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Nicholas Campbell

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Nicholas Campbell
Campbell in November 2010
Born (1952-03-24) 24 March 1952 (age 72)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other namesNick Campbell
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
  • Screenwriter
Years active1970-present

Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He is a four-time Gemini Award winner, a three-time Genie Award nominee, and a Canadian Screen Award nominee. He is known for his portrayal of the eponymous character, coroner Dominic Da Vinci, on the crime drama television series Da Vinci's Inquest (1998-2005) and its spin-off Da Vinci's City Hall (2005-2006).

In film, Campbell is known for his collaborations with director David Cronenberg, starring in Fast Company (1979), The Brood (1979), The Dead Zone (1983), and Naked Lunch (1991). He has also notably appeared in A Bridge Too Far (1977), The Boys Club (1996), New Waterford Girl (1999), Prozac Nation (2001), Turning Paige (also 2001), Cinderella Man (2005), and Goon (2011). As a director, he made the acclaimed music documentary Stepping Razor: Red X.

Early life

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Campbell was born in Toronto and raised in Montreal. He went to Toronto's Upper Canada College and Kingston's Queen's University where he originally studied Political Studies but later switched to English and Drama. He continued his studies in England studying five years at Drama Studio London and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).[1]

Career

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Campbell started his acting career in the United Kingdom. He spent 40 weeks touring the country with the York Theatre Royal Repertory Company.

His debut film role was in The Omen, released in 1976.[1] He subsequently played small roles in The Eagle Has Landed (1976),[2] the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me (1977),[3] and the World War II epic A Bridge Too Far (1977).[2] His co-starred in the 1977 ITV televised play Come Back, Little Sheba, opposite Laurence Olivier, Joanne Woodward and Carrie Fisher. He returned to Canada in 1979.

His starring film and television credits include series leads on Diamonds[2] and The Hitchhiker.[2] Campbell was third-billed in the 1985 movie Certain Fury. Playing Billy Quinn in CBC's Major Crime (1997) he won a Gemini Award for best actor for his work.[4] His television credits also include the role of Bobby Kennedy in Hoover vs. The Kennedys (Gemini nominee for best actor in a miniseries), Going Home (nominated for BAFTA Award), and The Valour and the Horror.[1] Other works include The Sleep Room, Diana Kilmury: Teamster (Gemini nomination for best supporting actor in a drama) and The Diary of Evelyn Lau.[1]

Campbell has also worked extensively with David Cronenberg, appearing in such films as Naked Lunch, The Dead Zone, Fast Company, and The Brood. Campbell has made guest appearances on TV shows including Space: 1999, Airwolf, Blue Murder, (Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series in 2001)[4] A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Street Legal, Republic of Doyle, and Highlander: The Series.[1]

In addition to his acting career, Campbell is also an accomplished filmmaker. He wrote and directed the 1992 documentary film Stepping Razor: Red X,[5] which received a Genie Award nomination for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 14th Genie Awards.[6]

Da Vinci's Inquest

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Campbell's role as coroner Dominic Da Vinci in Da Vinci's Inquest brought him critical acclaim. Da Vinci's Inquest was nominated for many Gemini Awards. Of the 11 Geminis the show won, it received three for best writing in a dramatic series and three for best dramatic series. Campbell received the Gemini Award for best performance in a continuing leading dramatic role for his work on the series.[4] Campbell also directed a number of episodes of Da Vinci’s Inquest, being nominated in 2003, for the Directors Guild of Canada team drama award.[1]

Personal life

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Controversy

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In October 2022, Campbell was suspended from the CBC television series Coroner, after an incident where he referred to Black grip technician by the n-word on a different production.[7] The grip, Andre Mike, stated he was clearing stones for Campbell's path, he heard the actor say, "You winter niggers are used to this kind of weather." When the director of photography asked for clarification, Campbell said, "Well, you know, you northern niggers are used to it."

