Greg Spottiswood

Greg Spottiswood is a Canadian actor and television producer.Vit Wagner, "Actor experienced at looking innocent". Toronto Star, April 27, 1990. He is most noted for his leading performance in the 1989 television film Looking for Miracles,Michael Quigley, "Miracles is a winner". Montreal Gazette, October 21, 1989. for which he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special,"Greg Spottiswood wins Daytime Emmy". Toronto Star, June 26, 1990. and received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series at the 5th Gemini Awards,"Canadian TV shows vie for Geminis". Edmonton Journal, October 24, 1990. in 1990.

Acting career

Originally from Mississauga, Ontario, he studied acting at the National Theatre School of Canada.Robert Crew, "Nothing to fear but fear itself; 1918 flu epidemic at core of play; Greg Spottiswood returns to stage". Toronto Star, April 22, 2004.

He began his career as a stage actor, with his early roles including productions of Raymond Storey's Girls in the Gang,Audrey M. Ashley, "Musical's muddled script, confused direction mar Blyth Festival opening". Ottawa Citizen, June 22, 1987. Laurie Fyffe's Bush Fire,Audrey M. Ashley, "Fascinating tale but Bush Fire fails to ignite". Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 1987. Peter Anderson's Rattle in the Dash,Ray Conlogue, "Rattle In The Dash never reaches its designation; Play stuck in low gear". The Globe and Mail, April 27, 1988. George F. Walker's Nothing Sacred,Barbara Crook, "Canadian classic: from Russia with love". Ottawa Citizen, January 20, 1989. and Brad Fraser's Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love."Hit play to reopen at Passe Muraille". Toronto Star, April 9, 1990.

Spottiswood and Zachary Bennett were cast together in Looking for Miracles after producer Kevin Sullivan noticed their camaraderie when he saw them horsing around together in the waiting room at the auditions.Henry Mietkiewicz, "Horseplay leads kids to big-screen drama". Toronto Star, August 25, 1989. Although he was already 25 years old, he noted that his youthful appearance, which enabled him to credibly play a teenager, opened up acting opportunities for him where he wouldn't have to compete against more established actors in his age range like Michael Riley, Ted Dykstra or Maurice Godin.

Following Looking for Miracles he made guest appearances in film and television, but continued to be more prominent as a stage actor, including in Storey's The Saints and Apostles,Liz Nicholls, "Matters of love and death; Plays address same questions - in different ways". Edmonton Journal, November 16, 1991. Walker's Escape from HappinessStewart Brown, "Run, don't walk, to Escape From Happiness". Hamilton Spectator, March 10, 1992. and Theatre of the Film Noir,Geoff Chapman, "A manic laugh-in to kill for". Toronto Star, June 18, 1993. Dorothy L. Sayers's Busman's Honeymoon,Stewart Brown, "Cast shines in Busman's Honeymoon". Hamilton Spectator, May 27, 1994. and Wendy Lill's All Fall Down.Janice Kennedy, "Not child's play: daycare drama stalks hard truths". Ottawa Citizen, February 19, 1995.

He also began directing stage plays in this era, beginning with a 1991 production of Sean Dixon's End of the World Romance.Robert Reid, "Unusual fare : Strange and wonderful romantic comedy departs from Blyth's traditional offerings". Waterloo Region Record, July 12, 1991.

Writing and production

In the late 1990s, he began working more in film and television writing and production, making his directorial and screenwriting debut with the 2000 short film Learning to Swim. He followed up in 2005 with the short film Noise, which was a Genie Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 26th Genie Awards in 2006.Guy Dixon, "Forget the awards. Watch the party". The Globe and Mail, January 26, 2006.

He made a return to the stage, for the first time in six years, in a 2004 production of Kevin Kerr's Unity (1918).

He was a writer for the television series The Zack Files, Shattered, Endgame, King, Remedy and Frontier. In 2009, he won a WGC Screenwriting Award in the Radio category for an episode of the CBC Radio drama series Afghanada.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/corner-gas-22-minutes-pick-up-tv-screenwriting-honours-1.854585 "Corner Gas, 22 Minutes pick up TV screenwriting honours"]. CBC News, April 20, 2009.

Beginning in 2019 he was the creator and showrunner of the American drama series All Rise,Caroline Framke, [https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/all-rise-cbs-review-1203342286/ "TV Review: ‘All Rise’ Starring Simone Missick"]. Variety, September 22, 2019. but was fired from the show in 2021 following allegations of misconduct in his leadership of the show's writing room, involving racially and sexually offensive comments.Abid Rahman, [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/all-rise-creator-co-showrunner-greg-spottiswood-fired-after-misconduct-investigation-4155834/ "‘All Rise’ Creator, Co-Showrunner Greg Spottiswood Fired After Misconduct Investigation"]. The Hollywood Reporter, March 25, 2021.