Saul Rubinek was born in a refugee camp in Germany after WWII where his father ran a Yiddish Repertory Theatre company. Saul started his professional career as a child actor in theatre and radio in Canada. He was a member of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival company in Stratford, Ontario (1969-70) and later was a co-founder, actor and director of Theatre Le Hibou, Theatre Passe-Muraille, and To ...
show all Saul Rubinek was born in a refugee camp in Germany after WWII where his father ran a Yiddish Repertory Theatre company. Saul started his professional career as a child actor in theatre and radio in Canada. He was a member of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival company in Stratford, Ontario (1969-70) and later was a co-founder, actor and director of Theatre Le Hibou, Theatre Passe-Muraille, and Toronto Free Theatre (1968-1974). Rubinek started working in the U.S. as an actor at the Public Theatre in New York (1979), and he divided his time between theatres in both countries for several years. He got his early training in film and television as an actor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and he continues to work as a producer, writer, and actor for Canadian independent features. He has also starred in these Canadian films: Ralph L. Thomas' "The Ticket to Heaven (1981)" (Genie award: best supporting actor); Claude Jutra's "By Design (1982)" (Genie nomination: best actor); Robin Spry's Obsessed (1987) (supporting actor nomination); Allan A. Goldstein's "Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988)" (Genie nomination: best actor); Mort Ransen's "The Falling Over Backwards (1990)", and Eli Cohen's award-winning dramatic film "Quarrel (1991)", which was also co-produced by American Playhouse for PBS. Rubinek's work on U.S television spans three decades and includes recurring roles on "The "Equalizer, The" (1985)", guest-starring roles on "Hill Street Blues" (1981)", "L.A. Law" (1986)" (the final episode), "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)" (episode "The Most Toys"), and "Outer Limits, The" (1995)". He has been a semi-regular on "Frasier" (1993)". He has been nominated for awards for his work in stage, radio, television and film, winning DramaLogue awards for his "Touchstone" in Des McAnuff's La Jolla production of "As You Like It" (1984) and for directing Rick Cleveland's "Tom and Jerry" at Los Angeles' Met Theatre in 1994. In the U.S., he played supporting roles in Rod Lurie's "Contender (2000)" with Joan Allen and in Brett Ratner's "The Family Man (2000)" opposite Nicolas Cage. He also appeared as "Henry Kissinger" in Andrew Fleming 's comedy "Dick (1999)". He starred in Jonathan Kaufer's independent film "Bad Manners (1997)" with Bonnie Bedelia and David Strathairn. He was also featured in Oliver Stone 's "Nixon (1995)", and on Showtime's award-winning "Hiroshima (1995) (TV)" for Roger Spottiswoode. Saul has co-starred in Tony Scott 's dramatic thriller "True Romance (1993)" with Christian Slater; in MGM's "Getting Even with Dad (1994)" with Macaulay Culkin and Ted Danson; in Disney's comedy-thriller "I Love Trouble (1994)" with Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts and also in HBO's award-winning drama "And the Band Played On (1993) (TV)". He played the biographer W.W. Beauchamp in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award winning "Unforgiven (1992)". In 1997, Rubinek directed his first feature for Lions Gate Films -- based on the play he previously directed -- "Jerry and Tom (1998)". He also was producer on the film in partnership with his wife Elinor Reid, and Ralph Zimmerman, Rubinek's long-time manager. The film was an official entry in competition at Sundance in 1998. He also directed "Club Land (2001) (TV)" for Showtime/Paramount. Rubinek, Reid and Zimmerman's company, Creative Differences, continues to develop and produce film and television. Penguin Books published (1987) Rubinek's non-fiction book "So Many Miracles", an account of his parents' survival growing up in Poland during World War II. He wrote and produced an award-winning documentary (1988) of the same title for CBC and PBS which chronicles his parents' reunion with the people who saved their lives during the Holocaust.
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