Richard Donat

Richard Donat is a Canadian actor born on June 1, 1941, in Kentville, Nova Scotia. He is the younger brother of actor Peter Donat and the nephew of British actor Robert Donat. His Broadway career includes the 1974 production of Hosanna. Beyond the stage, Donat has built an extensive career in Canadian and American television and film, with particular recognition for his character work across multiple decades.

On television, Donat portrayed Doctor Burnley in the Canadian series Emily of New Moon, a role he held from 1998 to 2000. From 2001 to 2002, he appeared as Colonel Boyle, the fort commander, in the two-season Canadian comedy series Blackfly. He is perhaps most widely recognized for playing Vince Teagues, one of the editors of a local newspaper, in the Canadian-American series Haven, a role he held from 2010 to 2015. Although the show is set in Maine, it was filmed in Nova Scotia, the province where Donat was raised.

His film credits span several decades and include Tomorrow Never Comes (1978), City on Fire (1979), Gas (1981), Draw! (1984), My American Cousin (1985), Samuel Lount (1985), American Boyfriends (1989), The Weight of Water (2000), The Event (2003), and Amelia (2009). He has also narrated documentaries, among them several episodes of the Nova series.

Donat has received recognition for his stage work as well. In 1984, he won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Leading Role for his performance in Brecht's In the Jungle of Cities. In 2007, he received a Merritt Award for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role for his work in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love. As a director, he won the Mecca Award in 2004 for his direction of The Drawer Boy.