Paul Michael Gross (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, film and television director, screenwriter, playwright, and producer. He rose to fame for his lead role as RCMP Constable Benton Fraser on the Canadian television series Due South (1994–1999). He won three Gemini Awards for his work on the series, two for acting and one for writing.
Gross subsequently had success with two other Canadian television series, Slings & Arrows and Republic of Doyle. He made his film directorial debut with the cult comedy Men with Brooms, which spawned a television series of the same name. He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the 2008 war film Passchendaele, which won the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture.
At the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards in 2015, he received the Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement. That same year, he was awarded the Order of Canada for “his contributions to Canadian film and television, as an actor, writer and director.”
Early life Gross was born in Calgary, Alberta, the son of Renie Gross (née Dunne), a writer and art historian of Irish descent, and Robert "Bob" Gross, a career soldier, colonel, and tank commander. His family moved to Arlington, Virginia, in his adolescence, where Gross attended Yorktown High School. He credits drama teacher Timothy Jecko as his inspiration for becoming an actor: "I'm not sure where I would have ended up otherwise."
Career Gross studied acting at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, but he left during the third year of his study. He went back later to complete the half-credit needed to receive his fine arts degree. He appeared in several stage productions, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Other productions in which he appeared include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme and As You Like It. His student work The Deer and the Antelope Play was co-produced by the university's department of drama and Theatre Network, and won both the Clifford E. Lee National Playwriting Award and the Alberta Culture Playwriting Award.
After the play Successful Strangers, Gross starred in his first movie, Turning to Stone.Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 226.Noel Taylor, "Show about women's prison shocking, moving". Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 1986.
He wrote and directed the curling movie Men with Brooms. Gross starred in the television series Slings & Arrows from 2003 to 2006 alongside his wife Martha Burns, which The A.V. Club called "one of TV's greatest shows".
In 2008, he attracted widespread attention in Canada when he wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in the Genie Award-winning film Passchendaele, inspired by stories he heard from his grandfather, a First World War soldier. The film had its premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2008, when it also had the honour of opening the festival. The film received a mixed reception upon release. Despite this, it won several awards; namely five awards at the 29th Genie Awards, including Best Picture, and the Golden Reel Award for Canada's top-grossing film of 2008."Pre-Genie Awards Announced" , Northern Stars. On March 2, 2009, Paul Gross was honoured for his film Passchendaele, winning that year's National Arts Centre Award for achievement over the past performance year.
From September 16, 2011, he appeared in a production of Noël Coward's Private Lives in Toronto co-starring Kim Cattrall (the production ended October 30, 2011); the production moved to Broadway where it opened November 6 and closed on December 31, 2011. That year, he also produced a feature film with Akshay Kumar called Breakaway starring Camilla Belle and Vinay Virmani.
Between 2011 and 2014, he appeared in nine episodes as Kevin Crocker on Republic of Doyle.
More recently, Gross completed work on the contemporary war drama Hyena Road, released on October 9, 2015.
Gross starred in the title role of King Lear during the 2023 season of the Stratford Festival."Paul Gross to play King Lear at Stratford Festival" by J. Kelly Nestruck at theglobeandmail.com
Due South His role as upright Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Benton Fraser in the Due South television series (1994–1999) brought him increased recognition. Like fellow actor David Marciano, he didn't want to do the show at first, and creator Paul Haggis didn't even know if he wanted Gross for the role, but following a meeting, he was cast as Constable Benton Fraser.Due South . Retrieved 30 November 2007.
When Due South was revived for the third season, Gross returned in the role of Benton Fraser. He also took on duties as executive producer and writer. He earned an estimated salary of CA$2–3 million per season, and at the time was the highest-paid performer in Canadian television history. He wrote several episodes of the last season of the series. His favourite episodes include "Gift of the Wheelman" and "All the Queen's Horses", and his episodes "Mountie on the Bounty" and "Call of the Wild" are of a similar style.
