Hrant Alianak (born September 15, 1950[1]), also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is a Sudanese-Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright.[2] He gained notoriety as Dr. Jon Mendez in Pontypool.
Early life
editAlianak was born on September 15, 1950, in Khartoum, Sudan to an Armenian family.[3] At age fifteen, he enrolled in a university in Khartoum, where he studied economics. He moved to Canada when he was 17, and moved to Montreal, Quebec, where he studied business administration. Alianak said he started to write in 1972, and spent most of the 1970s writing plays "nonstop" before entering acting in the 1980s.[4]
Career
editIn 1988, he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for the 1987 film Family Viewing.[5] He played Pete in the 1995 Adam Sandler movie Billy Madison. He portrayed Dr. Mendez in the 2009 Canadian horror film Pontypool.[6][7] He also played Dr. Marek in "Stay Out of the Basement", a 1996 episode of the TV series Goosebumps.
Alianak's plays include Lucky Strike,[8] The Walls of Africa,[2] and The Blues.[9] Alianak made his debut as a writer in 1972 at Theatre Passe Muraille, with Tantrums.
The Walls of Africa was the 2001 winner of three Dora Awards,[10] including Best New Play, and was published by Scirocco Drama in 2002. Scirocco has also published The Blues (2003).
In 2010, Alianak portrayed Principal Hicks in the movie My Babysitter's a Vampire. In 2011, he reprised the role in the TV series based on the movie. His other television credits include being a member of the repertory cast of the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2002).[2]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone | Chemist | |
| 1984 | Best Revenge | Elliah | |
| 1984 | One Night Only | Wenko | |
| 1985 | Head Office | President Sanchez | |
| 1987 | Family Viewing | Administrator | |
| 1989 | Destiny to Order | Marlay | |
| 1993 | Life with Mikey | Cereal Commercial Director | |
| 1995 | Billy Madison | Pete | |
| 1998 | The Secret Life of Algernon | Mahir Sulleyman | |
| 1998 | Dirty Work | Kirkpatrick | |
| 2001 | Full Disclosure | Hosni | |
| 2008 | The Echo | Max | |
| 2008 | Pontypool | Dr. Mendez | |
| 2012 | Inescapable | Ali Homs | |
| 2014 | A Trip to the Island | Harry | |
| 2017 | Becoming Burlesque | Waleed Aziz | |
| 2019 | Guest of Honour | Garo | |
| 2020 | Possessor | Lead Technician |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper | Iranian Minister | Television film |
| 1983 | The Sins of Dorian Gray | Nightclub Manager | |
| 1985 | The Undergrads | Zook | |
| 1985 | Tucker and the Horse Thief | Jonah | |
| 1986 | Seeing Things | Omar Baheshti | Episode: "The Eyes of Ra" |
| 1986 | Courage | Eddie Cuba | Television film |
| 1986 | Sword of Gideon | Wael Zwaiter | |
| 1986, 1987 | Adderly | Dictator / Grant | 2 episodes |
| 1987, 1988 | Night Heat | Varga / Ramos' Associate | |
| 1988 | Mount Royal | Gomes | Episode: "Royal Wedding" |
| 1988 | Inside Stories | Episode "Looking for Nothing" | |
| 1988 | Friday the 13th: The Series | Sandy | Episode: "Master of Disguise" |
| 1988 | Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs | Omar | Television film |
| 1988 | The Twilight Zone | Dr. Greenburg | Episode: "The Trance" |
| 1989 | T. and T. | Carna | Episode: "Hunted" |
| 1991–1992 | Counterstrike | Ladner / Lopez / Jomal | 3 episodes |
| 1992 | Street Legal | Det. Hasson | Episode: "The Phoenix" |
| 1993 | Rapture | Chief Galati | Television film |
| 1993 | Matrix | Joseph Haddad | Episode: "Collateral Damage" |
| 1993 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Sidekick #2 | Episode: "Illusion" |
| 1993 | The Hidden Room | Murdock | Episode: "Stark in Love" |
| 1994 | TekWar: TekJustice | Judge Tsuruda | Television film |
| 1994 | RoboCop | Stitch Molotov | 4 episodes |
| 1996 | Goosebumps | Dr. Marek | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Psi Factor | Hran Jamal | Episode: "The Curse/Angel on a Plane" |
| 1997 | Earth: Final Conflict | Dr. Kaplan | Episode: "Avatar" |
| 1997 | Ghostwriter | Stanley Ferguson | Episode: "Broken Window" |
| 1998 | More Tears | Shaffik | 1 episode |
| 1998 | Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Dr. Sid Beria | Television film |
