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Bruce Greenwood with his co-star from The Squad Brian Markison along with his director Lynn Stopkewich
photo by Ric Ernst / Province |
Hometown dear to Greenwood:
Successful in Hollywood,
actor maintains ties
to Vancouver film world
by David Spaner
When Bruce Greenwood departed Vancouver in 1984, local actors who wanted
to be in the movies had little choice but to leave.
He was part of the last generation of B.C. actors who left the province
before there was a film industry in Vancouver. (Others include, for
starters: Michael J. Fox, Kim Cattrall, Barbara Williams, Meg and Jennifer
Tilly).
Greenwood would become one of the most successful Canadian expatriates to
ever arrive in Hollywood, with critical acclaim for his starring role in
13 Days, box-office acclaim for Double Jeopardy and a co-starring turn
with Harrison Ford in the upcoming Hollywood Homicide.
And to Greenwood's credit, unlike some who left he has maintained
professional ties in Vancouver. Just last week he wrapped The Squad, a CTV
movie that brought together some of the top talent in the city, including
director Lynne Stopkewich (Kissed) and producer Chris Haddock (Da Vinci's
Inquest).
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Bruce in a scene from the film |
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"When I have the time and something Canadian comes up and it's good, I'm
there," says Greenwood, 46.
"It's not entirely just patriotic, it's not done out of pure sense of
being Canadian. For me, it just makes sense to do projects that I think
are good. You don't always do good projects -- a lot of times you do stuff
that, you know, you can make a lot of money very quickly. Sometimes you
take that stuff. But this (The Squad) is not that. I'm not doing this for
money. I'm doing this because the script is really strong. I read the
first script for Da Vinci's Inquest and I went 'Oh, man, who is this guy?
This is great writing.' And five years later he (Haddock) calls me."
The chance to work with Stopkewich, who Greenwood's spoken with over the
years, also drew him to The Squad. "So, good choice for me and good chance
to get to know her." |
There's another reason Greenwood is spending time in his old hometown.
"I'm also starting to produce stuff here," he says. "I've optioned Stanley
Park, the novel written by Tim Taylor. It's a great novel. We're into the
second draft of it now and hopefully be shooting if not this summer, next
summer. It's a whole lot easier to be a hired gun, just come in and do the
acting. But I just loved the book and I just thought, 'Ah, what the hell,
see what happens.'"
Greenwood grew up in Kerrisdale, went to Magee Secondary and moved on to
the University of B.C., where his father taught. He had no interest in
theatre ("I wanted to be a skier or a writer") until first-year
university.
"I needed three easy credits at university, I was taking a heavy course
load, so I needed something that was totally subjective, that you couldn't
be failed at. You can't fail acting. You can be a bad actor but you can't
fail. And then, of course, it caught my interest and that's all I cared
about."
He was on stage at the campus Freddy Wood Theatre, then the Arts Club. "It
was so clear that that's what I suddenly felt like doing that I left
school and started working professionally."
Greenwood would spend years in Canada working the stage, the odd TV show
(did a Beachcombers) and drill rigs before making the move to L.A. "on a
whim" in 1984.
At first, he slept on a friend's floor but slowly the roles came: TV
series (Legmen), then the features.
While his career was developing in L.A., something started happening in
Vancouver. First, the arrival of the big American service industry that
would call him back for Double Jeopardy. "It was the first biggie I did
back here. Great locations, over to Bowen Island all the time," he says,
noting that it's also the movie people recognize him from -- "'You're the
bad guy from Double Jeopardy, wow, that was a bitchin' movie.'" He
returned again recently to co-star in another made-in-Vancouver Hollywood
movie, the upcoming The Core.
Another thing that happened while Greenwood lived in L.A. the past 19
years: the growth of a Canadian independent scene. He may not be the sort
of Julia Roberts star who opens huge studio films but he is the sort of
Molly Parker-Sarah Polley star who attracts Telefilm funding to Canadian
projects. "You get down there and you get a bit of a profile, so Canadians
are willing to hire you and you can help them market their movies to some
degree, I guess," he says. "Once you get down there and you've done a bit
of work it's easier to come back here."
And the Canadian work has impacted his career in the States. "Sweet
Hereafter did definitely. It was nominated for best screenplay, a lot of
people saw it," says Greenwood. "So it was a good chance for me swing out
a little bit."
Greenwood's developed an ongoing working relationship with Toronto's Atom
Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica, Ararat), appears in Deepa Mehta's
upcoming shot-in-Toronto adaptation of Carol Shields' novel The Republic
of Love and was happy to return to Vancouver for The Squad.
Now that a film scene exists in Vancouver, Greenwood has considered a
full-time return to his hometown.
"I think about it all the time but I've still got to be down there for
meetings. If I had a family I'd be more inclined to move back here but
it's just my wife and I.
"I'm never home. I'm never there. I'm always on location. It doesn't
matter where I live."