Personal life In September 1988, Gross married Canadian actress Martha Burns."Paul Gross and Martha Burns onstage together for first time in 30 years" by Richard Ouzounian at thestar.com The couple have two children: Hannah Gross, who is also an actress, and Jack Gross."Martha Burns returns to her roots" by Richard Ouzounian at thestar.com
Theatre
Year Title Role Theatre 1981 As You Like It Adam Northern Light Theatre, Edmonton A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander 1982–1983 Mrs. Warren's Profession Frank Gardner Theatre Calgary Unseen Hand Farther West Walsh Clarence Underhill National Arts Centre, Ottawa The Kite Motherwell Festival Lennoxville Take Me Where the Water Is Warm In the Jungle of Cities George Gaga 1984 Successful Strangers Dorante Centaur Theatre, Montréal Romeo and Juliet Romeo Toronto Free Theatre, Toronto 1988 Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme Young Kenneth Pyper Centrestage Co., Toronto 1989 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Brick Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg 2000 Hamlet Hamlet Stratford Festival of Canada 2011 Private Lives Elyot Royal Alexandra Theatre, Music Box Theatre 2012 Are You There, McPhee? Edmund Gowery McCarter Theatre, New Jersey"Swimming in a Sea of Stories" by Charles Isherwood at www.nytimes.com 2015 Domesticated Bill Pulver Berkeley St. Theatre, co-production between The Company Theatre and Canadian Stage"Paul Gross and Martha Burns shine in ‘Domesticated’ but script falls short" by Richard Ouzounian at www.thestar.com 2020 Keene James Wallack Red Bull Theatre N.Y."Red Bull Theater Presents Anchuli Felicia King's Keene October 19" by Dan Meyer at playbill.com 2023 King Lear Lear Stratford Festival 2024 The Seafarer Lockhart Alberta Theatre Projects 2025 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George Bluma Appel Theatre Good Night, and Good Luck William S. Paley Winter Garden Theatre2026Waiting for GodotVladimirStratford Festival
Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 1989 Cold Comfort Stephen Miller Divided Loyalties Walter Butler 1991 Married to It Jeremy Brimfield 1992 Buried on Sunday Augustus Knickel 1993 Aspen Extreme T.J. Burke 1994 Whale Music Daniel Howl Paint Cans Morton Ridgewell 2002 Men with Brooms Chris Cutter Also writer and director 2004 Wilby Wonderful Buddy French 2008 Passchendaele Michael Dunne Also writer, producer and director 2010 Gunless The Montana Kid Barney's Version Constable O'Malley of the North Hot Water Man Video 2011 Speedy Singhs Producer 2015 Hyena Road Pete Mitchell Also writer, producer and director Beeba Boys Jamie 2018 The Parting Glass Sean 2020 Falling Dr. Solvei 2021 The Middle Man The Sheriff 2025 The Fallers Carl
Television Year Title Role Notes 1986 Turning to Stone Billy Debut; television film Airwaves Writer 1988 Chasing Rainbows Jake Kincaid 14 episodes 1989 Street Legal Steven Hines 2 episodes 1990 The Ray Bradbury Theater Skip 1 episode Getting Married in Buffalo Jump Alex Bresnyachuk Television film 1993 Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer Writer Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City Brian Hawkins 6 episodes 1994 XXX's & OOO's Bucky Dean Television film 1994–1999 Due South Constable Benton Fraser 67 episodes 1996–1998 The Red Green Show Kevin Black 5 episodes 1997 Noel's House Party Himself 1 episode 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ned Land Television film 1999 Murder Most Likely Patrick Kelly 2003–2005 The Eleventh Hour Tony Joel 2 episodes 2003–2006 Slings & Arrows Geoffrey Tennant 18 episodes 2004 H2O: The Last Prime Minister Thomas David McLaughlin Also writer and executive producer Monday Report Episode #2.3 2005 Burnt Toast Scott Television film 2006 Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story John Diefenbaker 2 episodes Hockey: A People's History Narrator 10 episodes 2008 The Trojan Horse Thomas David McLaughlin Also writer and executive producer 2009–2010 Eastwick Darryl Van Horne Regular; 12 episodes 2010 Men with Brooms Chris Cutter 12 episodes 2011–2014 Republic of Doyle Kevin Crocker 9 episodes 2017 Alias Grace Thomas Kinnear 4 episodes 2018 Caught Roy Patterson Miniseries; 5 episodes 2019 Tales of the City Brian Hawkins Main cast; 9 episodes 2021 Y: The Last Man President Ted Campbell 2 episodes2026 Saint Pierre Benoit Lévesque2027 Heated Rivalry Commissioner Roger Crowell (filming as of late 2026)
Discography
Albums Year Album 1997 Two Houses (with David Keeley) 2001 Love and Carnage (with David Keeley) (first released as Give the Dog a Bone)
Singles Year Single CAN Country Album 1997 "Voodoo" Two Houses(with David Keeley) 1998 "32 Down on the Robert MacKenzie" 1999 "Papa's Front Porch" 61 2000 "Ride Forever"
Honours
Ribbon Description Notes Officer of the Order of Canada (O.C.) Awarded on May 2, 2013; Invested on February 13, 2015 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Canada 2012
Awards