Saul Rubinek

Saul Rubinek

 Saul Rubinek, actor, director, producer, writer (b at Camp Föhrenwald, near Wolfratshausen, Germany 2 July 1948). Saul Rubinek was born to two Polish Holocaust survivors in a German refugee camp, where his father helped to run a Yiddish repertory theatre company. Before Rubinek had reached his first birthday, the family had immigrated to Canada, arriving first in Montréal and settling in Ottawa shortly after.

It was clear from an early age that Rubinek had been bitten by the acting bug. He was encouraged by his parents, who took him to acting classes and allowed him to perform regularly at the Ottawa Little Theatre. Four years later, in 1969, he joined the company at the STRATFORD FESTIVAL in Ontario. Before long, Rubinek was making lasting contributions to the Toronto theatre scene, co-founding the Toronto Free Theatre and working extensively with the THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE.

Rubinek started working in the US in the late 1970s as an actor off-Broadway in New York, and divided his time between theatres in both countries for several years. In 1984 he won a DramaLogue award for his Touchstone in Des MCANUFF's La Jolla production of Shakespeare's As You Like It. Stage work eventually led to film and television roles. He worked with the CBC and acted in many independent Canadian features, including Ralph Thomas's critically acclaimed thriller Ticket to Heaven (1981), for which he received a GENIE AWARD for best supporting actor.

Rubinek has acted as director, producer and writer on numerous projects. In 1988 he wrote and produced the award-winning documentary So Many Miracles, based on his non-fiction book of the same name. His first major foray into directing and producing for the screen came with 1998's crime comedy Jerry and Tom. Other features he directed are Club Land (2000), Bleacher Bums (2002) and Cruel But Necessary (2005).

Television highlights include recurring roles on Hill Street Blues ,The Equalizer, Star Trek: The Next Generation, LA Law, Frasier, Stargate SG-1, Outer Limits, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lost and Warehouse 13. Rubinek appeared in the acclaimed TV movies And the Band Played On (1993), Hiroshima (1995), Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) and Gleason (2002). His film credits include Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning Unforgiven (1992), The Trotsky (2009) and Barney's Version (2010); he can be seen in more than 50 feature films alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and has one of the most recognized faces in North American film.