Bernard Behrens (September 28, 1926 – September 19, 2012) was a British-Canadian actor.
He was noted as a two-time Gemini Award winner, winning Best Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries at the 6th Gemini Awards in 1992 for his performance in the dramatic anthology series Saying Goodbye (1990), and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series at the 9th Gemini Awards in 1995 for the television film Coming of Age (1993).
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Early life
Born and raised in London, England, he moved to Canada at the start of World War II. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he cofounded a theatre company there with Bill Walker, Helene Winston and Peggy Green in 1951.
Career
Stage
Although he often had supporting or guest roles in film and television, he was principally associated with stage roles for theatre companies such as the Dominion Drama Festival, the Canadian Players and the Stratford Festival, as well as sometimes returning to the United Kingdom to perform at the Bristol Old Vic.
Screen
Behrens appeared on-screen as early as 1961, in a CBC teleplay of Shakespeare's Macbeth in the role of Lennox, along with Sean Connery as Macbeth and Zoe Caldwell as Lady Macbeth. The five parts were originally broadcast separately, and later combined, edited, and re-released as a single ninety-minute presentation in 1962.
With his stage experience, he followed up Macbeth with other dramatic plays in television series such as CBC's anthology Playdate in the 1962 episode "Mr. Oblomov," a 1946 play by John Coulter, derived from Ivan Goncharov's 1859 novel, Oblomov. That same year, Behrens appeared on CBC's anthology Festival playing Orazio in "The Queen and the Rebels" adapted from Ugo Betti's 1949 play. He would appear several more times on Playdate through the 1960s, and in other such series like the CBC Show of the Week in "Rasputin was a Nice Old Man" (1968).
Behrens also appeared in episodic series from the 1960s and 1970s such as McQueen (1969), Great Performances (1975), Little House on the Prairie and The Bionic Woman, both in 1977, Starsky & Hutch and Columbo both in 1978. Beginning in the mid-70s, He also appeared in television miniseries and films, such as Captains and the Kings (1976), A Question of Guilt (1978), and Friendly Fire (1979).
In the 1980s and 1990s, Behrens played roles in television films like A Little Piece of Heaven (1991), and Incident in a Small Town (1994). Behrens played two doctor roles on the espionage/crime fighting series Counterstrike. In the 1990 episode "Mindbender" he played a psychiatrist Dr. Burns, who examines Stephen Shellen's character Luke Brenner after Luke received brainwashing from the KGB. In the 1991 episode "Village of the Damned" Behrens plays biologist Dr. Joseph Severn, who goes murderously mad after being sprayed by pesticide bonded with an hallucinogen. Between 1993 and 1996 he had three different roles on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.
In addition to his two 1990s Gemini awards, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series at the 1st Gemini Awards in 1986 for the television film Turning to Stone (1985), and Best Guest Actor in a Drama at the 20th Gemini Awards for an appearance on This Is Wonderland (2005).
Behrens appeared in a score of theatrical films, beginning in the 1970s in James Goldstone's romantic adventure Swashbuckler (1976), and in Claude Lelouch's French Western film Another Man, Another Chance (1977).
Personal life
Behrens was married to Canadian actress Deborah Cass. He died in 2012, just 9 days prior to his 86th birthday.