Colin Keith Gray is a Canadian

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, writer and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

. 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 several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterp ...

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

Freedom's Fury ''Freedom's Fury'' is a documentary film about the semifinal water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The match took place against the background of the Hungarian Revolution, that was b ...

''.

Early life

Gray was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan before his family moved to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He played

water polo Water polo is a 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 ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...

, 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 wa ...

. 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 one of th ...

and at the

Ottawa Little Theatre The Ottawa Little Theatre, originally called the Ottawa Drama League at its inception in 1913, is the longest continuously running community theatre in Canada, and one of the oldest in North America. Based in Canada's capital city, it owns its ow ...

. 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, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and

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

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, 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 Stree ...

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''. Popovich has performed in many television series, including ''Beverly H ...

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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

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 film about the clash between

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the "

Blood in the Water match The "Blood in the Water" match ( hu, melbourne-i vérfürdő lit. ''Blood bath of Melbourne''; russian: Кровь в бассейне, Krov' v basseyne, Blood in the swimming pool) was a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 ...

", the water polo semifinal of the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, wh ...

during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hung ...

. Gray's Michigan co-alumnus

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has sta ...

, while working on ''

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

'', helped them enlist

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemb ...

as co-executive producer with Liu in 2001. The Canadian premiere earned The Sibs congratulations in the House of Commons of Canada via a private member's statement made by

Andrew Telegdi Andrew Peter Telegdi, PC (born András Telegdi; May 28, 1946 – January 23, 2017) was a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2008, representing Waterloo and the successor r ...

.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-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graem ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

head coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...

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 pr ...

that features

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

nominees

Mu Sochua Mu Sochua ( km, មូរ សុខហួ; born 15 May 1954) is a Cambodian politician and rights activist. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Battambang from 2013 to 2017, a seat which she previously held from 1998 to 2003. She was a member a ...

and

Somaly Mam Somaly Mam ( km, ម៉ម សុម៉ាលី ; born 1970 or 1971) 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. Acces ...

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)