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Christopher Gaze

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christopher Gaze
MBE CM OBC MSM
Born
Guildford, Surrey, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • host
  • director
Years active1973–present

Christopher Gaze is an English–Canadian actor, host, artist, theatre and opera director residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Early life and education

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Born in Guildford, Surrey, England, Gaze trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before coming to Canada in 1975,[1] spending three seasons at the Shaw Festival. He met his first wife, Merrilyn Gann, in 1978 at the Northern Lights Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, while performing lunchtime theatre.[2]

Career

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Gaze moved to Vancouver in 1983 and in 1990 founded Bard on the Beach which in 2014 achieved attendance exceeding 100,000. In addition to performing and directing for Bard, Gaze's voice is heard regularly in cartoon series, commercials and on the radio. He also hosts Vancouver Symphony's popular Tea and Trumpets series and their annual Christmas concerts. His many honours include induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Canada's Meritorious Service Medal (2004),[3] Honorary Doctorates from UBC & SFU,[4][5] the BC Community Achievement Award (2007),[6] the Gold Medallion from the Children's Theatre Foundation of America (2007)[7], a Jessie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Equus at The Playhouse, the Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Theatre (2011),[8] the Order of British Columbia (2012), The King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025),[9] the Order of Canada (2026),[10] and Member of the Order of the British Empire (2026).[11]

As an Olympic ambassador, Gaze was honored to run with the Olympic flame for the 2010 Games. A public speaker with the National Speakers Bureau, Gaze frequently shares his insights on Shakespeare and theatre with students, service organizations and businesses.

Gaze also narrated season 3 of Emmy Award-winning animation series Madeline (after Christopher Plummer stepped down).

Additionally, he has also performed voiceover roles for animation, most notably as Turaga Vakama in the first three Bionicle movies, as well as Diagnostic Drone in Beast Machines and Major Mint in Barbie in the Nutcracker.

His memoir, The Road to Bard, was published by Harbour Publishing in May 2026.[12]

Filmography

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Film

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YearTitleRoleNotes
1983Running BraveAussie Sportscaster
1990Deep SleepGrey-Haired Man
1993Cool RunningsBritish Official
1997The Fearless FourNarratorEnglish version
1998Mummies Alive! The Legend BeginsVoice, direct-to-video
2000Grandma Got Run Over by a ReindeerQuincy
2001Barbie in the NutcrackerMajor Mint
2002Barbie as RapunzelKing Wilhelm
2003Bionicle: Mask of LightTuraga Vakama[13]
2004Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru NuiTuraga Vakama
(Narrator)[13]
2005Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows
2006Barbie Fairytopia: MermaidiaFungus Maximus
Barbie in the 12 Dancing PrincessesKing RandolphVoice
2007Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the RainbowFungus Maximus
Barbie as the Island PrincessSagiVoice
The Ten CommandmentsAaron
2009Stranger with My FaceHenry
Sing Along with BarbieAdditional voicesVoice[14]
2014Hattie's HeistArchie
2025LOOT: A Story of Crime and RedemptionDouglas LatchfordVoice

Television

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Video games

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References

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  1. ↑ Szloboda, Sarah (7 June 2011). "Cue To Cue- A Conversation with Christopher Gaze". wwa.vancouverisawesome.com. Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Seagrave, Jayne (14 May 2017). All the World's a Stage: The Story of Bard on the Beach. Heritage House Publishing Co. ISBN 978-1-77203-177-5.
  3. ↑ Canada, The Governor General of. "| The Governor General of Canada". www.gg.ca. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "UBC". open.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "SFU 2006 Honorary Degree Recipients". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  6. ↑ "Christopher Gaze". BC Achievement Foundation. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Medallion HISTORY Recipients | CTFA - Childrens Theatre Foundation of America". www.childrenstheatrefoundation.org. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Movies, Covering the Arts with the Occasional Foray into; deadlines, health When she's not stressing out over; Cello, She Can Be Found Noodling on Her; Internet, Surfing the; Son, Hanging Out at the Toddler Gym with Her Young; profile, feeling Go to (29 September 2011). "Mayor's Arts Awards announced". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Canada, The Governor General of. "| The Governor General of Canada". www.gg.ca. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Canada, The Governor General of. "| The Governor General of Canada". www.gg.ca. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "The King's Birthday Honours 2026 Overseas and International List: Order of the British Empire". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  12. ↑ Ackerman, John. "Bard on the Beach artistic director Christopher Gaze looks back in a new memoir". CityNews. Rogers Digital Media. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Christopher Gaze (visual voice guide)". www.behindthevoiceactors.com. Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "Amazon.com: Sing Along With Barbie: Kelly Sheridan, Kira Tozer, Willow Johnson, Dorla Bell, Amelia Henderson, Tabitha St. Germain, David Kaye, Kathleen Barr, Mark Acheson, Jeremy From, Noel Johansen, Veena Sood, Susan Roman, Christopher Gaze, Mark Hildreth, Ian James Corlett, Morwenna Banks, Kandyse McClure, Luke Smith, Morgan Roff: Movies & TV". amazon.com. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
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