Where are they now? Update on Linehan alumni

(Republished with kind permission from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television)

BrianLinehan_eNewsJune5-3The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation was established from the proceeds of the estate of the late Brian Linehan, one of Canada’s great journalists and on-air interviewers.

Brian left his entire estate for the purpose of creating a star system in Canada including training, providing work opportunities and promoting young Canadians of exceptional talent.

To date, its range of activities have included support for scholarships at Humber College, support of the Soulpepper Academy, the Company Theatre, the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG), the Canadian Film Centre, CanStage, the Company Theatre, Sheridan College, the National Screen Institute, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

Working artists in whose careers the Linehan Foundation has invested include:

  • Paul Alexander Nolan, who first played Broadway as Jesus Christ Superstar, returned to New York to take over the lead in the long-running Tony award-winning musical Once and recently returned to the Great White Way as one of the stars of Des MacAnuff’s musical version of Dr. Zhivago.
  • Evelyn Brochu, perhaps best known from her role as Delphine in Orphan Black, who is now starring in CBC’s new hit drama series X Company.
  • Guillaume Coté, who is both a Principal Dancer and Choreographic Associate for the National Ballet of Canada, and who is currently choreographing a full-length ballet based on the classic Antoine de Saint-Exupéry fable Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince for the National Ballet’s 2015-2016 season.
  • Emmanuel Kabongo, who is currently working with Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black) Chloe Sevigny (American Horror Story) and Meg Tilly (Bomb Girls) on a new feature film by director Danny Perez, Antibirth.
  • Sara Farb, now in her third season at Stratford, who is set to appear in The Last Wife and is currently winning rave reviews as Constance in She Stoops To Conquer and Anne in The Diary Of Anne Frank.
  • Ian Lake, who was recently seen on the Global TV drama series Remedy, and who continues to star in the Mirvish production of Once, playing eight shows a week at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto from February 16 through June 28.
  • And Republic Of Doyle creator and star Allan Hawco, most recently celebrated for his portrayal of Jewish merchant Solomon Lindo in the acclaimed CBC mini-series The Book of Negroes, who will soon be seen on the big screen with Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross and Clark Johnson in Hyena Road and is currently developing two new dramatic series for Discovery & CBC Television respectively.