| R. H. Thomson | |
| Birth Name: | Robert Holmes Thomson |
| Birth Date: | 1947 9, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada |
| Education: | University of Toronto National Theatre School of Canada |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1976–present |
| Spouse: | Laurie Matheson |
| Children: | 2 |
Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor.[1] With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts, and to war veterans.
Thomson was born on September 24, 1947, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He studied at the University of Toronto and the National Theatre School.[2]
His own play The Lost Boys was staged at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in March 2000 and at Canadian Stage in February 2002. He has also hosted programming for CBC Radio and CBC Television. Thomson has portrayed a number of historical figures including Samuel Lount, Edsel Ford, Frederick Banting, Duncan Campbell Scott, Mitchell Sharp, and James Cross.
In 2010, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.[3] In May 2015 Thomson received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Eric Peterson performed in his honour at the gala celebrating the laureates at the National Arts Centre.[4]
Thomson is married with two sons.[5]
Thomson has had a long-standing interest in Canada's military and war veterans. In 1995 he narrated a three-part documentary series about Canada's involvement in international conflicts. On the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, in which nearly 3,600 Canadians died, he co-created, with lighting designer Martin Conboy, a commemoration in which the name of each fallen soldier was projected onto the National War Memorial. The following year in 2009, he and Conboy undertook an ambitious project to project the names of the more than 68,000 Canadians who died in World War I onto famous monuments across the country. Projections occurred during the night. In 2010, the Government of Canada honoured Thomson for this effort with a Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.[6]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Jigsaw (L'Homme en colère) | Borke | ||
| 1981 | Ticket to Heaven | Linc Strunc | ||
| Surfacing | David | |||
| Happy Memories | Rick | |||
| 1982 | If You Could See What I Hear | Will Sly | ||
| 1983 | Snow | Jim | Short | |
| 1985 | Vision Quest | Kevin | ||
| Martin's Day | Paul Mennen | |||
| Samuel Lount | Samuel Lount | |||
| 1987 | Wednesday's Children: David | Jim | Short | |
| 1989 | data-sort-value="First Season, The" | The First Season | Eric Anderson | |
| 1990 | Defy Gravity | Bill Fiddich | ||
| 1991 | data-sort-value="Quarrel, The" | The Quarrel | Chaim Kovler | |
| 1993 | Hal Kingswood | |||
| 1994 | Max | Andy Blake | ||
| 1995 | Duncan Campbell Scott: The Poet and the Indians | Duncan Campbell Scott | ||
| 1997 | Twilight of the Ice Nymphs | Dr. Isaac Solti | ||
| Silent Cradle | David Greg | |||
| 1998 | Bone Daddy | Stone | ||
| 2000 | Knobloch | |||
| 2006 | Population 436 | Sheriff Jim Calcutt | Video | |
| Who Loves the Sun | Arthur Bloom | |||
| 2008 | Well Kept Secrets - Athanassia | Manuel | ||
| 2009 | Chloe | Frank | ||
| 2010 | New Year | Terry Cook | ||
| Whirligig | Andre | |||
| 2011 | Jesus Henry Christ | Billy Herman | ||
| 2018 | Clara | Dr. Rickman | ||
| 2022 | Stellar | Professor |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Of the Fields, Lately | Ben Mercer | TV movie | |
| 1978 | Tyler | Tyler Dorsett | ||
| 1979 | An American Christmas Carol | Thatcher | ||
| 1980 | data-sort-value="Population of One, A" | A Population of One | John Trueman | |
| 1981 | Lee Schatz | |||
| 1983 | data-sort-value="Terry Fox Story, The" | The Terry Fox Story | Dr. Simon | |
| Cornet at Night | The Stranger | |||
| 1985 | Charlie Grant's War | Charlie Grant | ||
| data-sort-value="Ray Bradbury Theater, The" | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Morgan | Episode: "The Crowd" | |
| 1986 | data-sort-value="Marriage Bed, The" | The Marriage Bed | Dr. Jeff Reilly | TV movie |
| Philip Marlowe, Private Eye | Frank Barsley | Episode: "Red Wind" | ||
| 1987 | Stranger in My Bed | Dr. Davidson | TV movie | |
| And Then You Die | Det. Sgt. James McGrath | |||
| Heaven on Earth | Wilf Hawthorne | |||
| Edsel Ford | ||||
| Moonlighting | Dr. Steven Hill | Episodes: "Tale in Two Cities" & "Father Knows Last" | ||
| 1988 | Glory Enough for All | Dr. Frederick Banting | TV movie | |
| data-sort-value="Campbells, The" | The Campbells | Andrew Jordan | Episode: "Last Time Around" | |
| data-sort-value="Twilight Zone, The" | The Twilight Zone | Dr. Burrell | Episode: "Our Selena Is Dying" | |
| 1989 | Champagne Charlie | Robert Morgan | TV movie | |
| Gerry Allbright | ||||
| 1990–1996 | Road to Avonlea | Jasper Dale | Recurring role | |
| 1991 | Mark Twain and Me | Albert Paine | TV movie | |
| 1992–1993 | By Way of the Stars | Priest | Miniseries | |
| 1993 | Bonds of Love | Jake Hobart | TV movie | |
| 1994 | data-sort-value="Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story, The" | Bill Castellano | ||
| My Breast | Luke | |||
| Bizet's Dream | Delaborde/Escamillo | |||
| 1995 | Net Worth | Milton Mound | ||
| 1996 | Murder at My Door | Ed McNair | ||
| 1999 | Cry Rape | Ray Marcassi | ||
| P.T. Barnum | James Anthony Bailey | |||
| 2000 | data-sort-value="Dinosaur Hunter, The" | The Dinosaur Hunter | Rev. Smythe | |
| data-sort-value="Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, The" | The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne |