Sugith Varughese (born 25 April 1957) is an Indian-born Canadian writer, director and actor.

Background

Born in

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

, Kerala,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

into a Syriac Saint Thomas Christian family ("Varughese," also sometimes spelled " Varghese" and "Verghese" and variously pronounced, is Syriac-

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

for "George"), he immigrated to

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, Saskatchewan as a child when his neurosurgeon father obtained a professional appointment there. His family's native language is

; having grown up in anglophone western Canada he naturally speaks English with a Canadian accent but from time to time affects an assortment of South Asian accents when playing dramatic roles that call for them. Sugith Varughese was raised in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, began university studies at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

in Saskatoon with a double major in pre-medicine and drama, and continued on to an undergraduate degree in drama at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and a Master of Fine Arts at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in Toronto. He went on to write, act in and direct film and television productions in Canada and the USA. He was the first visible minority accepted to attend the Canadian Film Centre as a writer-director. As a director, he has been nominated for and won several Canadian film and television and international film festival awards.Internet Movie Database: Sugith Varughese
Retrieved 29 September 2007. He also holds a black belt in karate.

Credits

His credits include the following.

Acting

As a film and television actor: * More than 100 film and TV credits including "

Orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

", "

Solar Attack ''Solar Attack'' (also called ''Solar Strike'') is a 2006 television film by CineTel Films and Lions Gate Entertainment, starring Mark Dacascos, Joanne Kelly and Louis Gossett Jr. ''Solar Attack'' concerns large coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that ...

" (as the character Patel), and "

Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim and John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film depicts the first ...

". Other television credits include "Suits", "The Strain" and “'' Degrassi: The Next Generation''”. He was a series regular in the comedy CBC-TV's " An American in Canada" aka "Frostbite" in Australia (Gemini nomination for Best Ensemble Performance) and played recurring characters in Omni TV's nighttime soap " Metropia", CBC-TV's " Little Mosque on the Prairie", season one of "The Girlfriend Experience" on Starz and “''

Kim's Convenience ''Kim's Convenience'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadians, Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park ...

''” on CBC-TV and Netflix, "'' Transplant''" on CTV and NBC. He starred in "Home on the Range" for CBC-TV which won a gold prize for best TV pilot at the Houston Film Festival. He received an ACTRA Award nomination for his very first television role in the TV movie "Best of Both Worlds" for CBC-TV. Other credits include '' Veritas: The Quest''; '' F/X: The Series''; '' Kung Fu: The Legend Continues''; ''

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank ''Overdrawn at the Memory Bank'' is a 1984 science fiction television film starring Raul Julia and Linda Griffiths. Based on the 1976 John Varley (author), John Varley short story of the same name from the Eight Worlds series, the film takes pl ...

''; ''

The Expanse Expanse or The Expanse may refer to: Media and entertainment ''The Expanse'' franchise * ''The Expanse'' (novel series), a series of science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey * ''The Expanse'' (TV series), a television adaptation of the ...

''. and played the role of the informant on season 1 of 72 Hours (Ep.1 Burning Obsession). As a stage actor: * “The Wrong Bashir” (Crow’s Theatre) * "The Men in White” (Factory Theatre) * "Animal Farm" (Soulpepper Theatre) * "Little Pretty and the Exceptional" (Factory Theatre) ora award nomination for Outstanding Performance-male * "The Postman" (Panamania) lso co-writer * "The Container" (Summerworks), * "The Post Office" (Pleiades Theatre) * "Tideline" (Factory Theatre) * "Bhopal" (Cahoots Theatre) and * "Indian Ink" (CanStage/National Arts Centre).

Writing

Stage

* as playwright "The Postman" (co-writer, Panamania) and "Entitlement" (Summerworks)

Film and television

* As scriptwriter: Animated shorts, "Talespinners Collection 1", Talespinners Collection 2" (NFB); Short film, "Tongue Tied"; TV series "The Blobheads" (YTV, 1 episode); IMAX documentary "Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance"; TV series "Blue Murder" (Global TV, 2 episodes); TV series "Groundling Marsh" (YTV, 1 episode); TV series "On My Mind" (TVOntario, 1 episode); Short film "Mela's Lunch" (NFB); Short film "Kumar and Mr. Jones" (Canadian Film Centre); TV series "Mount Royal" (CTV, 1 episode); TV movie "Best of Both Worlds" (CBC); TV series "Fraggle Rock" (Jim Henson Company) (10 episodes); TV series "The Phoenix Team" (CBC, 1 episode); radio drama "In the Mountains" (CBC Radio) based on Rohinton Mistry's novel "A Fine Balance"; radio drama "Entry Denied" (CBC Radio) which was Canada's entry in the Worldplay Festival and broadcast worldwide.Best Prices.com. "''Where Is Here? : A CBC Radio Drama Anthology''"
Retrieved 29 September 2007.

Awards

* Vaurghese has been nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada award five times and won a Writers Guild of Canada award for "Talespinners Collection 2" (NFB). He received a Gemini Award nomination for writing "The Secret Life of Goldfish". He was a finalist for an ACTRA Award for writing "Best of Both Worlds". He won the first York Trillium Award – Most Promising Writer, Television from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He received an Award of Excellence for his body of work in 2024 from the ReelWorld Festival.

Directing

* "Tongue Tied" (independent comedy short) * "On My Mind" (half-hour children's television series for TVOntario) * "Mela's Lunch" (National Film Board of Canada) * “ Kumar and Mr. Jones” (Canadian Film Centre) – awarded Best Director, Atlantic Film Festival

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varughese, Sugith 1958 births Male actors from Kochi Male actors from Saskatoon University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Malayali descent Indian emigrants to Canada Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian male screenwriters Writers from Kochi Writers from Saskatoon Canadian male actors of Indian descent Canadian Film Centre alumni 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers Screenwriters from Saskatchewan