| 1999 | Total Recall 2070 | Dr. Karl Gish | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | La Femme Nikita | Salla Vacek | |
| 1999 | Ultimate Deception | Dr. Amos | Television film |
| 1999 | Love Songs | Doctor | |
| 1999 | Foolish Heart | Judge | Episode: "The Trial" |
| 2000 | Relic Hunter | Moustaffa | Episode: "Afterlife and Death" |
| 2000 | The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery | Gerstner | Television film |
| 2000 | The Deadly Look of Love | Dr. Dunning | |
| 2000 | The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra - Daughter of the Nile | Pharaoh | |
| 2000 | Code Name: Eternity | Ambassador Dumant | Episode: "Not a Bite to Eat" |
| 2001 | WW 3 | Abdus Hamdoon | Television film |
| 2001–2002 | Nero Wolfe | Various roles | 9 episodes |
| 2002 | Monk | Judge Hackman | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss | Prince Hassan | Television film |
| 2004 | This Is Wonderland | Mr. Barsumian | Episode #1.13 |
| 2004 | The Grid | Yemeni Colonel | 5 episodes |
| 2004 | H2O | Dr. Rafsamjhanni | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | The Eleventh Hour | Kamal's father / Ahmad | |
| 2005–2007 | Jeff Ltd. | Uncle Kazem | 12 episodes |
| 2005–2013 | Mayday | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Covert One: The Hades Factor | Al-Fulani | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | At the Hotel | Zlawko | 5 episodes |
| 2006 | Angela's Eyes | Hrant Tosbath | Episode: "Open Your Eyes" |
| 2006 | The Wives He Forgot | Dr. Bajaria | Television film |
| 2007–2010 | Little Mosque on the Prairie | Mr. Rashid | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | XIII: The Conspiracy | Dr. Kimmler | 2 episodes |
| 2008, 2009 | The Border | General Zaki / Sharif Assad | |
| 2009 | ZOS: Zone of Separation | Colonel Ali | Episode: "Hour One: Welcome" |
| 2009–2010 | Cra$h & Burn | Yaro Massout | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | My Babysitter's a Vampire | Principal Hicks | Television film |
| 2010 | Lost Girl | Kouyoumijian | Episode: "Food for Thought" |
| 2011 | InSecurity | Arkady Brautman | Episode: "Spy Bites Dog" |
| 2011–2012 | My Babysitter's a Vampire | Principal Hicks | 26 episodes |
| 2012 | King | Salim Atassi | Episode: "Jamilla Karan" |
| 2012 | XIII: The Series | Dr. Kleinberg | Episode: "Breakout" |
| 2013 | Cracked | Dr. Karl Karzik | Episode: "No Traveller Returns" |
| 2014 | Darknet | Plastic Surgeon | Episode: "Darknet 4" |
| 2015 | Riftworld Chronicles | Jeweller | 8 episodes |
| 2016 | Private Eyes | Omar Torkia | Episode: "Disappearing Act" |
| 2016 | Designated Survivor | Saudi Ambassador | Episode: "The Traitor" |
| 2016–2017 | Kim's Convenience | Baran / Garlic Customer | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Murdoch Mysteries | Mr. Morrissey | Episode: "Mary Wept" |
| 2018 | The Detail | Judge Safaryan | Episode: "The Long Walk" |
| 2019 | Frankie Drake Mysteries | Butler | Episode: "A Sunshine State of Mind" |
| 2019 | V Wars | Doctor | Episode: "The Junkie Run of the Predator Gene" |
| 2021 | Sex/Life | Mr. Mann | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | The Lost Symbol | Ario Fazeli | Episode: "L'Enfant Orientation" |
References
edit- ^ "Confronting memories of genocide" by Richard Ouzounian at www.thestar.com
- ^ a b c "Playing against type" by Michael Posner at www.theglobeandmail.com
- ^ "Playing against type". The Globe and Mail. 2001-09-29. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ Babian, Varak (2018-03-09). "Hrant Alianak: A Tentative Armenian? | Torontohye". Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "Stars hard to find at pre-Genie lunch" by Rita Zekas, The Toronto Star (22 March, 1988) [ONT Edition] Retrieved from ProQuest 435731233
- ^ "Bruce McDonald's new film asks what happens when English eats you alive" by Jennie Punter at www.theglobeandmail.com
- ^ "Pontypool: Frightfully Canadian" by Peter Howell at www.thestar.com
- ^ Alianak, Hrant (1989). "Lucky Strike". National Library of Australia. Playwrights Canada. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "Passe Muraille unveils upcoming season" at www.theglobeandmail.com
- ^ "Repressed emotion extends to audience" by Kate Taylor at www.theglobeandmail.com