Ben Carlson is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actor."An actor's winter of content, in Chicago for 'Pericles'"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', December 3, 2014. Primarily associated with stage roles at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

, he won a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

for Best Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries for his performance as

Petruchio Petruchio ( ; an anglicisation of the Italian name Petruccio, ) is the male protagonist in Shakespeare's '' The Taming of the Shrew'' (c. 1590–1594). Plot In the play, Petruchio comes to the town of Padua in the hopes of marrying a wealthy ...

in the '' CBC Presents the Stratford Festival'' adaptation of ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

''.

Early life

Carlson began to pursue a music degree at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montreal when he decided to change his career path to studying theatre instead. He changed schools and entered into the theatre program at

George Brown College The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public, fully accredited college (Canada), college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, George ...

where he graduated.

Career

Carlson was a

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

nominee for Best Actor in a Play in 1995 for ''Hay Fever'', and won a

Jeff Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater st ...

in 2007 for his performance as

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

at the

Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed William Sha ...

. His other noted performances have included

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

in the Canadian production of '' The Audience'',"Fiona Reid brings charm and humour to Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience: review"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', January 20, 2017. Walter Shirley in the 2008 miniseries '' Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning'' and Wiley in the film ''

My Dog Vincent ''My Dog Vincent'' is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by award-winning writer and filmmaker Michael McGowan (director), Michael McGowan. Plot The film is centered on O'Brien (played by Chuck Campbell) and his friends, Wiley and Harper. Th ...

''.

Personal life

He is the son of actors

Leslie Carlson Les Carlson ( Leslie Merle Carlson; February 24, 1933 – May 3, 2014) was an American-Canadian film and television character actor who acted on stage in Canada, the U.S. and England. His films include the horror films '' Deranged'', '' Black Ch ...

and Patricia Hamilton and is married to stage actress

Deborah Hay Deborah Hay (born 1941) is an American choreographer, dancer, dance theorist, and author working in the field of experimental postmodern dance. She is one of the original founders of the Judson Dance Theater. Hay's signature slow and minimal da ...

since 2010."Wedding bells for Deborah Hay and Ben Carlson"
''

'', August 24, 2010.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male film actors Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian male television actors Canadian male stage actors Living people Canadian male Shakespearean actors Canadian Screen Award winning actors Canadian people of American descent {{authority control