Meet Vancouver actor Michael Charrois.
Meet Michael Charrois
Michael arrived in Vancouver at the turn of the century from Edmonton where he studied acting and playwrighting at the University of Alberta and at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Since his arrival, Michael has been a fixture on Vancouver stages in numerous productions and may be remembered for playing Wiggens, the cowboy who says “They went that’a way”, in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.
20 Questions with Michael Charrois
1. Your first job.
11 year old Paperboy delivering the Edmonton Journal house to house. First paying gig: multiple characters in Snow White at Stage Polaris, an Edmonton children’s theatre, where I spent 5 seasons in the Resident Acting Company.
2. The job you always wanted as a child.
3. Your pet peeve.
People who don’t pick up after their dogs.
4. Your hero.
5. Your biggest indulgence.
A frosty purple indica.
6. One thing no one knows about you (and you’re willing to share).
As I get older hair is sprouting from the oddest places. I have these hairs growing on the outside tip of my nose that gets ridiculously fuzzy if I don’t pull them out one by one with tweezers. Arrgh- I can see them there now out of the corner of my eye… excuse me for a moment.
7. Three things you would want with you on a deserted island.
A fresh water supply, a source of electricity other than bicycle powered and, of course, The Professor.
8. The one word your best friend would use to describe you.
Best husband ever. I vacuum, clean bathrooms and do dishes and laundry.
9. If you were not an actor what would you be doing right now?
Getting a bi-weekly pay cheque and saving for retirement.
10. Hero or villain?
Villains are the most fun to play because they actively pursue their objectives. And they get the best costumes.
11. Your life’s motto/mantra.
The one who has the most fun wins.
12. Your favourite playwright or author.
Oscar Wilde.
13. The last book you read.
For pleasure: Building the Orange Wave by Brad Lavigne. For work: How to Eat Like a Child and Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown by Delia Ephron.
14. If you were a breakfast cereal what breakfast cereal would you be?
Coo coo for Coco Puffs.
15. What will it say on your grave marker?
I don’t think I’m going to have a grave. I’m giving my body to science and I intend to give one final performance as a cadaver for medical students to dissect. I don’t know what they’ll do with the pieces but I hope i”ll still have some good bits that can be put to use.
16. Who would you most like to have dinner with?
My Mom died a decade ago. I would love to have one more Sunday dinner with her.
17. Your idea of happiness.
It’s not really an idea, is it? It’s more of a feeling, an elation that brings a laugh to my lips and a tear to my eyes.
18. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your twenty year old self?
Sing and dance more, as much as you dislike the artifice of musicals, there’s work to be had there.
19. The one thing in your life that makes you most proud.
Standing by my wife as she triumphed over cancer. I kept her office job in the family.
20. To be or not to be?
Be because sooner or later we will all Not Be.