Colin Keith Gray is a Canadian

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, writer and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He played Frank Hardy on the TV show ''

The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...

'' for thirteen episodes. He is known for directing the documentary film '' Freedom's Fury''.

Early life

Gray was born in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

before his family moved to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He played

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, the sport of his future film ''Freedom's Fury'', for

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students was ...

. Gray also performed in various productions by the

Orpheus Musical Theatre Society The Orpheus Musical Theatre Society is an amateur musical theatre society, based in Ottawa, Ontario, which was founded in 1906. Orpheus performs three shows annually at the Centrepointe Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario Ontario is the southernmost ...

and at the Ottawa Little Theatre. After high school, he moved backed to the United States and graduated with degrees in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, while his sister, Megan Raney Aarons, relocated with his mother to the United Kingdom.

Career

After graduating from Michigan, Gray moved to New York City where he earned a role in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

production of '' Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story''. In 1995, Gray moved to Toronto to perform as

Frank Hardy Francis Joseph Hardy (21 March 1917 – 28 January 1994), published as Frank J. Hardy and also under the pseudonym Ross Franklyn, was an Australian novelist and writer. He is best known for his 1950 novel ''Power Without Glory'', and for his ...

alongside

Paul Popowich Paul Popowich is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Smith, an angel who helps people change their pasts, in season two of '' Twice in a Lifetime''."Toronto doubles as Harlem in the '30s; A visit to the set of the Canadia ...

as Joe Hardy, the eponymous brothers in the 1995 production of ''

''. The show only lasted for one season of thirteen episodes due to poor ratings. After the show ended, Gray moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and earned small roles in television shows including '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' before switching to writing and directing, and establishing WOLO Entertainment with a friend. Gray and his sister Megan, working in partnership as "The Sibs", wrote and directed ''Freedom's Fury'', a 2006

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film about the clash between

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the "

Blood in the Water match The "Blood in the Water" match ( lit. ''Blood bath of Melbourne''; ) was a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The semi-final match took place on 6 December 1956 against the background of the recent Hu ...

", the water polo semifinal of the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

. Gray's Michigan co-alumnus

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...

, while working on ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts action film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a group of assassins ( Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael ...

'', helped them enlist

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

as co-executive producer with Liu in 2001. The Canadian premiere earned The Sibs congratulations in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

via a private member's statement made by Andrew Telegdi.Hansard
House of Commons, 2006 In the year of the film's release, Gray and Aarons were granted Hungary's highest civilian honour, the Knight's Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. Gray and his sister now manage GRAiNEY Productions which has undertaken projects including ''Game Day! College Football to the Max'', an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

3D film about college football with

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

head coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...

serving as executive producer, as well as '' Redlight'' a documentary with Lucy Liu about

child sex trafficking Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...

that features

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

nominees

Mu Sochua Mu Sochua (; born 15 May 1954) is a Cambodian politician and rights activist. She was a National Assembly of Cambodia, Member of Parliament (MP) for Battambang from 2013 Cambodian general election, 2013 to 2017, a seat which she previously held fr ...

and

Somaly Mam Somaly Mam ( ; born 1970/71) is a Cambodian anti-trafficking advocate who focuses primarily on sex trafficking.Pesta, Abigai"Somaly Mam's Story: 'I Didn't Lie. ''Marie Claire'', September 16, 2014. Accessed September 16, 2017. From 1996 to 2014 ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
gpixer.com
About Us - GRAiNEY Pictures {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Colin Keith Canadian male television actors Film directors from Ottawa 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Living people Male actors from Ottawa University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Lisgar Collegiate Institute alumni Year of birth missing (living people)