Trailer Park Boys star was vibrant actor
John Dunsworth is being remembered as a vibrant actor whose drunken demeanour on the Trailer Park Boys belied his great intelligence and alcohol-free lifestyle.
Word of the Bridgewater, N.S., native’s death came Monday night in a statement on his Twitter feed, which said he had a “short and unexpected illness.” He was 71.
Lucy DeCoutere, who co-starred with Dunsworth on Trailer Park Boys, says for a guy who didn’t “drink a drop, he was the most affable drunk in the country.”
DeCoutere adds that Dunsworth was the most positive and hardestworking guy around and had a great philosophical depth.
Many stars have posted tributes about Dunsworth on social media, including members of the cast as well as Canadian rockers Rush and actor Tom Arnold, with the latter calling him “One of the finest men and most brilliant actors I’ve ever had the honour to work with.”
Dunsworth’s character Jim Lahey was an alcoholic trailer park supervisor and former cop who often had a drink in his hand and aviator sunglasses on. Mr. Lahey’s relationship with shirtless Randy (played by Patrick Roach) was groundbreaking, she added — “They were the first gay couple on Canadian TV.”
Mr. Lahey often stumbled and fell to the ground and Dunsworth had a “super kinetic” energy on set, said DeCoutere.
“Not only was he spectacular in the physical stuff, he looked for it,” she said.
“I can’t count the number of times I saw John Dunsworth in his underwear in a housecoat flat on his back in the dirt of a trailer park. He also was a guy of great philosophical depth . . . I just remember how I came away from his chats always feeling nurtured and taken care of.” Dunsworth was also known for playing reporter Dave Teagues on the supernatural drama series HavenHis honours included a Gemini and an ACTRA award. The Canadian Press
Witherspoon, Lawrence on assaults
Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lawrence used their speeches Monday at a Hollywood event honouring women to detail experiences of assault and harassment at the hands of directors and producers and pledged to do more to stop such situations from happening.
Witherspoon told the audience at the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards that the recent revelations of sexual misconduct allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein has prompted her own experiences to come back “very vividly.”
Witherspoon said she had “true dis- gust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16 years old and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment.”
Witherspoon didn’t name the director.
Lawrence detailed what she called a “degrading and humiliating” experience of being asked early on in her career to lose15 pounds in two weeks for a role. She was then forced to pose nude alongside thinner women for photos that she says a female producer told her would serve as inspiration for her diet, she said.
“I was trapped and I can see that now,” Lawrence added. “I didn’t want to be a whistle-blower. I didn’t want these embarrassing stories talked about in a magazine. I just wanted a career.”
Actress Michelle Yeoh, meanwhile, said Tuesday that she was aware of Weinstein’s reputation and would have unleashed “years of martial arts training” on the fallen Hollywood mogul had he ever tried to sexually harass her.
Weinstein produced or distributed many of Yeoh’s films and TV shows, and in a statement to The Associated Press the actress said she “knew he was a bully and not always honourable” but, the Malaysian star added, “Any man who treats women with such disrespect and contempt should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Star wire services
Canadian Stage director leaving
Canadian Stage announced on Tuesday that artistic and general director Matthew Jocelyn will be stepping down after nine seasons in order, in his own words, “to make room for what might happen next.”
Jocelyn will stay on the job until the middle of 2018 and program the company’s 2018-2019 season, to be announced in the spring. Alexandra Baillie, co-chairperson of the Canadian Stage board of directors, praised him in Tuesday’s announcement, saying Jocelyn had “awed, inspired and, at times, confronted us, while paving the way for cutting-edge live performance in Canada.”
From Nov. 26 to Dec. 17, Jocelyn — born in Toronto — will direct the Canadian premiere of Simon Stephens’s Heisenberg, as part of Canadian Stage’s 30th anniversary lineup. Star staff
Briefly
The young Han Solo Star Wars spinoff film finally has a title: Solo: A Star Wars Story. Director Ron Howard announced the title Tuesday in a Twitter video celebrating production wrap on the anthology film starring Alden Ehrenreich in the role originated by Harrison Ford. The film also stars Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newtown. The film has had some well-known production turmoil. Deep into the shoot, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller left the project and were replaced by Howard. Solo: A Star Wars Story is set for a May 25, 2018, release. The Associated Press
American author George Saunders is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with his novel of the afterlife, Lincoln in the Bardo. Six novels are contending for the £50,000 ($66,000) prize. The Associated Press