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Evan Buliung enjoying stage and screen success

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Evan Buliung’s feet have walked the stages of the Stratford Festival Theatre and the Shaw Festival many times, as well as film sets across Canada.

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The Brantford native became fascinated with theatre after his parents, Gerald and Kathy, took him to see a play.

“The whole idea of being a star didn’t interest me,” says Buliung, who is currently appearing in the Mirvish production of Dear Evan Hansen at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto.

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He says he just wanted to be a “working actor doing great projects.”

He took part in productions put on in high school, and credits BCI drama teachers David Jones and Mary-Lou Mackie for their guidance in his formative years.

Buliung also got involved with community theatre, including the Dufferin Players and Theatre Brantford.

“I tried to soak up as much as I could,” he says. “I was more interested in theatre than I was in going to school, to be honest.”

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Another step along the way was attending a summer theatre school ran by Lou Zamprogna at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton.

“It was really quite inspiring,” says Buliung, noting that Zamprogna suggested he should study acting, then do musical theatre school after that.

“It was very good advice,” he says.

“It’s paid off well for me, being able to do the classics, and musicals on top of that.”

Buliung attended George Brown College, which he describes as a classical theatre school where he learned Shakespeare and about the writers of Edwardian theatre.

He made his way into productions at Stratford, learning much from watching theatre stalwarts, such as Brent Carver and Tom McCamus.

Over the past 20 years, Buliung has assembled an impressive resume. He has appeared for 12 seasons at Stratford, including a production of King Lear with Christopher Plummer. He earned a Canadian Screen Actors nomination for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a dramatic program or limited series for The Adventures of Pericles, a Stratford production filmed for the big screen.

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Buliung won a Dora Award in 2018 for outstanding performance by a male in the musical theatre division for Fun Home, a Musical Stage Company production presented by David Mirvish. The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are presented each year by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, recognizing theatre, opera and dance productions in Toronto.

Buliung was also nominated for a Dora Award in 2006 for outstanding performance in a featured role in a play or musical for his role as Aragorn in the Mirvish production of Lord of the Rings.

That role, the actor says, was difficult.

“It was not a pleasant experience,” Buliung admits. “It was really wonderful people, but I don’t think I was prepared for what was being asked.”

He describes the stunts as a constant physical challenge, taxing him emotionally, spiritually and mentally, as well.

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“I learned a lot from it,” Buliung reflects. “I learned what I would put up with, and what I wouldn’t, with work. I don’t regret it.”

Buliung also has amassed an extensive list of television appearances.

Just before last Christmas, he shot a six-part mini-series, called Departure, which will be part of Global TV’s prime time schedule this year. Departure is described as a high-octane conspiracy series, which follows the mysterious disappearance of Flight 716 over the Atlantic Ocean.

Last year, he also shot the 10-episode first season of Holly Hobbie, which airs on the Family Channel in Canada.

“It’s a really lovely show,” he says. “Erin Karpluk (Being Erica) plays my wife. I learned so much from her, just from watching her. It’s nice to do film because it’s not where I come from. So I’m learning new things every day, which is terribly important. Otherwise you become stagnant and stoic.”

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In Dear Evan Hansen, Buliung plays the father of a young boy who is troubled and takes his own life.

Buliung muses at the irony of playing father roles, yet he’s not a father himself.

“It’s a wide-ranging piece,” he observes. “The writers themselves said it was dark and sardonic, but what they’ve come out with is something that seems to touch everyone who comes to see us.”

On Broadway, Dear Evan Hansen won six 2017 Tony Awards, including for best musical. It also won a 2018 Grammy for best musical theatre album.

The Toronto production of Dear Evan Hansen began March 5. The audience response has been “electric,” says Buliung.

“It’s been selling out every show,” he notes.

“People are jumping to their feet. I’ve been told people are crying throughout it. People are relating on a personal level.”

Buliung says he also enjoys teaching Shakespeare at George Brown College when time allows, and has done private coaching for actors preparing for auditions.

“Whatever I can do to fulfil myself creatively and financially, as well, I’m fortunate to be able to do that,” Buliung says. “I’ve been so blessed being able to work in this profession.”

Dear Evan Hansen continues until June 30.

For more information, visit www.mirvish.com.

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