Campbell apologized in a statement to CBC News, but claimed he did not say any slurs, and was repeating a story secondhand. "That word should never be spoken aloud, certainly not by the likes of me, a white guy who is old enough to know better. It doesn't matter the context in which it was said. It doesn't matter that I was retelling a story, or that I was actually quoting someone else's usage of that word. That horrible and divisive word should never come out of my mouth. And it never will again." Mike stated he didn't accept Campbell's apology. After Mike complained to the producers, CBC announced they would suspend Campbell from the show.[7]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role Notes
1976 The Omen Embassy guard
1977 A Bridge Too Far Captain Glass
The Spy Who Loved Me USS Wayne Crewman
1979 Fast Company Billy 'The Kid' Brooker
H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come Jason Caball
The Brood Chris
1980 Day of Resurrection Radio Operator - Palmer Station
1981 Yesterday Tony
Dirty Tricks Bill Darcy
The Amateur Schraeger
1982 Trapped Roger Michaels
Killing 'em Softly Clifford
Love Danny segment: "For Life"
1983 The Dead Zone Deputy Frank Dodd
1985 Certain Fury Sniffer
Terminal Choice Henderson
1986 Knights of the City Joey
1987 The Pink Chiquitas Cast Member of Zombie Beach Party III
Rampage Albert Morse
1991 The Big Slice Nick Papadopoulos
Naked Lunch Hank
1992 Shadow of the Wolf Scott
1992 Bordertown Café Don
Stepping Razor: Red X Documentary; as director
1993 Champagne For Two Vincent
1994 Boozecan As director
1995 Butterbox Babies Clayton Oliver
No Contest Vic
Jungleground Robert Neilson
1996 The Boys Club Kyle's Dad
1998 The Sleep Room Lucas
A Cool, Dry Place Frankie Gooland
1999 New Waterford Girl Frances Pottie [3]
2000 New Year's Day Ollie
Saint Jude Dad
We All Fall Down Bruce
2001 Prozac Nation Donald
Turning Paige Ross Fleming
2004 Siblings Dad
2005 Cinderella Man Sporty Lewis
2007 14 Days in Paradise Al Johnson
2008 Inconceivable Jonathan Banks
2009 The Cry of the Owl Mr. Wyncoop
Love and Savagery Senior Tinker
A Wake Gabor Zazlov
2010 Unrivaled Raphael
2011 Goon Rollie Hortense
I'm Yours Father
2012 Antiviral Dorian
2013 Algonquin Leif Roulette
Cubicle Warriors Howard Ramsey
2014 Backcountry Ranger
2015 The Rainbow Kid Bill
Unearthing Sid Smith
2016 The Addition Max Wrathburn
Unless The Stranger
2017 Awakening the Zodiac Ray
Never Steady, Never Still Ed
The Sound Taxi Driver #1
2018 Rabbit Bobby
2020 Books of Blood Sam
Sugar Daddy Jim
2021 Defining Moments Foddy
Hands That Bind Mac Longridge
2023 The Performance Harold
Last County Sheriff Bill McLean

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1976 Space: 1999 Eddie Collins Episode: "A Matter of Balance"
1977 Come Back, Little Sheba Turk TV movie
1980 A Population of One Mike Television film
1983 The Hitchhiker The Hitchhiker Season 1
1986 The Insiders Nick Fox
1987 Airwolf Jason 'Doc' Gifford
Diamonds Mike Devitt
Hoover vs. The Kennedys Robert F. Kennedy Miniseries
1995 Highlander: The Series Kit O'Brady
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Graham Corrigan Episode: "Eye Witness"
Dancing in the Dark Mark Forbes TV movie
Due South Nigel Ellis Episode: "The Deal"
1998–2005 Da Vinci's Inquest Dominic Da Vinci Lead role
1999 Happy Face Murders Rusty Zuvic TV movie
2003 Human Cargo Jerry Fischer
2005 Da Vinci's City Hall Dominic Da Vinci Lead role
2008 The Quality of Life Dominic Da Vinci TV movie
The Englishman's Boy Shorty McAdoo
Flashpoint George Orsten
The Border Dougie Jackson
2009 Murdoch Mysteries Buffalo Bill
2010–14 Republic of Doyle Martin Poole Recurring role
2010 Haven Garland Wournos
2012 Less Than Kind Jim Sheridan Recurring role
2014 Rookie Blue Jay Swarek
2016 Shoot the Messenger Henry Channing
Heartland Will Vernon Episode: "Here and Now"
2017 Black Mirror Russ Sambrell Episode: "Arkangel"
Bad Blood Lonnie Gardiner Episode: "You Can Never Hold Back Spring"
Tin Star Wallace Lyle Episodes: "Fun and (S)Laughter", "Jack"
2018 Private Eyes Frank Garrison Episode: "The Devil's Playground"
2019–22 Coroner Gordon Cooper Recurring role

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Marc Glassman (17 September 2015). "Playback Canadian Film & TV Hall of Fame: Nicholas Campbell". playbackonline.ca.
  2. ^ a b c d Hal Erickson (2015). "Nicholas Campbell". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b Scott, A. O. (26 July 2000). "New Waterford Girl (1999) FILM REVIEW; Clueless And Angry In a Small 70's Town". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television official site Archived 19 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 5 February 2008
  5. ^ Craig MacInnis, "Campbell walks the Razor's edge". Toronto Star, 18 September 1992.
  6. ^ "The Lotus Eaters strong contender at Genies". The Globe and Mail. 11 December 1993.
  7. ^ a b Glasner, Eli (29 October 2021). "Coroner actor Nicholas Campbell off the show after using N-word on movie set". CBC News.
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