Roy Dupuis was born on April 21st 1963 in Amos in the French-speaking Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada and spent the early part of his childhood in Kapuskasing, Ontario where he first learned English. His parents were divorced when he was 14, and he and his mother, elder sister and younger brother moved to the outskirts of Montreal.
Acting was not Roy's first career choice. He was studying phys ...
show all Roy Dupuis was born on April 21st 1963 in Amos in the French-speaking Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada and spent the early part of his childhood in Kapuskasing, Ontario where he first learned English. His parents were divorced when he was 14, and he and his mother, elder sister and younger brother moved to the outskirts of Montreal.
Acting was not Roy's first career choice. He was studying physics, but after seeing Ariane Mnouchkine's film Molière, he was bitten by the acting bug. His entry into drama school was unconventional to say the least. A friend had secured himself an audition at the National Theatre School of Canada but then decided he no longer wanted to do the audition, so Roy took his place. Although he had bent the rules, the director was sufficiently impressed by his potential to offer him a place. He graduated in 1986, and after a successful start in the theatre he began to be offered substantial roles in films and TV in 1988.
The relative anonymity he enjoyed during the early years was, however, shattered when "Filles de Caleb, Les" (1990)" (Emilie) hit the TV screens of 80% of the population of Quebec, turning him overnight into a celebrity and gaining him several awards for his outstanding performance as Emilie's husband, Ovila Pronovost. This was followed by a more prosaic role as a journalist in the TV series Scoop which ran for 4 seasons. Meanwhile, in 1991 Roy starred as the gay hustler, Yves, in Jean Beaudin's internationally acclaimed "Being at Home with Claude (1992)", which was Canada's official selection at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. Other leading roles in French followed, and increasingly English language roles too, including "Screamers (1995)" which marked his entry into mainstream US cinema.
He spent 5 years from 1996 in Toronto making the cult TV series _"Nikita" (1997)_ which was shown in more than 50 countries around the world. When the final season finished production at the end of 2000, Roy returned to Montreal for a few months' well-earned rest, before returning to work on more local projects. The TV mini-series "Dernier chapitre, Le" (2002) (mini)", about biker gang warfare, broke new ground by shooting French and English versions simultaneously. In complete contrast he also teamed up again with Chili's Blues director Charles Binamé to star as love-interest Alexis Labranche in a remake of a period Quebec classic, "Séraphin: un homme et son péché (2002)"(Seraphin, Heart of Stone), which became the province's biggest grossing film to date.
He then entered the busiest period in his film career to date, combining leading roles with the occasional supporting role. First up was Denys Arcand's "Invasions Barbares,Les (2003)" (The Barbarian Invasions), which has enjoyed an international success in excess even of "Jésus de Montréal (1989)", with Roy again playing a very minor part as a policeman. 2004/5 saw the release of a further six films, of which "Mémoires affectives (2004)" has brought him his first major acting awards for the big screen.
He is about to reincarnate for the 3rd time the part of Quebec hockey hero Maurice "Rocket" Richard, directed by Charles Binamé. This punishing schedule cannot be leaving him much time to develop the documentary he has often talked about making.
Roy lives in the countryside outside of Montreal with actress Céline Bonnier, his partner since 1994. They are unmarried and have no children. He appears to have given up the high-risk hobby of his youth (sky-diving) for the more sedate pastimes of golf and sailing. For many years he has been an active supporter of Foundation Mira (who provide guide dogs for blind children) and he has recently co-founded the Rivers Foundation to protect the rivers of Canada from exploitation by hydro-electric developments.
hide 
