Ben Bass (born August 14, 1968[2]) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as officer/detective Sam Swarek on the Global police television series Rookie Blue, which also aired on ABC.

Ben Bass
Bass in 2012
Born (1968-08-14) August 14, 1968 (age 56)[1]
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present
Spouse
Laura Carswell
(m. 2011)

Life and career

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At age 7, Bass moved with his family to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He speaks French fluently.

He started his television career by appearing in the show 21 Jump Street,[3] and started his stage career when he appeared in Angry Housewives.[4] He was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for best supporting actor in Angry Housewives. Also, he originated the stage role of the young Elvis Presley in Are You Lonesome Tonight at The Charlottetown Festival in Prince Edward Island.[4] Following that, he attended Theatre School at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris.[5] After returning to Canada, he appeared in television guest roles before becoming a regular cast member of the series Forever Knight as the 16th century Spanish vampire Javier Vachon.[3]

He also appeared at the Stratford (Ontario) Festival as Christian in Cyrano de Bergerac and as the lead in In the Ring and also appeared as Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Nova Scotia.

Bass then played a lead character in season 3 of TV show The Eleventh Hour[6] and was nominated for a Gemini Award for this role. He also starred in a TV miniseries Would Be Kings[7] for which he received a second Gemini nomination.[8] His next role as Sam Swarek in Rookie Blue[9] garnered nominations for a Canadian Screen Award in 2014 and 2016. His film career includes A Cool, Dry Place, Bride of Chucky, and The 6th Day.

Personal life

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On June 14, 2011, he married[10] actress Laura Carswell.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 21 Jump Street Leonard 1 episode
Street Legal New Mel 1 episode
1989 Bordertown Trevor Andres 2 episodes
1992 A Killer Among Friends Steve TV movie
1995 Forever Knight Javier Vachon 13 episodes
1998 A Cool, Dry Place Placement Agent
Bride of Chucky Lieutenant Ellis
Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story Rex Reed TV movie
1999 Murder in a Small Town Michael TV movie
Beggars and Choosers Brian Peske 29 episodes
Da Vinci's Inquest Rick O'Malley (1999); Hardy's Lawyer (2001) 2 episodes
Bonanno: A Godfather's Story TV movie[11]
The Hunger Dave 1 episode
2000 First Wave Russ 1 episode
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show ND-3 Controller 1 episode
Hollywood Off-Ramp 1 episode
Stargate SG-1 Dr. Steven Rayner 1 episode
The 6th Day Bodyguard
Big Sound Darryl 8 episodes
2001 Strange Frequency Tom West TV movie; Segment: Room Service
The Lone Gunmen Josh Gillnitz 1 episode
Night Visions Paul 1 episode
2002 Jeremiah Rasmussen 1 episode
Monk Gavin Lloyd 2 episodes
Tom Stone Graham Pearson 7 episodes
2003 The Twilight Zone Trevor Black 1 episode
Bliss Marcus 1 episode
Dead Like Me Chris Freedman 1 episode
2004 The Chris Isaak Show Ben 1 episode
The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess Peter Gill TV movie[12]
The Eleventh Hour Henry Shelley 13 episodes
2005 Queer as Folk Tad 2 episodes
2006 Last Exit David TV movie
2007 Law & Order Dr. Adam Vaughn 1 episode
2008 Would Be Kings Jamie Collins TV mini-series
Flashpoint Harlan Geddes 1 episode
Dream Man Short
2010–2015 Rookie Blue Officer/Detective Sam Swarek Series Regular - Starring Role
2014 The Good Sister Jack TV movie
2015 Love's Complicated Cinco Dublin TV movie
2016 Casual Harry 2 episodes
2017 Saving Hope Doug Reid 1 episode
2018 The Detail Marc Savage 5 episodes
2020 Burden of Truth Dr. Solomon Stone/Solomon Stafford 3 episodes
2022 Pretty Hard Cases DS Brad Michaels Season 2

Awards

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Year Award Category Work nominated Result Ref
2005 Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role The Eleventh Hour Nominated [13]
2008 Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Would Be Kings Nominated [8]
2014 Canadian Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Rookie Blue Nominated [14]
2016 Canadian Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Rookie Blue Nominated [15]

[16]

References

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  1. ^ Rose, Mike (14 August 2022). "Today's famous birthdays list for August 14, 2022 includes celebrities Steve Martin, Halle Berry". The Plain Dealer. Associated Press. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  2. ^ Ben Bass' bio at www.northernstars.ca
  3. ^ a b "Guess who's playing Gillian?: Vancouver actress Joely Collins gets role of famed juror" by Sorelle Saidman, The Province (20 Feb, 2004) [Final Edition] Retrieved from ProQuest 269357553
  4. ^ a b "Paying tribute to the King" by John Mackie, Vancouver Sun (15 Aug, 1987) Retrieved from ProQuest 243743585
  5. ^ "Bass is one happy Othello or a hotshot TV producer man" Toronto Star (17 Dec, 2004) Retrieved from ProQuest 438771338
  6. ^ "Nominees for best dramatic series" at playbackonline.ca
  7. ^ "Would Be Kings is gripping drama; Miniseries follows tale of two cops/cousins" by Alex Strachan, Montreal Gazette (27 Jan, 2008) [Final Edition] Retrieved from ProQuest 434589456
  8. ^ a b "The Gemini nominees are . . ." Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal (29 Sept, 2008) Retrieved from ProQuest 196342946
  9. ^ "‘Rookie Blue’ Eyes a Happily Ever After" by Amber Dowling at www.hollywoodreporter.com
  10. ^ Keshaunta Moton (2011-06-26). "Rookie Blue Interview with Ben Bass: we interrupt this honeymoon". Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  11. ^ Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story review by Ray Richmond at variety.com
  12. ^ The Love Crimes Of Gillian Guess review by Ken Eisner at variety.com
  13. ^ "Eleventh Hour garners 15 Gemini nominations" by Alex Strachan, Star-Phoenix (12 Oct, 2005) Retrieved from ProQuest 348741118
  14. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards — 2014 Nominees and Winners". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on 2014-12-26.
  15. ^ "2016 Canadian Screen Awards nominees: 'Rookie Blue,' 'Vikings,' 'Big Brother Canada' nominated".
  16. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards — 2016 Nominees and Winners". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22.
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  • Ben Bass at IMDb
  • ‹The template AllMovie name is being considered for deletion.› Ben Bass at AllMovie
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