Ivar Kants (born 19 July 1949) (commonly credited as ''Ivor'' Kants or Ivar Kanz) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

actor of Latvian descent who has played numerous roles in soap operas including ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were ...

'', ''

G.P. ''G.P.'' is an Australian television series produced by Roadshow, Coote & Carroll for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the series was broadcast for 8 seasons between 1989 and 1996. Synopsis The series, screened on the ABC, is set arou ...

'', '' All Saints'', '' Water Rats'', and ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

''. He portrayed the role of Ken Garrett in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

'' The Restless Years'' (1979) and starred as Father Menotti, a caring inner-city parish priest in the 1980–81 TV series '' Menotti''. A more prominent role was as school principal

Barry Hyde Barry Hyde may refer to: *Barry Hyde, vocalist and guitar player in the English band The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David " ...

, a regular in ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

''. He has also appeared in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'', ''

Heartbreak High ''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television program created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on the ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with ...

'' and in the

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' The Plumber''. He narrated the ''

Hairy Maclary ''Hairy Maclary and Friends'' is a series of children's picture books created by New Zealand author and illustrator Dame Lynley Dodd. The popular series has sold over five million copies worldwide. The character Hairy Maclary made his first ap ...

'' audiobook series released by ABC for Kids.

Early life

Ivar Kants was born on July 19, 1949 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Both his parents were originally from Latvia, but they immigrated to Australia before he was born. Ivar left home at 19 to enrol in

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

(NIDA) in Sydney, and graduated with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 1970.

Career

In addition to his on-screen work, Ivar has also had an illustrious theatre career, with his many roles in Shakespeare plays colouring his vocal work. His ability to tell a story is supported by the many narrations he has recorded for SBS and the ABC. He narrated the Hairy Maclary audiobook series released by ABC for Kids.

Personal life

Ivar has been married to Jenny Kants since 1970. They have four children, including his daughter Sarah Kants (born 1974), who is an actress.

Filmography

Films

Television

Accolades

Kants was nominated for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

at the 1984 AFI Awards for '' Silver City''.

References

External links

* 1949 births Living people Australian male television actors Australian people of Latvian descent Male actors from Adelaide {{Australia-tv-actor-stub