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Gaston Lepage, actor (born 24 February 1949 in St-Félicien, Québec). Lepage gained his first acting experience as a college student in the theatre program at Cégep Édouard Montpetit in the Montréal suburb of Longueuil, Québec, from 1970 to 1971. He went on to study at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique in Montréal, graduating in 1974. After a 20-year career in theatre, he left the stage in 1993 to concentrate on acting for film and television and hosting television shows.
Lepage’s first acting job after graduating from the conservatory was in a 1974 production of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi, directed by Jean-Pierre Ronfard at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM). Interestingly, it was on this same stage that Lepage performed his last theatrical role, in 1993, as Shylock in a French-language production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, directed by Daniel Roussel. For this performance, in which he portrayed Shakespeare’s famous moneylender in a truly malevolent light, TNM’s subscribers chose Lepage to receive their Gascon Roux award for best actor.
Between these first and last theatrical roles, Lepage appeared in some 20 stage productions, ranging from drama to burlesque, with the Nouvelle Compagnie Théâtrale (NCT) and at the Théâtre des Variétés (both in Montréal). He played many roles in the classic comedies of Molière, including Harpagon in L'Avare (NCT, 1984, directed by Gaëtan Labrèche), Argante in Les Fourberies de Scapin (TNM, 1987, directed by Daniel Roussel) and Géronte in Le Médecin malgré lui (Théâtre du Rideau Vert, 1992, directed by Guillermo de Andrea). In the Québec repertoire, he played Roland Lepage in Le Temps d'une vie, (Trident, 1977, directed by Rémy Girard and Normand Chouinard) and Réjean Ducharme. Lepage appeared in a highly successful revival of HA ha !... by Lorraine Pintal (TNM, 1990). He also participated in the very first improvisational theatre “match” produced by Québec’s Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation (National Improvisational Comedy League) in 1977. In the course of 12 regular seasons and multiple tournaments, Lepage participated in some 500 improv events. He was inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame in 2001.
Lepage’s first television appearance, shortly after graduating from the conservatory, was as Père Édouard Germain on the Radio-Canada series La Petite Patrie (1974-1978). Since then, he has played many other roles on TV, notably on the children’s show Le Gutenberg (1977-1979) and the drama series Les Brillants (1979-1982), Le Parc des braves (1985-1987), Cormoran (1988-1993) and Bouscotte (1996-2001). He has also appeared on variety shows (Bye Bye 77, 78, 80, 81), dramatic series and televised plays, playing Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the ideas show Les Grands Esprits (1988). He also hosted shows on various Québec television networks.
Lepage is much in demand for films and has appeared in over 30. For his 1979 performance in Cordélia, by Jean Beaudin, he won an acting award from the Brest Film Festival in France. For his heartfelt performance as a lonely delivery man in the title role of Jean-Claude Lauzon’s first professional short film, Piwi (1981), Lepage received the Jury Award for Short Film at the Montreal World Film Festival. Other distinguished Québec film directors with whom Lepage has worked include André Forcier (La Comtesse de Bâton-Rouge, 1997; Les États-Unis d'Albert, 2005), Denys Arcand (Jésus de Montréal, 1989; Joyeux Calvaire, 1996), Luc Dionne (Aurore, 2005) and Robert Morin (Que Dieu bénisse l'Amérique, 2005).
Lepage is also an airplane and helicopter pilot. He has flown all over Québec’s Far North to pursue his passion for hunting and fishing and has contributed pieces to various related publications.
