Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts, and to war veterans.

Life and career

Thomson was born on September 24, 1947, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He studied at the University of Toronto and the National Theatre School. His own play The Lost Boys was staged at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in March 2000 and at Canadian Stage in February 2002. He has also hosted programming for CBC Radio and CBC Television. Thomson has portrayed a number of historical figures including Samuel Lount, Edsel Ford, Frederick Banting, Duncan Campbell Scott, Mitchell Sharp, and James Cross. In 2010, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. In May 2015 Thomson received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Eric Peterson performed in his honour at the gala celebrating the laureates at the National Arts Centre.

Personal life

Thomson is married with two sons. Thomson has had a long-standing interest in Canada's military and war veterans. In 1995 he narrated a three-part documentary series about Canada's involvement in international conflicts. On the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, in which nearly 3,600 Canadians died, he co-created, with lighting designer Martin Conboy, a commemoration in which the name of each fallen soldier was projected onto the National War Memorial. The following year in 2009, he and Conboy undertook an ambitious project to project the names of the more than 68,000 Canadians who died in World War I onto famous monuments across the country. Projections occurred during the night. In 2010, the Government of Canada honoured Thomson for this effort with a Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Wins

Nominations