"

| Murdoch Mysteries

| Hershey Dillard

| Season 3, episode 11: "Hangman"

| Billy Bishop Goes to War

| Billy Bishop

| TV film Writer

| Eco Home Adventures

| Himself

| Documentary short

| rowspan=4|2011

| Dan for Mayor

| Lenny-Man

| Season 2, episode 7: "The Art of Gambling"

| Wingin' It

| Charles Dickens

| Season 2, episode 9: "Carl+Alt+Delete"

| Wishing Well

| TV film

| data-sort-value="Casting Room, The" | The Casting Room

| Himself

| Season 1, episode 1: "Eric Peterson"

| 2012

| Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town

| Jeff Thorpe

| TV film

| rowspan=3|2013

| Copper

| Reverend William Remington

| 2 episodes

| Rookie Blue

| Archie

| Season 4, episode 8: "For Better, for Worse"

| Cracked

| Ed Janoski

| Season 2, episode 5: "The Hold Out"

| 2014

| data-sort-value="Best Laid Plans, The" | The Best Laid Plans

| Jerry Stockton

| Miniseries

| rowspan=2|2015

| Young Drunk Punk

| Rudolph

| Season 1, episode 9: "First Date Funeral"

| data-sort-value="Plateaus, The" | The Plateaus

| Mick Donald

| Episode #1.7

| 2016

| Valentine Ever After

| George

| TV film

| 2017

| What Would Sal Do?

| Harold

| Episode "Vince's Uncle"

| 2017–2019

| True and the Rainbow Kingdom

| Rainbow King

| Voice 13 episodes

| 2017–2018

| Hard Rock Medical

| Dr. Kesler

| 7 episodes

| 2018–2021

| Corner Gas Animated

| Oscar Leroy

| Voice Main role; 48 episodes

| rowspan=6|2019

| data-sort-value="Umbrella Academy, The" | The Umbrella Academy

| Al

| 2 episodes

| Sydney to the Max

| Don

| 2 episodes

| American Gods

| The Caretaker

| 4 episodes

| Dino Dana

| Grandpa

| 2 episodes

| Street Legal

| Leon Robinovitch

| 2 episodes

| Claws of the Red Dragon

| James McAvoy

| TV film

| rowspan=2|2020

| True: Terrific Tales

| Rainbow King

| 2 episodes

| True: Friendship Day

| TV movie

|rowspan=2|2021

| Private Eyes

| Jasper Dazzle

| Season 4, episode 12: "Drop Dead Carny"

| Chapelwaite

| Samuel Gallup

| 7 episodes

| 2022

| Ruby and the Well

| Lou Aberlard

| Season 2, episode 9: "I Wish I Could Stop Hurting"

| rowspan=2| 2023

| SurrealEstate

| Andrew Tolliver

| Season 2, episode 3: "The Butler Didn't"

| Twas the Text Before Christmas

| Carter

| TV film

Awards and nominations

{| class="infobox" style="width:22em; text-align:left; font-size:90%; vertical-align:middle; background:#eef;"

|+ Eric Peterson awards and nominations

|- style="background:white;"

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |

| colspan="3" |

{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"

! colspan="3" style="background:#d9e8ff; text-align:center;"| Awards and nominations

|- style="background:#d9e8ff; text-align:center;"

!style="vertical-align: middle;"| Award

| style="background:#cec; font-size:8pt; width:60px;"| Wins

| style="background:#ecc; font-size:8pt; width:60px;"| Nominations

|- style="background:#d9e8ff;"

| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Totals

|align=center|

;ACTRA Awards

|align=center|

;Canadian Comedy Awards

|align=center|

;Canadian Film Fest

|align=center|

;Clarence Derwent Awards

|align=center|

;Dora Mavor Moore Awards

|align=center|

;Gemini Awards

|align=center|

;Governor General's Performing Arts Award

|align=center|

;NSI Online Short Film Festival

|align=center|

;Vancouver Badass Film Festival

|- style="background-color#d9e8ff"

{| class="wikitable"

! style="text-align:center;"|Year

! style="text-align:center;"|Nominated work

! style="text-align:center;"|Award

! style="text-align:center;"|Category

! style="text-align:center;"|Result

! style="text-align:center;"|Ref.

|1980

|Billy Bishop Goes to War

|Clarence Derwent Awards (United States)

|Most Promising Actor

|1986

|The Double Bass

|Dora Mavor Moore Awards

|Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role – Play (Large Theatre)

|1987

|Street Legal

|rowspan=6| Gemini Awards

|Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role

|1989

|Street Legal