Hrant Alianak

Hrant Alianak, born in Khartoum, is a Canadian playwright and actor. He started writing in 1972, when Tantrums, his first play, was staged at Theatre Passe Muraille, and he spent much of the 1970s writing for the stage before he began acting in the 1980s. His plays include Lucky Strike, The Blues and The Walls of Africa, which won three Dora Awards in 2001, among them Best New Play, and was published in 2002; The Blues was published in 2003. He was nominated for a Genie Award for his supporting role in Family Viewing (1987). On screen he played Pete in Billy Madison (1995), Dr. Mendez in the horror film Pontypool (2009), and Principal Hicks in My Babysitter's a Vampire (2010) and the television series that followed in 2011. He also appeared in a 1996 episode of Goosebumps and in the repertory cast of A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2002).