Tom McCamus (born July 25, 1955) is a Canadian film and theatre actor. He is most widely known for his works on the television show Mutant X and drama film Room.
Early life, family and education
McCamus was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, He was raised in London, Ontario, beginning at age ten.
Originally planning to be a writer or a teacher, he found an interest in theatre when he took a drama class at Oakridge Secondary School. He subsequently landed a small role in a version of Antigone staged by the local Theatre London's Young Company and subsequently attended the University of Windsor's school of dramatic art.
Career
Theatre
McCamus moved to Toronto in 1980 and settled into a steady theatre career, spending his winters there while transplanting to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the summer, as a member of the famed Shaw Festival troupe. He became one of the country's more in-demand stage players, earning particular notice for his leading role in a complex staging of Peter Pan, which debuted in 1987 and returned by popular demand for the 1988 season. He received further praise when he performed triple duty during the 1998 edition of the festival, acting as Marcus Brutus in Julius Caesar, Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, and one of the tramps in Waiting for Godot. He has performed multiple role in several other seasons, such as 2010, when he returned to Peter Pan—this time as Captain Hook—and played Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons.
In 1994, McCamus won what was then Canada's top theatre accolade, the Dora Award for Best Leading Actor, for his performance in Abundance, earning additional nominations on prior and later occasions, including 1992 when he was nominated alongside his wife Chick Reid.
Film and television
Following a few TV appearances beginning in 1985, McCamus made his film debut in director Paul Donovan's time-travel comedy A Switch in Time (1989). and earned more positive reviews from the international press when the film was shown at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight.
McCamus came to the attention of a wider audience playing the villainous Mason Eckhart in the Marvel TV series Mutant X. Although McCamus proved sufficiently popular that he appeared in every episode of the first season, something that was not originally planned, he quit the show to star as Richard III and Mack the Knife at the Stratford Festival. He only returned to Mutant X to make occasional appearances in the second and third seasons.
In 2005, McCamus starred in the CBC film Waking Up Walter: The Walter Gretzky Story as famous hockey dad Walter Gretzky, for which he won Best Actor honors at both the ACTRA Awards and the Gemini Awards.
Personal life
McCamus is married to theatre and occasional TV actress Chick Reid, a fellow alumn of the Shaw Festival troupe.